Peter Banks

Peter Banks (b. April 8, 1947) was the original guitar player of Yes. He was born in England and named Peter Brockbanks.

Later work

The only released work of Peter Banks in the second half of the 1970s were a number of sparse session appearances in albums by the likes of Lonnie Donnegan (in his 1977's comeback record) and Jakob Magnusson (1979). In 1981 a recording by Empire appeared, but it's possibly what some call "a semi-official bootleg". Banks did a surprise brief apparition some time later in 1986's "Romeo Unchained", an album by Tonio K.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Then... silence. Suddenly, in 1993 Banks released "Instinct", a superb solo album of instrumental tracks with him playing all the parts. Only a keyboard player joined him in his next album, "Self Contained" (1995), which confirmed Peter Banks as a true solo musician. In 1997, Peter was main responsible for the release of a double-live set called "Something's Coming" (in the UK, being renamed "Beyond and Before" in the US), a collection of Yes appearances in the BBC during 1969 and 1970, featuring the original lineup in all tracks and with a booklet containing the guitarist appreciation of those early days.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another buried treasure that saw the light was "Psychosync", a live Flash recording made in 1973 for the King Biscuit Flower Hour and released 25 years later (in 1998). Also, between 1995 and 1997 all three Empire albums were released at last (one per year). Banks also collaborated in 1995's "Tales From Yesterday" doing a solo version of the song "Astral Traveller", appeared in the album "Big Beats" in 1997 and played in "Encores, Legends and Paradox", an ELP tribute album, in 1999. He also lend a (guitar) hand to 1999's "Come Together People of Funk", an EP by Funky Monkey. (Funky Monkey includes Gerard Johnson on keys who helped on a number of Banks' projects in the 1990s.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Those collaborations filled the gap in his own recording career, until 1999 when the album "Reduction" appeared with similar style as his prior ones; and in 2000 he put out a collection of his oldest recordings (all previously unreleased) called "Can I Play You Something?". The front sleeve of this last record showed an eight year-old Peter posing with his very first guitar; and the track listing includes some early recordings by The Syn, Mabel's Greer Toyshop and Yes (a "must" for Yes fans, indeed), including an early rendition of the song "Beyond and Before".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There's a short track in the latter collection called "Lima Loop". This is because Lima (capitol city of Peru) became a special place for Pete in recent years. A Peruvian Yes fan girl went to live to the US many years ago and, chatting in Internet, contacted Peter and they both started a cyber-friendship that ultimately led to their wedding. They married in Lima, where the bride's parents live, and Peter stayed in Peru for some months in 1999, being present when Yes played in Peru for the first (and only) time. The couple live happily in England nowadays.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recent collaborations include "Jabberwocky" (2000) and "Hound of the Baskervilles" (2002), a pair of albums recorded by Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) and Clive Nolan.

Related Topics:
Jabberwocky - Oliver Wakeman - Rick - Clive Nolan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~