About Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (sometimes referred to by the acronym ABWH) was a permutation of the progressive rock band Yes. The group consisted of vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboard player Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe. These Yes alumni had played together on the most popular recordings by Yes in the early 1970s. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe recorded one self-titled studio album in 1989. A live recording from their subsequent concert tour was released in 1993. Although conceived by Anderson as being a Yes re-union, others in the band were keen to distance themselves from the "Yes" name. At the time, the name was co-owned by Howe, Alan White and Chris Squire. As Squire and White were still continuing with the Trevor Rabin '90125' Yes lineup, it was not possible for ABWH to use the "Yes" name anyway. Anticipating this problem, Jon Anderson suggested they call themselves "The Affirmative," but the other band members felt that was disingenuous. The name "No" was also suggested, but in the end, they decided to simply name themselves after the members of the band, despite the very legitimate criticism that it made them sound like an accounting firm. When Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe toured, they titled their shows "An Evening Of Yes Music Plus." ABWH were sued by Yes in an attempt to prevent any mention of Yes in the ABWH promotional material. This seems to stem from an agreement before the release of Yes' 90125 album between Yes, Howe and Wakeman over the use of the Yes name in the promotion of other activities. Eventually, ABWH and Yes resolved their differences and produced a Yes album titled Union that included recordings originally intended for separate albums by both groups. Fans tend to regard ABWH as Yes in all but name, and songs from the solo album have been included on subsequent Yes compilations.