New Rolling Stone Tony Kaye interview

[luvyesmusic]

It did seem to be an interview of good length, esp. over the phone. I was thinking it had to be edited as well. Also now at seventy-six, there's quite a bit for Tony to remember with everything he's done and experienced.

Tony's hung out with all kinds of folks as one would imagine. For someone like me who was a bit too young for some American, musical and cultural icons, I thought it was cool historically to hear from others that Tony was a short term room-mate/flatmate ( like a few others I'm sure ) with Jimi Hendrix and that he went out drinking with Janice Joplin.
Tony also owned a restaurant for a bit in California.
Always a ladies man.

[3LockBox]

I'm shocked to see some of the interviews and stories posted in RS over the last few years. I googled Jann Wenner and he's still.slive - is he still involved in RS?

I enjoyed the interview but really, too little, too late in the grand scheme of things. RS spent its college years leaving burning paper bags of poop on Prog's doorstep and then years later wants to say "Hey pops, how's it hangin", bring the old man's garbage can to the curb and shovel the snow out his driveway. Everybody grows up eventually I guess.

[Aquatarkus]

Jann's still kicking but he handed off editorial oversight to his son. Rolling Stone has done some good work in rock journalism, prog included, as of late.
I quite enjoyed this interview with Tony. The guy has had a pretty rewarding musical life. I didn't know about this Detective band at all, or that he played with Bowie on Station to Station tour. I was pretty young then so wasn't yet reading much about prog or rock until a little later.

[pbs1902]

Jann's still kicking but he handed off editorial oversight to his son. Rolling Stone has done some good work in rock journalism, prog included, as of late.

I am not too sure about this. When Keith Emerson died, RS had it all over their website, but not a word was printed in the magazine. (I canceled my subscription). They might be filling up their website, but are they filling the magazine up with this prog stuff?

[revporl]

Is there any way of reading this interview without a RS subscription?

[bRETT]

I didn't know he'd played with Bowie and there was no mention of Flash. .

He was never actually in Flash though, only did a couple days of session work for the first album.

I would have liked to hear what became of the instrumental album he reportedly made for the Cinema label in the '80s. Does Henry or anyone know?

[Mister Triscuits]

He was never actually in Flash though, only did a couple days of session work for the first album.

It sure looked like he was in the band, though, when he was listed with the rest of the band members on the album credits and his pictures were mixed in with the others in the gatefold.

[revporl]

Weirdly I went back to it and I was able to read it all

It's odd that he was out of the band at the time that Owner came out and then joined again in time for the album release. I suppose that means that he wasn't playing on that single? The offer must have been there and hearing Owner on the radio during a T shirt sale is what encouraged him to rejoin. Is that what he said happened?

I remember reading about him having a solo album out between 90125 and BG, but like Brett, I've never heard it.

[Scott Bails]

Weirdly I went back to it and I was able to read it all

It's odd that he was out of the band at the time that Owner came out and then joined again in time for the album release. I suppose that means that he wasn't playing on that single? The offer must have been there and hearing Owner on the radio during a T shirt sale is what encouraged him to rejoin. Is that what he said happened?

That seemed very odd to me, too. Made me wonder if he had the timing off?

Another enjoyable interview from that great prog mag, Rolling Stone.

[Trane]

Is there any way of reading this interview without a RS subscription?

I've rerad and and not subscribed.

It sure looked like he was in the band, though, when he was listed with the rest of the band members on the album credits and his pictures were mixed in with the others in the gatefold.

Yeah, first I hear of that he wasn't in full part of it

That seemed very odd to me, too. Made me wonder if he had the timing off?

Well TK's sense of timeline does seem weak

Well, he and GGeek can't seem to agree. GGeek says he was in only for one tour, but TK hints at a fairly long stint, which would sort of imply over a year.

