Harold Pinkney

Friday, March 26, 2021 11:42 AM

Steve was correct It Can Happen was earlier in the set in fact straight after Owner of a Lonely Heart.
Came across my notes today which I had recorded during the gig.

Paul

One minor point - I'm pretty sure It Can Happen was before City Of Love, because one thing I clearly remember was they want straight from City Of Love into Starship Trooper without a break.

John

I dont remember too much detail either, even though it was my first time at the NEC. We parked somewhere in a giant car park and had no idea where we were, but just walked in the general direction that everyone else was going.

Our seating was a temporary structure, all boards and scaffolding. I was worried that during some of the stamping and applause after each song the whole affair would collapse. The audience reaction was amazing.

There was a strange mix of fans, some who had been drawn into the music by 90125, so they seemed rather bemused when older songs began, but went wild at the commencement of anything from the latest album.

During Hearts, laser images of two hearts were displayed above the band and they moved around and merged together as the song reached its climax.

Chris's bass solo was the best I have ever seen and was worth the ticket money on its own. As usual, I prayed that the concert might go on all night, but that might have been a little harsh on the band's stamina.

Tom

I don't remember a great deal about the concert. Let's see, cartoons to start, Bugs Bunny I think. They opened with Cinema and Leave It. The microphone wasn't turned on for the first verse, so we missed "One down...". The strange thing was, it was Chris that was trying to sing, and waving madly at the sound guys. Generally the audience reaction was ecstatic. Remember that the last visit was the Drama tour (a one-word note in my diary for the Birmingham show in 1980 says "Disappointing"), and Yes had ceased to be for a time. (I didn't even know they'd got back together until I saw 90125 in a local record store.) I believe that any Yes with Jon Anderson singing would have got a rapturous response. Playing only 3 nights in the whole of the UK also contributed to the reaction. Ah, the days of venues sold out 6 months before the concert.

I remember leaving the hall (to the sounds of Leave It (hello goodbye mix)) thinking that I was glad that they were together again. I thought of Trevor Rabin as a replacement for Steve Howe (a misconception later resolved) and felt that he played the classic songs very well, but different. Tony Kaye played well enough, but wasn't Rick. Jon was in fine voice, and Alan and Chris were solid. I don't recall any duff notes all night, but I remember wondering if they'd ever finish Starship Trooper.

That's about it. Not a lot for a couple of hours of concert, but I remember more about planning for it, going, and coming back than the concert itself. Perhaps that's one reason why boots are so popular.

I remembered that the exit music wasn't that Leave It mix, it was Leave It proper, and they showed the video on the screen used earlier for the cartoons. I would have stayed to watch, never having seen it before, but I was worried about missing my train, and it didn't look _that_ interesting.