Jon Anderson announces live online fan event

Jon Anderson has announced a special online fan event for this Sunday, August 2, at 8pm (BST).

The former Yes singer and his band will perform songs from his recently released new album 1000 Hands. In between each song Anderson will conduct a Q+A. Further info for the stream can be found here.

Anderson's 1000 Hands has been released digitally in the UK through will be released on CD and deluxe 180g double vinyl on August 14.

Anderson began working on 1000 Hands (originally called Uzlot – “it means a lot of us”) nearly 30 years ago, working with a group of musicians that included Yes drummer Alan White and bassist Chris Squire. However, due to his heavy touring commitments with Yes, Anderson had to put the record on the back burner.

“Before you knew it, I started getting involved in other projects and tours, and years went by,” Anderson explains. “I would listen to the tapes from time to time and think, ‘This could have been a great album! One day I’ll finish it.’”

Setting up shop in producer Michael Franklin’s Solar Studios in Orlando, Florida, Anderson laid down backing vocals to his original lead tracks, and Franklin called in an astonishing array of rock and jazz luminaries to fill out the songs: fellow Yes alum Steve Howe, Ian Anderson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Steve Morse, Rick Derringer, Jonathan Cain, and the Tower of Power Horns are just a few of the guests on 1000 Hands.

“That’s where the title 1000 Hands comes from, all of the brilliant musicians who played a part in making the record,” he says. “Michael acted like something of a casting director, bringing so many great players. It was really exciting to hear the record open up and become what I had always envisioned.”

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.