[Top Cat]

Weirdly I went back to it and I was able to read it all

It's odd that he was out of the band at the time that Owner came out and then joined again in time for the album release. I suppose that means that he wasn't playing on that single? The offer must have been there and hearing Owner on the radio during a T shirt sale is what encouraged him to rejoin. Is that what he said happened?

I remember reading about him having a solo album out between 90125 and BG, but like Brett, I've never heard it.

Hopefully Henry will pipe in and share what he knows about Tony and his involvement in Owner and 90125.
I do remember reading here and elsewhere 90125 is mostly derived from Trevor's home recordings.Ok, the Trevor Horn video explains it ALL!
Since he had all the keyboard parts pretty much completed, so I wonder if Trevor recorded the keyboard parts on the final recording.

Here's Trevor's Demo for Owner(around 1:48 it opens up with more instruments). It is missing the famous Orchestral Stab Hit sound which later defined the 80's. lol


Here Trevor Horn discusses Owner..Fascinating!!

[bRETT]

It sure looked like he was in the band, though, when he was listed with the rest of the band members on the album credits and his pictures were mixed in with the others in the gatefold.

Didn't tour behind it though. And he's not on the whole album and only plays one real solo.

I'm sure the idea of a band with two ex-Yes members had more appeal than just one, though.

[Dan Roth]

It's odd that he was out of the band at the time that Owner came out and then joined again in time for the album release. I suppose that means that he wasn't playing on that single? The offer must have been there and hearing Owner on the radio during a T shirt sale is what encouraged him to rejoin. Is that what he said happened?

Many may recall Eddie Jobson's detailed essay on his experience with Yes that he had posted on his own message board. This is an excerpt that shows his understanding of how things went with Kaye:

However, in early 1983, toward the end of the Green Album period, I received a call from an executive with Atlantic Records who was with Chris Squire and his new band “Cinema” in London. Despite my complete lack of interest in joining Squire’s new band, the phone conversation went on for several hours as he virtually begged me to participate on their new album (the record that would become “90215”) . This time my ‘lack of interest’ was real, I literally had zero enthusiasm for being in Squire’s band back in London. So original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye was invited in for the album recording (which also apparently didn’t work out either, as he departed at the producer’s request after a very short period, leaving the keyboard duties to the production team.)

Later that year, with the Green Album finally completed, I happened to be visiting London as part of a promotional tour when I received a message (in the U.S.) that ‘Cinema’ was now ‘Yes,’ Jon Anderson had joined the band again, and that the album had come out really well. Oh, and they still needed a keyboard player... When they found out I was actually in London, new boy Trevor Rabin arranged to come round to play me the finished album. Trevor Horn (my favourite producer at the time) had done a fantastic job. All in all, though musically a little superficial, it was a fresh and contemporary recording, and with the ‘Yes’ name, a potential hit song (“Owner of a Lonely Heart”), Atlantic Records, and a well-funded support team behind it, it was clearly destined for considerably more commercial success than my struggling Green Album. With unlimited amounts of money flying around, my living in Connecticut was no problem; Jon was living in France, and Rabin and the new manager were living in Los Angeles. After all these years, maybe it was time for me to finally join Yes?

A couple of days later, we got together in a rehearsal room and thrashed through a few tunes, including ‘Roundabout’ (actually not knowing the song too well, I had to figure out Rick’s tricky keyboard parts on the spot – no easy task). But everyone seemed happy, so I returned to the U.S. as a full member of Yes and with a world tour only two or three months away. There was virtually no contact with anyone for several weeks as I learned all the Yes material in my home studio, although I did attend the mastering of the album with Rabin in New York. In fact, now I think about it, not one single band member ever called me, for any reason, during my entire stint with the group (or since).

