Whether you think Trevor Rabin was the man who ruined Yes or the lifeline that saved the band from oblivion in the 1980s, there’s no denying his virtuosity or his ability to write a decent tune. But the South African has always been a far more interesting and stylistically varied musician than he’s given credit for.
Born in Johannesburg in 1954, Rabin grew up in a liberal, musical household during the apartheid era and learned classical piano from the age of six. Taking up the guitar six years later, it soon became his obsession. Rabin first pursued a career as a session musician in South Africa and then formed the successful band Rabbitt in the early 70s. A move to London towards the end of the decade saw him sign to Chrysalis and release three solo albums in a hard rock/AOR style before moving briefly into production work with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Thin Lizzy offshoot Wild Horses.
