Mabel Greer’s Toyshop ready new album The Secret

By Scott Munro
( Prog )
published

Mabel Greer’s Toyshop will release their new album The Secret in December - featuring a contribution from late former Yes guitarist Peter Banks

Clive Bayley and Robert Hagger
Clive Bayley and Robert Hagger

Mabel Greer’s Toyshop have announced that their new album The Secret will be released on December 8.

The band – which formed in 1966 and morphed into Yes two years later – is comprised of core members Clive Bayley and Robert Hagger, who are joined on the record by keyboardist Max Hunt and bassist Hugo Barré.

The title track also features a solo from late former Yes guitarist Peter Banks, who passed away in 2013, with Bayley writing the song around guitar parts originally recorded by Banks.

The track is a tribute to Banks and Chris Squire who both joined the band in September 1967.

Bayley explains: “I was inspired to do this because Peter’s passing in 2013 was the catalyst for meeting Bob Hagger again and coming up with the crazy idea of re-forming Mabel Greer.

“The result is that we have produced two new albums since then, and released re-mastered BBC tapes from 1967 on the EP Images.”

The Secret is now available for pre-order via the group’s Bandcamp page, while the cover art and tracklist can be seen below.

Mabel Greer’s Toyshop The Secret tracklist

  1. Big Brother, Little Brother
  2. Love’s Fire
  3. Turning To The Light
  4. Angel Sent
  5. More & More
  6. Swan
  7. Image of Existence
  8. You
  9. The Secret (ft. Peter Banks)

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Scott Munro
Scott Munro

Scott looks after and updates Louder’s online buyer’s guides and also scouts out the best deals for music fans from every corner of the internet. He's spent more than 28 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014, where he wrote extensively about rock, metal, prog and more, before moving to the eCommerce team full-time in 2020. Scott has previous written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky.