Steve Howe

1959
As a teenager, Steve was influenced by the guitar generation and the excitement of rock 'n' roll. This led to his receiving his first guitar at age 12, a Christmas present from his parents. It was an an f-hole acoustic, which prepared him for his signature Gibson ES-175. Inspired by artists as diverse as Bill Haley and the Comets, Les Paul, Jimmy Byant, and Tennessee Ernie Ford (whose band included Speedy West), Steve taught himself to play the guitar, eventually performing with friends first at youth clubs and later at local pubs and ballrooms.

1963
Steve joins the Syndicats, performing R&B covers.

Bodast
1964
Steve acquires his legendary ES-175D, special ordered from the Selmar music store in London.
1964 March
Steve's first recording is "Maybellene," by the Syndicats. The band releases three singles in all.
1965
Steve's second group is The In Crowd. He appears on the last two of three singles they release.
1967 July
Working as a session musician with producer Mark Wirtz, Steve performs on the hit “Excerpts from a Teenage Opera”, featuring In Crowd (and subsequently Tomorrow) band mate Keith West on vocals.
1967-1968
The In Crowd metamorphosed into Tomorrow, a band that epitomizes the British psychedelic scene. Their first single, "My White Bicycle," released in May, 1967, charts in the U.K. The second single, "Revolution," comes out in September, and a self-titled album is released in February, 1968.


1968
Steve records an album with Bodast. It is not released until 1980.

1970 Spring
Steve joins Yes.

1970 July 17
Steve plays his first show with Yes, at the Lyceum in London.
1971
The Yes Album is released. In the U.K. it climbs to number 7 in the charts, and in the U.S. it reaches number 40. In the spring Yes tours Europe, supporting Iron Butterfly (Yes would purchase the headliners’ sound system after the tour ends). In June Yes plays its first concert in North America in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with the first U.S. show performed in Seattle two days later. In November the band will begin their second U.S. tour at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles.


1971
Steve acquires an ES-345TD from Gibson in return for appearing in an ad.
1972
In January, Fragile, featuring new keyboard player Rick Wakeman, is released, and reaches number 4 in the U.S. and number 7 in the U.K. The opening track "Roundabout", co-written by Steve and Jon, will climb to number 13 in the U.S. charts. Later that year Yes releases Close to the Edge, the last album with Bill Bruford. A month later the group begins its third U.S. tour in Providence, Rhode Island, followed by Japan and Australia in March. Alan White replaces Bruford.
1973
Yessongs, a three-LP live set, is released in May, reaching number 12 in the U.S. charts and number 7 in the U.K. In October Tales from Topographic Oceans is released in the U.K. It goes to top the U.K. charts, with the European tour beginning in November

1973
Yessongs, a three-LP live set, is released in May, reaching number 12 in the U.S. charts and number 7 in the U.K. In October Tales from Topographic Oceans is released in the U.K. It goes on to top the U.K. charts, with the European tour beginning in November.

1973 October
Steve purchases his Fender Steel guitar, the Dual Professional 6.
1974
In January the double album is released in the U.S. and earns a gold disc based on ship-out sales before its release in the U.S. It reaches number 6 in the States. The tour reaches America in February, opening at the University of Florida at Gainsville. In April the world tour concludes in Rome, Italy. Rick Wakeman departs shortly thereafter to be replaced by Patrick Moraz. The Relayer American winter tour begins at Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. That winter Relayer is released in the U.K. and the U.S. It reaches number 5 on the U.S. charts and number 4 in the U.K.
1975 February 27
Yesterdays, a collection of tracks from the first two albums that also includes the guitar-driven "America" and the early b- side, "Dear Father," is released in the U.S. It reaches number 17 in the charts. In the U.K. It reaches number 27.
1975 April
The Relayer British spring tour begins in Newcastle. The band will go on to perform before a large crowd at Queen's Park Rangers Football Grounds, London. The concert is filmed, but shelved for nearly two decades. Eventually, it is released as Live at Q.P.R., direct to video. In June Yes returns to the States for the North America summer tour, opening in Denver, Colorado. This year the Yessongs film is released in theaters.
1975 October
Steve Howe's first solo album, Beginnings, is released. It reaches number 63 in the U.S. and number 22 in the U.K. charts.
1976
In May Yes begins a new tour in Roanoke, Virginia. Included in the set are several selections from the band members’ solos album, including Steve’s “Break Away From it All”. In June Yes, Peter Frampton, and Gary Wright perform for more than 100,000 fans packed into Philadelphia's J.F.K. Stadium for an outdoor show. This is followed by another outdoor gig at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, which is radio broadcast in its entirety. The show's encore, a cover of The Beatles' "I'm Down" featuring a blistering solo from Steve, lands on the Yesyears box set years later.
1976
The Relayer tour closes in August, and the band moves to Montreux, Switzerland to begin recording Going for the One. Wakeman steps in when Moraz leaves.
1977
Going For The One is released in July, reaching number 8 in the U.S. A tour of America begins that month, with Europe following in October.
1978 May
Yes checks into Advision Studios in London to record Tormato, which is released in September. It reaches number 10 in the U.S. and number 8 in the U.K. "Don't Kill the Whale" hits number 36 in the U.K. A North American tour in the round follows in August, followed in October by the only European appearances at London's Wembley Arena.