The illusion of ‘equal membership’ soon became apparently false, especially once the filming of the “Owner of a Lonely Heart” video took place. Lord Squire’s indulgences (and the ubiquitous Bentley) were back in my face, and money was being squandered at an alarming rate. It was time-warp back to the 1970s. Roadies followed you around making sure you never had to lift even the smallest bag, and Chris was insisting on a private Boeing 707 for the tour! The grand lifestyle was being funded once again and egos were newly inflated. Despite my considerable experiences with Roxy, Zappa, UK, and Tull (a wonderful group of guys who treated me with considerable respect), and with more than 30 albums and a self-managed solo career under my belt, no one was interested in any wisdom I may have been able to impart, on any subject… even on the keyboard rig design which had already been decided upon. It was an inflated ‘Spinal Tap’ on so many levels, and I had unwittingly been sucked back into almost the same world of disregard that I had rejected so many years earlier. But I had made a commitment and I wanted to see it through.

Several weeks later, back in the U.S. where I continued to work on the considerable Yes repertoire, I did finally receive a phone call from someone—it was the manager who had been given the unceremonious task of informing me that Tony Kaye was re-joining the group and would be sharing keyboard duties with me. No discussion, no conferring… a done deal. And the reason? They needed three original members to put to rest a dispute with Brian Lane (their old manager), Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman regarding the legitimacy of the new band using the ‘Yes’ name. My youthful instincts were reawakened, there were red flags waving, and sirens going off... why was I doing this exactly? Still no call from anyone in the band, no discussions of alternate remedies, no apologies, just take it or leave it… so I hearkened to the words of their own song and chose to ‘leave it.’

I remember reading about him having a solo album out between 90125 and BG, but like Brett, I've never heard it.

He was signed to Cinema Records (Moraz also released an album on this label) but Kaye's album never came out.

[GuitarGeek]

[QUOTE=Aquatarkus;1026665]

I didn't know about this Detective band at all,

Detective were signed to Swan Song, Led Zeppelin's label. There's a famous publicity photo of the members of Detective sitting in front of a sofa, with Jimmy Page curled up on the sofa itself, apparently asleep. Story goes that Page had shot up before the photo session. Supposedly, when he woke up, he said "I've got to stop taking valium during the day", and the band members all looked at each other as if to say, "Who does he think he's kidding?

It's odd that he was out of the band at the time that Owner came out and then joined again in time for the album release. I suppose that means that he wasn't playing on that single?

Well, he was out of the band when the video was being shot. But by the time it was edited, Eddie Jobson (who had taken Tony's place) was already out, as you only see four of the band members transform into animals. Not sure exactly when Tony came back in. As far as who's playing keyboards on that, it could be Tony or it could be Trevor Rabin, as I believe he's credited with playing some of the keyboards on that record. For that matter, it could even be Trevor Horn, I imagine.

[bRETT]

He was signed to Cinema Records (Moraz also released an album on this label) but Kaye's album never came out.

I'm wondering if it was ever actually recorded? Cinema (the label) didn't last long, so the plugged could have been pulled before he started.

Their releases were all enjoyable though, especially the two Peter Bardens albums.

[Aquatarkus]

I am not too sure about this. When Keith Emerson died, RS had it all over their website, but not a word was printed in the magazine. (I canceled my subscription). They might be filling up their website, but are they filling the magazine up with this prog stuff?

That's a good question! I used to read the print mag at my local library but it's been closed for a year now because of the pandemic so I've been reading online since then.

[profusion]

Well, he was out of the band when the video was being shot. But by the time it was edited, Eddie Jobson (who had taken Tony's place) was already out, as you only see four of the band members transform into animals. Not sure exactly when Tony came back in. As far as who's playing keyboards on that, it could be Tony or it could be Trevor Rabin, as I believe he's credited with playing some of the keyboards on that record. For that matter, it could even be Trevor Horn, I imagine.

The only obvious Kaye playing contribution to 90125 is the Hammond on "Hearts", on which he is credited as a co-composer. He also has a composing credit on "Cinema", but I don't hear as obvious a playing contribution there. Perhaps he played on a section that wasn't included.

Rabin is a talented keyboardist and could have played it all himself, but I've never heard him play that way on Hammond elsewhere. Horn undoubtedly could have played most of the relatively basic, structural keys that dominate 90125, also.

