Steve Howe

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Steve Howe at a Yes concert in 1977
Steve Howe at an Asia concert in 2006

Stephen James Howe (born April 8, 1947 in Holloway , North London ) is a British guitarist who was best known for his participation in the bands Yes and Asia .

Life

Psychedelic beginnings

Steve Howe got his first guitar at the age of twelve and began to practice under the influence of Bill Haley , Jimmy Bryant , Tennessee Ernie Ford , Chet Atkins , Barney Kessel and Les Paul and eventually to play at smaller gigs in clubs. His first band was The Syndicats , which he joined in 1963. The "Syndicats" played rhythm and blues cover versions. In March 1964 they released the first of three singles, a cover version of Maybellene . Also in 1964, Howe bought a Gibson ES-175 D, an electric guitar model that would become his trademark in the years that followed. The following year he switched to his second band, The In Crowd , around the singer Keith West , with whom he released two more singles.

In July 1967 Steve Howe worked as a studio musician on West's first real hit - a solo project - with, Excerpts from a Teenage Opera, also known as Grocer Jack . After that, The In Crowd changed the line-up and name. Tomorrow became one of the leading English psychedelic rock bands. Their first single, My White Bicycle in May 1967, was a great chart success and is now considered a classic of the genre. A second single called Revolution was released in September, and an album was released in 1968.

Howe left the band, however, and formed Bodast, a band that also recorded an album. This was not released until 1980, because the record company Bodast was under contract went bankrupt. While waiting - it turned out to be in vain - for publication, Howe turned down offers from The Nice and Jethro Tull .

For Yes (1970–1980)

In the spring of 1970 he joined the progressive rock band Yes , where he replaced founding member Peter Banks ; the first of many reshuffles at Yes. The first appearance of the new formation ( Jon Anderson , Bill Bruford , Steve Howe, Tony Kaye , Chris Squire ) took place on July 7, 1970 in the London Lyceum. In 1971 the first album was released with his participation, The Yes Album . It is the group's third album and is still considered - not least because of Howe's guitar work - as the first album of their “classic phase” (up to and including Going for the One , 1977). On this and the following album Fragile you can find the first Howe pieces for solo guitar, the classics Clap and Mood for a Day , his most famous solo pieces to this day. Howe got involved more and more in the band's composition process and formed a songwriting team with singer Jon Anderson who was responsible for pieces such as "Roundabout" (by Fragile ) or entire albums ( Tales from Topographic Oceans ) . Howe also enriched the band with a tonal variety by playing numerous different stringed instruments ( pedal steel guitar , Vachalia , Coral Sitar Guitar and numerous different acoustic and electric guitars) on studio albums and in concerts . He also contributed to their success with his stylistic diversity, u. a. with country , jazz and folk elements. Howe initially stayed with Yes until 1980, which saw numerous changes in the line-up during this time.

During this first time with Yes, Howe released two solo albums (1975 and 1979, see below).

With Asia (1981–1985)

After Yes broke up at the end of their drama tour, Howe met singer and bassist John Wetton , a former member of King Crimson and UK , among others.The two musicians began writing songs until a new one under the aegis of manager Brian Lane Band called Asia came together. You ultimately also belonged to Geoff Downes , formerly with Yes (before with The Buggles ) and Carl Palmer , previously drummer with Emerson, Lake and Palmer . With this line-up, the band recorded two albums, Asia (1982) and Alpha (1983).

The debut album Asia , which with its bombast / stadium rock represented a radical departure from the progressive rock of the seventies, was able to place itself in the top chart regions to the surprise of everyone involved . The single Heat of the Moment also became a hit and it turned out that the band had booked halls that were way too small on their first tour.

Efforts were therefore made to repeat the great success and this time to do everything right. Alpha offered simpler, more catchy songs than its predecessor. He lacked the virtuosity of "Asia" and the sales success was limited.

John Wetton then left the band due to personal differences with Steve Howe. Greg Lake , a singer and bassist from Emerson, Lake & Palmer , was hired to replace it . Lake wanted to direct the musical style in a more demanding direction, but this was rejected by the other musicians. Therefore, John Wetton was brought back, which, however, caused the departure of Steve Howe. Howe was replaced for Astra , the third album, by ex- Krokus guitarist Mandy Meyer .

With GTR (1985–1987)

In 1985, at the suggestion of the former Yes manager Brian Lane, he and the guitarist Steve Hackett , formerly with Genesis , founded the band GTR , with which Howe and Hackett wanted to make guitar-focused rock music. ("GTR" stands for guitar ). Other band members were Max Bacon (vocals), Phil Spalding (bass) and Jonathan Mover , who had previously been a brief drummer for Marillion . This band released the very successful album "GTR" (with the single "When The Heart Rules The Mind"), which instead of classic progressive rock contained American-influenced AOR rock. The album contains the Howe solo track "Sketches In The Sun".

An equally successful tour followed. But as early as 1987 Hackett split from the band in 1986 due to a dispute with Howe. Howes attempts to continue GTR without Steve Hackett failed. A second album, which had already been recorded, was never officially released. Over the years, however, songs from this second album have appeared again and again - on bootlegs , but also on regular albums by Steve Howe ("Running the human Race" on "Turbulence") and Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe ("Birthright") and on albums by Steve Hackett, Max Bacon , Robert Berry and Asia .

Both GTR albums were produced by the Asian keyboardist Geoffrey Downes .

Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe and Yes (1989-1992)

In 1989, Jon Anderson , who had recently left Yes for the second time (see Big Generator ), brought four former Yes musicians, Anderson, Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford , together to record a classic 1970s-style album. Since the musicians, after Chris Squire, who had the rights to the name Yes , resisted the band's revival, was banned from calling themselves Yes by a court decision , they released their first (and only) album under the name Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe out as a group Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe . Howe and Anderson wrote most of the music on the Reunion album. A successful tour was followed by work on a second album called Dialogue , which was never finished because of tension in the band and a lack of first-class material as well as an idea from Anderson for a large-scale band project that ultimately led ABWH and Yes to an eight-member The band merged, which seemed to promise great commercial success. When this failed to materialize after an album composed of very heterogeneous material from the two bands ( Union , 1991) and another world tour, Yes was reduced to the 80s line-up of Anderson, Kaye, Rabin, Squire, White under pressure from the record company.

Howe then briefly returned as a guest musician to Asia, who now played with John Payne instead of John Wetton, and then turned back to his solo career.

Howe's third solo album Turbulence was released during his time with Yes (1991). It was followed by The Grand Scheme of Things (1993) and the live album Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994).

Back at Yes (since 1995)

In 1995 Howe returned to Yes and is still a permanent member of the band. He has since recorded a number of studio and live albums with the band.

During this time Howe worked with many other artists, including the renaissance singer Annie Haslam and Billy Currie (then keyboardist for the successful band Ultravox ), for whose instrumental work "Transportation" (1988) he recorded the guitar parts, and as a guest musician for Asia .

In 1996 the first homebrew album was released, which contained demo versions and excerpts from sessions by Yes, among others. Howe continued this series in the following years. He has also released seven other studio and live albums since returning to Yes.

Asia-Reunion (since 2006)

Since Yes have been taking a break since 2004, Howe was able to join a reunion of the classic Asian line-up in 2006. The four founding members of the group organized a successful world tour on the occasion of the band's 25th anniversary, which is documented on the album Fantasia: Live in Tokyo .

Solo albums

During his first time with Yes, Howe's first solo album, Beginnings , was released in 1975 . The Steve Howe album followed in 1979 . Both albums contain a wide range of (guitar) styles, from classical to country and jazz to pop and rock. Howe, who sees himself primarily as a guitarist and composer, was also always interested in singing. B. he has often supplemented the harmony singing, as the third voice after Anderson and Squire.

Howe has been pursuing his solo career with greater concentration since the early 1990s. Studio and live albums of a wide range of styles are released in irregular succession, multi-guitar albums such as the comeback album 'Turbulence', which was positively received by critics from all areas of the music scene, with the exception of the hard rock / metal scene and on the u. a. Bill Bruford and Billy Currie play, or the album 'Quantum Guitar'. Quiet, sometimes meditative mood images, such as the album 'Skyline' or, together with Paul Sutin, the album 'Seraphim' or albums with more band character, such as 'The Grand Scheme Of Things' or 'Elements'. His now four-part homebrew series, in which he publishes old demos and session recordings for solo pieces, but also for songs by Yes, Asia, ABWH and GTR, has also met with surprising interest .

A DVD released in 2002 documents Howe's career.

style

Steve Howe is essentially influenced by jazz , country music and classical music and combines these directions with rock music (and sometimes South American rhythms).

His very eclectic style is best described by his first two solo pieces, Clap , from The Yes Album , and Mood for a Day , from Fragile . Clap is a syncopated guitar rondo that has its roots in ragtime and country blues . Mood for a Day, on the other hand, a piece inspired by classical guitar music and provided with baroque elements, which Howe plays on a western guitar in the live version, also offers borrowings from flamenco with rasgueado and golpe .

Howe's sound is mainly influenced by his preferred Gibson ES 175. In 2002 a Steve Howe Signature ES-175 was launched in his honor.

Discography (selection)

With yes

see Yes

With Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe

see Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe

Solo albums

  • Beginnings (1975, UK: silversilver)
  • The Steve Howe Album (1979)
  • Turbulence (1991)
  • The Grand Scheme of Things (1993)
  • Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994)
  • Homebrew (1996)
  • Quantum Guitar (1998)
  • Pulling Strings (1999)
  • Portraits of Bob Dylan (1999)
  • Homebrew 2. (2000)
  • Natural Timbre (2001)
  • Skyline (2002)
  • Steve Howe (DVD, 2002)
  • Elements (2003)
  • Homebrew 3. (2005)
  • Spectrum (2005)
  • Homebrew 4. (2009)
  • Time (2011)
  • Love Is (2020)

With Paul Sutin

  • Seraphim (1989)
  • Voyagers (1995)

With Billy Currie

  • Transportation (1988)

Solo activities

  • Various Artists - Guitar Speak (1988)
    • Sharp on attack
  • Various Artists - Night of the Guitar Live! (1989)
    • CD
      • Skeches in the Sun
      • worm
      • All Along the Watchtower
    • 2-LP
      • Clap medley
      • worm
      • All Along the Watchtower
    • Video Vol. 1
      • Sharp on attack
    • Video Vol. 2
      • Clap medley
      • All Along the Watchtower

As a guest musician

  • Queen - Innuendo (1991): Track Innuendo
  • Various Artists - Polar Shift (with Constance Demby and Paul Sutin , 1991)
  • Various Artists - The Outpatients (with Fish , 1993): Track Time and a Word
  • Fish - Songs From the Mirror (Edition 1998): Track Time and a Word

swell

  1. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 102.
  2. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 102.
  3. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , pp. 102-107 ( Steve Howe / Yes. Mood For A Day ).
  4. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK

Web links

Commons : Steve Howe  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Howe, Steve
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Howe, Stephen James (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Holloway, North London