1979
Another North American in the round tour begins in April including an extensive tour across Canada.
1979 July 19
Steve performs at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Steve solos on acoustic guitar, performing 11 songs including "Meadow Rag," "Mood for a Day," "Ram," "Surface Tension," "Second Initial," "Clap," "Anyway You Do," "Bob Dylan's Medley," "Country Mix".
1979 October
Yes joins producer Roy Thomas Baker in Paris to begin recording a new album. The sessions end when Alan White breaks an ankle roller skating.
1979 November
The Steve Howe Album is released. It reaches number 68 in the U.K. charts.
1980
Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes replace Jon and Rick. Drama is released in August, hitting number 18 in the U.S. and number 2 in the U.K. A tour with this lineup immediately follows, including three sellouts at New York's Madison Square Garden where Yes breaks Led Zeppelin's record for the most sellouts ever at the historic venue. The third show there is broadcast live on FM radio. In November the tour moves to England. That month the live album Yesshows is released. It reaches number 43 in the U.S. and number 22 in the U.K. Steve Howe


Steve Howe


1981 April 18
Yes officially breaks up. Trevor Horn went on to be a successful producer, and Steve would contribute to albums produced by Horn in the mid-80s. These included The Pleasure Dome (1984) and Liverpool (1986) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Propaganda (1985) by Secret Wish.
1981
Steve is voted Best Overall Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine for the fifth year in a row. For this he was inducted into GP's Hall of Fame. At that stage he was the only one in that category—as well as the first rock guitar player—to achieve that.
1982
Steve guests on the Dixie Dregs album Industry Standard, performing a duet with their guitarist Steve Morse.
1982
Steve joins forces with other prog rock alumni John Wetton, Carl Palmer, and Geoff Downes to form ASIA, The self-titled debut shoots up U.S. and U.K. charts with a world tour following.. Meanwhile a new edition of Yes forms without Steve.
1983
Asia’s second album, Alpha is released. John Wetton suddenly leaves the band, with Greg Lake (ex of Emerson Lake and Palmer) is brought in to replace Wetton for the band's ASIA IN ASIA show for MTV in December.
1984
Greg Lake leaves ASIA and Wetton returns. Irreconcilable differences with Wetton causes Steve to leave the band while rehearsing for the third album.

Steve Howe



1986 April
GTR, featuring Steve and ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, is released, reaching number 11 in the U.S. charts. A successful world tour follows driven by the single "When The Heart Rules The Mind". Hackett leaves the band later that year.
1987
Robert Berry joins a revamped GTR. Other names are considered for the new lineup, including Steve Howe and Friends and Nero and the Trend (the latter developing into Nerotrend). Despite recording a few demos the project would end in October.
1988 November
The guitar compilation Guitar Speak includes Steve’s ”Sharp on Attack”, and Steve contributes to Ultravox keyboardist Billie Curry’s solo album Transportation.
1989 March
Seraphim, Steve’s first collaboration with keyboardist Paul Sutin, is released.


1989
The Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album is released. Jon Anderson, disenchanted with Yes, recruited Steve, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford to record some tracks. The project developed into an album—and ultimately a band—christened Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe; Bruford’s Crimson band mate Tony Levin handled bass. ABWH embarks on a world tour, with the ABWH performance in Mountainview, CA, broadcast live over pay-per-view; it is subsequently released to video as An Evening of Yes Music Plus, the tag line for the tour.

1990 March 12
A short North American ABWH tour begins in Vancouver, BC, ending at Madison Square Garden in NYC on March 23—the last performance for the band under this moniker.