How far in advance of the album release was the "Owner" single released? I do find Tony's story about hearing the song at the flea market to be somewhat fanciful. There would have been considerable lead time needed to get him listed on the cover and such before the album was released. Obviously, the video was filmed before Tony returned, so the single must have been in the works for some time. I remember hearing the song on the radio for the first time, but I was 14 at the time and not tracking album releases that closely...

Edit: Wikipedia is my friend. Single release: October 1983. Album release: November 7, 1983. I find it hard to believe that ATCO could have revised the album cover art in that amount of time.

[Trane]

The illusion of ‘equal membership’ soon became apparently false, especially once the filming of the “Owner of a Lonely Heart” video took place. Lord Squire’s indulgences (and the ubiquitous Bentley) were back in my face, and money was being squandered at an alarming rate. It was time-warp back to the 1970s. Roadies followed you around making sure you never had to lift even the smallest bag, and Chris was insisting on a private Boeing 707 for the tour! The grand lifestyle was being funded once again and egos were newly inflated. Despite my considerable experiences with Roxy, Zappa, UK, and Tull (a wonderful group of guys who treated me with considerable respect), and with more than 30 albums and a self-managed solo career under my belt, no one was interested in any wisdom I may have been able to impart, on any subject… even on the keyboard rig design which had already been decided upon. It was an inflated ‘Spinal Tap’ on so many levels, and I had unwittingly been sucked back into almost the same world of disregard that I had rejected so many years earlier. But I had made a commitment and I wanted to see it through.


Several weeks later, back in the U.S. where I continued to work on the considerable Yes repertoire, I did finally receive a phone call from someone—it was the manager who had been given the unceremonious task of informing me that Tony Kaye was re-joining the group and would be sharing keyboard duties with me. No discussion, no conferring… a done deal. And the reason? They needed three original members to put to rest a dispute with Brian Lane (their old manager), Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman regarding the legitimacy of the new band using the ‘Yes’ name. My youthful instincts were reawakened, there were red flags waving, and sirens going off... why was I doing this exactly? Still no call from anyone in the band, no discussions of alternate remedies, no apologies, just take it or leave it… so I hearkened to the words of their own song and chose to ‘leave it.’

Never enjoyed Jobson's music or participations in bands, but he sounds like he's on the dot about Yes. Sounds like typical Yes ego BS (Squire topping it all)

Even that sounds like BS, since neither RW or SH were original members ... that dude Lane certainly seems to a total scum, ala Kit Lambert

[profusion]

Even that sounds like BS, since neither RW or SH were original members ... that dude Lane certainly seems to a total scum, ala Kit Lambert

It does seem like BS. Yes only had two remaining original members from 1973-79, and apparently that wasn't a problem. Now, I suppose there could have been some kind of bizarre contractual provision at the time where Anderson/Squire/[another original guy] could trump the contractual rights of any later band members.

Also, Steve was aware of the Yes reformation well before the album came out and apparently didn't care that much since Asia was doing well. I believe he was also compensated to allow the 90125 group to use the name. Rick was, well, Rick and had been out of the band for several years at that point.

Perhaps that's simply the story that Jobson was given. I've read it elsewhere as a marketing ploy to further the legitimacy of that lineup using the Yes name.

[bRETT]

Edit: Wikipedia is my friend. Single release: October 1983. Album release: November 7, 1983. I find it hard to believe that ATCO could have revised the album cover art in that amount of time.

I do recall an ad in the UK press behind the release of the Owner single. It listed the members of Yes as a five-piece with Jobson, for whatever that's worth.

[GuitarGeek]

The only obvious Kaye playing contribution to 90125 is the Hammond on "Hearts", on which he is credited as a co-composer. He also has a composing credit on "Cinema", but I don't hear as obvious a playing contribution there. Perhaps he played on a section that wasn't included.

