Geoff Downes
Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group the Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London to pursue a music career. In 1977, he formed the Buggles with Horn and enjoyed success with their first album '' The Age of Plastic'' (1980) which included the worldwide hit single " Video Killed the Radio Star". In May 1980, Downes joined Yes with Horn and recorded ''Drama'' (1980). After Yes disbanded in 1981, Downes helped Trevor Horn to produce a second Buggles album, '' Adventures in Modern Recording'' (1981) although he was only primarily involved for half of it, and co-founded Asia with fellow ex-Yes musician Steve Howe. He left Asia in 1986, rejoined in 1990, and has been a part of the lineup since then; he released several solo albums and produced for several artists, including Mike Oldfield and the Thompson Twins. In 2006, D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yes (band)
Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. Comprising List of Yes band members, 20 full-time musicians over their career, their most notable members include lead singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarists Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin, drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White (Yes drummer), Alan White, and keyboardists Tony Kaye (musician), Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman. The band have explored several musical styles and are often regarded as progressive rock pioneers. Since February 2023, the band's line-up consists of Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, bassist Billy Sherwood, singer Jon Davison, and drummer Jay Schellen. Founded by Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Kaye, and guitarist Peter Banks, Yes began performing a mix of original songs and covers of Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, Blues, blues, and Jazz, jazz songs, as showcased on their first two albums, ''Yes (Yes album), Yes'' (1969) and ''Time and a Word'' (1970). A change of direction in 1970 after ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White (band)
White was a progressive rock band formed by Alan White in 2005. History Alan White had achieved success in his role as the drummer with Yes, as well as having worked with John Lennon, George Harrison and Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright .... Between tours with Yes, Alan formed a friendship with Seattle-based band, MerKaBa. He had also got to know another local band, Treason, and guested on their eponymous 1997 debut album. Alan began playing shows with MerKaBa and through his friendship with MerKaBa bassist, Steve Boyce, began working on a new album, along with Wayo Hogan, Kevin Currie, keyboardist Ted Stockwell (of Treason), and guitarist Karl Haug. The MerKaBa identity was dropped and the band took on the new name of White. An album was completed in m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble (band), Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to Dub music, dub-influenced Chill-out music, chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up. The band's name was based on the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson (who are close doubles, not twins) in the English-language version of ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (). At various stages they had up to seven members, but their best known line-up was as a trio from 1982 to 1986. The band became a prominent act in the US during the Second British Invasion, and in 1985 performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia, whe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield played a range of instruments, which included keyboards and percussion, as well as vocals. He had adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, World music, world, Folk music, folk, Classical music, classical, Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and new age music. Oldfield took up the guitar at age ten and left school in his teens to embark on a music career. From 1967 to 1970, he and his sister Sally Oldfield were a folk duo, the Sallyangie, after which he performed with Kevin Ayers. In 1971, Oldfield started work on ''Tubular Bells'' which caught the attention of Richard Branson, who agreed to release it on his new label, Virgin Records. Its opening was used in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Howe (musician)
Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to learn the instrument himself at age 12. He embarked on a music career in 1964, first playing in several London-based blues, covers, and psychedelic rock bands for six years, including the Syndicats, Tomorrow (band), Tomorrow, and Bodast. Upon joining Yes in 1970, Howe's blend of acoustic and electric guitar helped shape the sound and direction of the band, leading to more commercial and critical success. Many of their best-known songs were co-written by Howe, and he remained with the band until their initial dissolution in 1981. Howe returned to the group from 1990 to 1992 before returning permanently in 1995. He is the longest-serving member of the band that is currently active. Howe achiev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adventures In Modern Recording
''Adventures in Modern Recording'' is the second and final studio album by English new wave group the Buggles, released in November 1981 by Carrere Records. Although the Buggles began as a duo of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, the album ended up as mostly Horn's solo effort, as Downes left to join the English rock band Asia on the day recording was originally scheduled to begin. It contains nine tracks, including a version of a track from the Yes album ''Drama'' (1980), recorded during Horn and Downes' short initial tenure with the band. Originally named " Into the Lens", the Buggles rendition is titled "I Am a Camera". A stylistically and sonically varied progressive electronic album, ''Adventures in Modern Recording'' depicts Horn perfecting his skill as producer and was described by journalists as a document for how he would produce his later works. It was one of the earliest albums to use the Fairlight CMI, one of the first digital sampling synthesizers. Upon its releas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drama (Yes Album)
