Have Yes Re-recorded Fly From Here With Trevor Horn On Vocals?

No

Current rumours abound on the Internet suggest that Yes may be preparing to release a new version of Fly From Here featuring Trevor Horn on vocals.

Horn of course produced the 2011 album, that featured then Yes singer Benoit David. David left Yes in February 2012 after suffering respiratory issues, replaced by current Yes frontman Jon Davison. Horn, who along with Geoff Downes won the Outer Limits award at this year’s Prog Awards for their work with Buggles, has appeared live with Yes three times this year, and of course was the singer for Yes when they recorded and toured the Drama album in 1980.

The current rumours come from a current Yes podcast conducted by writer and Yes confidante Jon Kirkman in which he refers to a May 2016 interview with Horn in which the musician and producer talked about his work with the band. According to the Where Are They Now- Former Yes Members website, Kirkman is reported as stating that Horn told him “the last recording he worked on with them was Fly From Here […] Trevor has re-recorded all the lead vocals for that album and I asked him if it’s coming out and he said yeah probably next year, so that… that would make it the second album from the Drama line-up.” Kirkman then adds that Benoit’s vocals are also on the album and that Horn “thought it was a nice thing to do.”

The same website also reports that in a June 2016 interview with the North American journalist Mitch Lafon, Yes guitarist Steve Howe, when discussing working with Horn, stated “We have something up our sleeves which are going to surprise some people.” At a show in October 2016 Howe is reported to have referred to a forthcoming project involving Fly From Here, but did not add any details. As we reported back in issue 69, Buggles are working together again and that Howe night possibly be involved in that work, be it studio or live.

Jerry Ewing

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.