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Yes - Into The Lens

You know the story. The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" becomes the first music video shown on MTV in the U.S. on August 1981. The 80's first flash in the pan is born.

But do you know the next part of the story? The Buggles (Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn) brought prog rock dinosaurs, Yes, back to life for a brief stint as new wave zombies with rad guitar solos. Now, how the hell did that happen?


Turns out that Downes and Horn were under the same management as Yes. After 1978's Tormato, an album featuring the forgettable "Don't Kill The Whale," Jon Anderson (vocals) and Rick Wakemen (keyboard wizardry) went splitsville. At that point, most people would probably agree that the band was dead. Steve Howe and Chris Squire saw it differently. Yes' management approached their buddies in The Buggles about jamming with the remains of Yes: Howe (guitar), Squire (bass) and Alan White (drums). What I can only imagine as a weird experience for both bands, yielded the next version of Yes that would uniquely blend new wave and prog in a totally satisfying and fleeting moment.


The new Yes recorded Drama, featuring tunes like "Machine Messiah" and "Does It Really Happen?" that catapult Howe's guitar into arena rock hyper drive and inject the music with energy that was lacking in their latter Anderson albums. Now viewed in the wider context of Yes' work, Drama is actually one of the more distinct Yes albums. Although, not considered classic, it is quite listenable.

On the subsequent Drama Tour of 1980, the band didn't reveal or address the ol' switcheroo with the Buggles. As you can imagine, this was a total shocker for audiences. People were like, "Who's that dude with the Elton John glasses? Where's the bearded wizard on the Moog?" Ticket sales began to tank in the States. By the time Yes returned to Europe for the second leg of their tour, their fans weren't having it. Yes 1980 was short lived.

This video of "Into The Lens" captures the new wave/prog dichotomy of the band, especially in terms of their fashion. Steve Howe gets points for his Van Halen style. Chris Squire's zebra shirt and glasses are kick-ass. Chris White's olympian drumming attire is stunning. When I start my next band, I'm going to make this video a prerequisite for our look on stage.




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