In 2016 Steve Howe was the subject of The Prog Interview, in which he discussed his past, present and future as one of the leading guitarists in the genre. He focused briefly on his early 20s, before he’d joined Yes, revealing the other career options he’d had – and why they hadn’t been right for him.
You’ve been playing guitar since you were 12 years old, but you didn’t learn to read music. Why was that?
For me, taking up music was a rebellion against order. I suppose “order” then was maybe school and my dad. Since it was a rebellion against things, I didn’t really like order in my guitar learning.
Article continues belowI got a guitar instruction manual and never got past page one. I didn’t understand what they meant, so everything they said after that was meaningless. So I had to learn by just grappling with it. I realised I was never going to be the most studious guitarist.
You had an amazing degree of self-confidence as a 20-year-old, working with Tomorrow and a bit later turning down job offers with some pretty serious bands.
I was having a great time. I did join Keith Emerson in The Nice for one day. It was the most beautiful thing – we both liked Vivaldi and we talked about playing some of that. But something happened overnight.
Not only was I put under pressure by the band I was in, Bodast, about their lives being ruined and them being out on the street if I left; but also I’d met some of the people around The Nice and I wasn’t too comfortable with them. So that was it.
What happened with Tull was that they made a precondition. They said, “We’re looking for a guitarist – but we don’t want any songs from them.” So that was as far as it got. I didn’t even go to the audition.
I spent an afternoon with Atomic Rooster but it didn’t quite gel. Carl Palmer was on drums, although I don’t think he remembers it. I’d even done a stint on tour with PP Arnold when she went out on the Delaney & Bonnie tour with Eric Clapton in 1969.
So I’d had these close encounters with other bands which meant I was pretty hungry by the time the call from Yes came.
Was it a disappointment for you when Rick Wakeman never really got behind Tales From Topographic Oceans?
At the time it didn’t help us; but it didn’t really matter because we couldn’t control it. A lot of Rick’s friends in the press were all saying to him that the album was really dodgy. I think Rick wanted to see cracks in it, and we didn’t.
We had to learn about Rick going and coming back again. He left but then rejoined on Going For The One. We realised to a certain extent – and it’s not altogether a bad thing – that we were a kind of convenience for Rick. He could go off and have his solo career, come back to Yes and nip back to being solo again.
What do you think about Steven Wilson’s remixes of the Yes back catalogue?
My ears and heart tell me that when I hear the original mix, that’s the one for me, because that’s the one we sat down and did. But I take my hat off to Steven completely. I give the mixes he’s done 100 per cent support because it’s taking Yes further and further into the future by having these 5.1 and new stereo mixes available.
They asked what I thought and if I had any suggestions or questions. I went down to see Steven at his studio, which has a huge screen with the album on it in Pro Tools and everything, and we analysed some of the music. I was able to help with a couple of things he was working on at the time.
If push comes to shove, what would be the desert island Yes album for you?
I’ve got to shoot for something as solid as Close To The Edge really. That record, to me, will never lose its intrigue and glamour, if you like. That was a pretty high achiever in my opinion.
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