Remember When: The Buggles Briefly Took Over Yes

Part of the fun of being a Yes fan is arguing the relative worth of the various incarnations of the famous prog rock band. All bands endure their share of lineup changes, but the comings and goings of the members of this collective could confuse a super-genius.

Case in point: That time in 1980 when three members of the existing band took the rising British act The Buggles into the Yes fold whole-hog. The strange hybrid of a band then went out and made an album that managed to sounded eerily faithful to the band’s classic sound, while also revamping it just enough for the heady ’80s. Here is the story of that album (Drama) and the strange set of circumstances that went into its making.

Video Meets the Classic Rock Stars

For all their lineup changes, Yes has proven to be a remarkably resilient outfit, and the quality of their recorded output has rarely stumbled. That said, the Tormato album from 1978 was a somewhat star-crossed affair, as separate, competing perspectives from band members on just about every aspect of the record contributed to it being a letdown.

The hope was that working with hot producer Roy Thomas Baker on their next album would help the band restore some of its lost momentum. Instead, the problems only increased when Baker sided with bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, and drummer Alan White in wanting a harder sound. That left singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had written some folk-influenced pieces for the sessions, out in the cold.

As that version of Yes imploded, the two-piece outfit called The Buggles was thriving. Their innovative and prescient 1979 single “Video Killed the Radio Star” earned members Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes considerable acclaim. They also happened to share management with Yes.

Drama Indeed

Originally, Horn and Downes were asked if they might write some music for Yes. As they were both huge fans, they agreed to do it. When they headed to the studio, they were surprised to find only Squire, Howe, and White present. Horn asked where Jon Anderson was, but no clear answer was given.

When the five men got together, something clicked, and it was then that the offer was given to Horn and Downes to join Yes full-time. The quintet went to work on the album Drama, which was about as fitting a title as you could imagine, considering how it came to be. It also summed up the music, as Horn and Downes’ contributions leaned into the seat-of-the-pants thrill ride that classic Yes music always seemed to represent.

It’s hard to hear any element of the synth-pop The Buggles represented in Drama. Horn even pitched his voice nice and high so that it often mimicked Anderson’s chirp. Released in August 1980, Drama consisted of just six songs, most of them long pieces like “Machine Messiah” and “Tempus Fugit” that swooped and soared in the band’s typically unorthodox but exciting fashion.

A Short-Lived Outfit

While American audiences seemed to have no problems with the reconfigured Yes lineup, their native UK backers were harsher. Horn had expected that kind of blowback, but it still was difficult on Downes and him. If that didn’t seal the fate of this particular version of the band, their typically restless nature did.

Howe and Downes loved working together so much they splintered off to form Asia with fellow classic rock vets John Wetton and Carl Palmer. Meanwhile, there were clearly no hard feelings surrounding Horn. When Anderson returned to the fold, joined by new guitarist and powerhouse songwriter Trevor Rabin, they asked Horn to produce. The resulting album, 90125, was the biggest hit of the band’s career when released in 1983.

While you’re never going to get a consensus from Yes fans, the general opinion is Drama is a worthy part of the band’s continuum, rather than a strange one-off. If nothing else, it proved that you can take two bands and jam together into one, as long as the newer outfit is willing to pay proper homage to the mother ship.

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