''Drama'' is the tenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 22 August 1980 by Atlantic Records. It was their only album to feature Trevor Horn on lead vocals and the first with Geoff Downes on keyboards. This followed the departures of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman after attempts to record a new album in Paris and London had failed. ''Drama'' was recorded hurriedly with Horn and Downes, as a tour had already been booked before the change in personnel. The album marked a development in Yes' musical direction, combining the band's progressive signature with Horn and Downes' new wave sensibilities. ''Drama'' was released to a mostly positive critical reception, with most welcoming the band's new sound. It peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 18 in the US, though it became their first album since 1971 not to reach gold certification by the RIAA, and their first to miss the top ten there since ''The Yes Album''. " Into the Lens" was released as the album' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Video Killed The Radio Star
"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1979. It was recorded concurrently by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their album '' English Garden'' and by British new wave/synth-pop group the Buggles, which consisted of Horn and Downes (and initially Woolley). The Buggles' version of the track was recorded and mixed in 1979, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979 by Island Records, and included on their first album '' The Age of Plastic''. The song relates to concerns about, and mixed attitudes toward 20th-century inventions and machines for the media arts. The song has been positively received, with reviewers praising its unusual musical pop elements. On release, the Buggles single topped sixteen international music charts, including those in the UK, Australia, and Japan. It also peaked in the top 10 in Canada, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa, but only reached numbe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Age Of Plastic
''The Age of Plastic'' is the debut album by the English new wave duo the Buggles, first released on 10 January 1980 on Island Records. It is a concept album about the possible repercussions of modern technology. The title was conceived from the group's intention of being a "plastic group" and the album was produced in the wake of the success of their debut record, "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979), which topped the UK Singles Chart. Most of the album's other tracks were written during promotion of the single. The album was recorded on a budget of £60,000. Bassist Trevor Horn was chiefly inspired by Kraftwerk's 1978 album '' The Man-Machine'' and sought unconventional recording methods for ''The Age of Plastic''. Keyboardist Geoff Downes characterised the album as "science fiction music ... like modern psychedelic music ... very futuristic." Several tracks also featured contributions from vocalist Bruce Woolley, who left the group mid-production. The backing tracks were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supergroup (music)
A supergroup is a musical group formed of members who are already successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups. The term became popular in the late 1960s when members of already successful rock groups Collaborative_album, recorded albums together, after which they normally disbanded. Charity supergroups, in which prominent musicians perform or record together in support of a particular cause, have been common since the 1980s. The term is most common in the context of Rock music, rock and pop music, but it has occasionally been applied to other musical genres. For example, opera stars the Three Tenors (José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) and Hip-hop, hip hop duos Kids See Ghosts (Kanye West and Kid Cudi) and Bad Meets Evil (Eminem and Royce da 5′9″, Royce da 5'9") all have been called supergroups. A supergroup sometimes forms as a side project for a single recording project or other ''ad hoc'' purposes, with no intention that the grou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Progressive Rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the style emerged from psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop or rock traditions in favour of instrumental and compositional techniques more commonly associated with jazz, folk, or classical music, while retaining the instrumentation typical of rock music. Additional elements contributed to its " progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of " art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. Progressive rock includes a fusion of styles, approaches and genres, and tends to be diverse and eclectic. Progressive rock is often associated with long solos, exte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an early age and taught himself to sight-read music. In the 1970s, he worked as a session musician, built his own studio, and wrote and produced singles for various artists. Horn gained fame in 1979 as a member of the Buggles, who achieved a hit single with " Video Killed the Radio Star". He was invited to join the progressive rock band Yes, becoming their lead singer. In 1981, Horn became a full-time producer, working on successful songs and albums for acts including Yes, Dollar, ABC, Malcolm McLaren, Grace Jones and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. In 1983, Horn and his wife, the music executive Jill Sinclair, purchased Sarm West Studios, London, and formed a record label, ZTT Records, with the journalist Paul Morley. Horn also co-formed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |