“Some people were cynical – ‘The Yeggles have spoilt it all!’ We were doing a gig in Brighton and someone shouted, ‘Rick Wakeman!’ It was demoralising”: Geoff Downes’ life and times in and out of Yes

Geoff Downes.

From The Buggles to Yes to Asia, keyboard maestro Geoff Downes has earned his place in the prog pantheon. In 2018 he looked back with Prog over a career including numerous side projects, house sharing with Chrissie Hynde and dealing with Yes’ countless infamous dramas.

Everybody needs to start somewhere. For Geoff Downes, that break came in the orchestra pit at London’s New Theatre. It was 1975, and the 23-year-old Downes was playing keyboards in a brand new stage show. “It was my first job after I finished music college,” says Downes, his Northern accent undiluted after decades on the frontlines. “I answered an ad in Melody Maker looking for musicians for a theatrical production, and I got the job. It turned out to be the stage version of The Wombles.” Did he have to wear a costume? “Thankfully I didn’t,” he says with a laugh. “They were bloody unhealthy things!”