Rabin said in Guitar Player (January 85 issue, I think? The one with Rik Emmett on the cover playing his new Yamaha doubleneck) that on Cinema, there was one single Synclavier overdub, the rest of it was a live recording. So, if you can figure out which keyboard part is the Synclavier overdub, then presumably, the rest of the keyboards are Tony. As I recall, Cinema was excerpted out of a much longer recording. I've always wanted to hear the rest of it, but I guess we never will.

Rabin is a talented keyboardist and could have played it all himself,

Rabin was classically trained, his whole family were classical musicians. I remember he said was competing in classical piano competitions in Johannesburg when he was like 10. He said the incentive for him to win was that his parents would buy him a Cliff Richard And The Shadows record if he did. While my exposure to his work outside of Yes is relatively limited, I would agree, I've never heard him play anything like the Hearts solo.

but I've never heard him play that way on Hammond elsewhere. Horn undoubtedly could have played most of the relatively basic, structural keys that dominate 90125, also.

How far in advance of the album release was the "Owner" single released? I do find Tony's story about hearing the song at the flea market to be somewhat fanciful.

Yeah, I don't buy that either. This wasn't like the 60's, when you'd record a single, it becomes a hit, and then have to throw an album together to capitalize on this good fortune (see what I did there?).

Single release: October 1983. Album release: November 7, 1983. I find it hard to believe that ATCO could have revised the album cover art in that amount of time.

Yeah, I agree with you there. He certainly wouldn't be the first musician to do a little tall tale telling in interviews (paging, Eddie Van Halen, Bill Bruford, and Billy Gibbons).

As far as the legal requirements for them to call it Yes, I remember reading that Steve Howe had to be paid some kind of settlement, back in 1982 or 1983, whenever it was determined that this new project had to have the Yes name. Squire said at least once that they brought Tony because "I felt bad about how we kicked him out in 1971", and another I remember saying something to the effect that he didn't want to get into the thing like they had circa Tormato, where you had Howe and Wakeman playing stuff that was "too busy" or whatever, like it was a cutting contest or something. Seems reasonable, but...

At some point, I developed a theory that the reason Tony and Jon were brought into to facilitate some kind of legal requirement to use the Yes name. I know I've heard the story several times that they record something like 3/4's of the album before Jon became involved, so it always seemed to me like that maybe someone at the record company, Phil Carson or whoever, was saying "Ya know, it'd be nice if we could use an established name, instead of promoting guys as being "formerly of Yes", and that was the real reason Jon got involved. And maybe that was in the back of someoine's mind when bringing Tony in.

Maybe it wasn't a legal requirement, like they necessarily had a lawyer saying "You need 3/5's of the original lineup", but maybe it was more like "Just in case there's a problem" or for publicity purposes, i.e. something that would look good on the press release, ya know "This is the first time we've had 3 original members in the band since 1971" or whatever.

[Sean]

Is there any way of reading this interview without a RS subscription?

Depends on your browser. I can't on Chrome, but I can with Firefox.

[Mstove]

Depends on your browser. I can't on Chrome, but I can with Firefox.

That's how I read it, and how I had a friend read it, as well.

[pb2015]

I used to have a book about Badfinger where Tony Kaye was interviewed. He mentioned leaving the 90125 sessions to do a tour with the early 80's Badfinger lineup with Tom Evans, but later told Tom he was definitely rejoining Yes full time (shortly before Tom's suicide in November 1983).

[ThomasKDye]

Maybe it wasn't a legal requirement, like they necessarily had a lawyer saying "You need 3/5's of the original lineup", but maybe it was more like "Just in case there's a problem" or for publicity purposes, i.e. something that would look good on the press release, ya know "This is the first time we've had 3 original members in the band since 1971" or whatever.

Kind of the same reason for bringing Rick Wright back into the Pink Floyd fold just as "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is being completed. You just need to shore up your legal status so you're not worried about meetings with lawyers clogging up your tour plans.