an interview with Chris Squire and Steve Nardelli of the SYN by Robert Silverstein
Before he went on to carve out musical maps with Yes, Chris Squire was a member of prog-pop innovators The Syn—along with Yes / Flash guitarist Peter Banks, singer Stephen Nardelli, drummer Martyn Adelman and the late, great keyboard orchestrater Andrew Pryce Jackman. Although they made inroads with several acclaimed releases, The Syn ceased to exist by the time Yes burst on the scene with their self-titled Lp debut in 1969. In 2005, 40 years on, Stephen Nardelli has reteamed with Chris Squire for an album magnificently etched in that classic U.K. paisley pop / ‘60s symphonic rock sound, echoing the super studio production techniques explored by Yes on any number of their decade spanning releases. To better control their group’s destiny, Squire and Nardelli made a move to establish their own record label, Umbrello, as well as a planned TV station entitled The One TV
Underscoring the Syn history, Umbrello have released a double CD Syn set of ‘60s sides backed by some newly reformed 2004 Syn tracks with Pete Banks on guitar entitled The Original Syn 1964-2004 and a brand new 2005 Syn group lineup and CD entitled Syndestructible. History seems to repeat with this latest departure of Banks, while in comes Yes bass great Chris Squire to finally place the Syn legacy up front and center . Even without the illustrious guitar skills of Pete Banks, Squire and Nardelli made a great move enlisting the support of the Stacey brothers—guitarist Paul Stacey, fresh from his work with Oasis, and his twin brother/drummer Jeremy Stacey. Credit should also go to Paul Stacey who produced, engineered while playing great electric guitar on Syndestructible. Commenting on working with rock icons, Paul Stacey adds, ”Close To The Edge is one of the greatest albums of all time and had a huge influence on me as a musician. It's great to be playing with Chris Squire. I even have a Squire signature Rickenbacker in my guitar collection. Steve Nardelli has a great voice, Gerard Johnson is a super musical talent on keyboards, and Martyn Adelman is really getting back into the groove as a drummer. I want to make a fantastic album with The Syn, something people will remember in 30 years like Close to the Edge. I know we can do it!" Syn are off to a great revival with Syndestructible, even though Squire claims Yes are just on a long holiday for this year. In L.A. on November 2, 2005 Chris Squire and Stephen Nardelli spoke with Robert Silverstein in NYC about the second coming of The Syn, forty years after the start of the band.
{This interview was written and conducted during the first week of November 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma which left so much destruction in that last week of October 2005. With my parents having been dealt, what would turn out to be, an insurmountable blow by Wilma in South Florida I decided to go ahead with the interview. In a slight state of future shock, I spoke by phone in New York with Steve and Chris, who were in L.A. The article originally appeared in an abridged version in the January 2006 issue of 20th Century Guitar magazine. In recent interviews and on his web site Chris Squire has stated that he has left The Syn and has not fully endorsed their current CD, Armistice Day. Even so... it's worth taking a look back at that great vibe created by the Syndestructible CD. -editor}
Martyn J Adelman was the drummer with Syn just before their Marquee gigs started, touring the UK and playing London residencies next to a young Chris Squire. Martyn's later work as a photographer again brought him into contact with Yes. Here, Martyn talks about what Chris Squire was like, the early days of Syn and how he introduced his school friend Peter Banks to the band.
Henry Potts' interview with Martyn was conducted by e-mail in late June and early July 2003.
Following Henry Potts' interview with Martyn Adelman, Stephen Nardelli contacted him and kindly offered to talk about his part in Syn and subsequent work with Chris Squire and Andrew Jackman.
Henry Potts' interview with Stephen was conducted by e-mail in Oct/Nov 2003.
Forgotten Yesterdays
Updates
Downloads
Memorabilia
Discography
Yes Statistics
About Us
Home
The Syn
Overview
Reviews (3)