1991
Steve plays classical guitar on the title track of Queen’s Innuendo album.
1991
ABWH and the four then-current Yes members join forces for an album and tour titled Union. The North American tour begins in Pensacola, FL, ending in Seattle, WA on May 21. In April the Union album is released, a combination of tracks from the two Yes factions. The ABWH tracks contains numerous overdubs by a variety of outside musicians, done without the consent of members including Steve, who disowns the album. The Union tour of Europe follows. In August the Yesyears box set is released.
1991 July
Turbulence, Steve's third solo album is released. It includes Bill Bruford on drums.
1992
Five Yes dates in Japan in February, starting and ending in Tokyo with the final Union concert performed on March 5. Steve, Rick, and Bill will not be invited to remain in Yes, who goes on to record Talk with the 90125 lineup.
1992
Geoff Downes invites Steve to contribute to the Aqua album. Steve tours with the band as a "Special Guest Artist". Steve also produces his friend Martin Taylor’s album Artistry.
1993 July
Steve performs solo throughout the UK, the start of the Not Necessarily Acoustic performances. With only four guitars In tow, Steve rips through a set of selections from his many solo and band albums. Steve Howe


1993 August
The Grand Scheme Of Things is released.
1993 September
Symphonic Music Of Yes offers post-Union Yes music from Howe and Bruford.
1993 November 22
The Not Necessarily Acoustic tour hits North America at the Belly Up in Solano Beach, CA, ending in Montreal on December 19.
1994
Mothballs dusts off some of the earliest Howe material.
1994 October 11
Another solo tour, this time titled Pulling Strings, begins at the Bottom Line in NYC.
1994 December 13
Steve takes his first trip to South America, performing four dates in Argentina beginning in Cordoba.
1994 December
Not Necessarily Acoustic, a live album, documents the previous year's performances.
1995 January 21
Pulling Strings moves to Japan for four dates starting on Tokyo.
1995 Spring
Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye leave Yes, and are replaced by Steve and Rick Wakeman.

1995
Tales From Yesterday, a Yes tribute album. features Steve performing "Turn Of The Century" with Annie Haslam. The two also collaborate on a single release, “Lily’s in the Field”. Voyagers, the second collaboration with Paul Sutin is released.
1996 March 4-6
The reunited "Classic Yes" lineup of Anderson, Howe Squire, Wakeman and White perform three concerts in San Luis Obispo, California. The shows are recorded, and appear on two double-CD releases, Keys To Ascension and Keys To Ascension 2.
1996 March
Steve produces Martin Taylor, joining him on numerous guitars from the vast collection of collector Scott Chinery. The result, titled Masterpiece Guitars, will not be released until 2002.
1996 May
Guitar Rondo, Steve’s official web site, opens. Steve would take an active role in the site, conducting auctions for gold albums and select guitars, as well as answering fan inquiries.
1996 May 24
Following his appearance at the Classic American Guitar Show in NYC on May 18 & 19 Steve receives an honorary Ph.D. in music from Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY.
1996
Keys To Ascension is released. In October. Yes makes promotional stops for Keys to Ascension in New York City and Los Angeles.
1996
Homebrew, a collection of alternate takes and home-studio demos, is released.
1997
Open Your Eyes is recorded in the summer, and is followed by a North American tour. Steve Howe


1997 October-November
Open Your Eyes, Keys To Ascension 2, and Beyond And Before (a collection of vintage BBC recordings) are released.
1998
The European stint of the Open Your Eyes is followed by Mexico and Brazil, with another American tour that summer before moving to Japan. In November the band will record their next album in Vancouver, BC.
1998
Steve’s son Dylan joins dad on the all-instrumental Quantum Guitar.
1999
The Ladder is released in September. The Ladder tour begins in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The House of Blues performance in Las Vegas, Nevada is filmed and later released as House of Yes.
1999 March
Pulling Strings, a live album, documents Steve's second round of solo performances.
1999
Portraits of Bob Dylan features Steve and friends paying tribute to an early inspiration. Martin Guitars produces a Steve Howe signature 0018 model.
2000
The Ladder tour reaches Europe. Later that year the Masterworks tour begins in Reno, Nevada.
Steve Howe

2000
Homebrew 2 is released in June, and features more rare home-studio demos and alternate arrangements of well known Howe music. In the fall Steve presents another one-man show on his In the Groove tour.
2001
Steve releases Natural Timbre with Dylan Howe on drums. He also produces and plays on Oliver Wakeman’s 3 Ages of Magick.
2001
Yes releases Magnification, the first Yes album to incorporate an orchestra since their second album. A U.S. tour with orchestra accompaniment follows ending at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on September 8; Steve flies home the next day. The European leg begins in October.
2002
Rick Wakeman rejoins Yes, touring North America twice this year.
2002
Steve releases Skyline. Paul Sutin is also featured playing keyboards and percussion. Masterpiece Guitars is also released. Gibson produces a Steve Howe signature ES-175 model guitar.
2003 August
Yes tours North America accompanied by Dream Theatre.
2003
Yes tours Europe in the spring and summer on the Full Circle Tour. At summer's end the band tours Japan, Singapore, Hawaii, and Australia--the latter for the first time since 1972.


2003
Elements is released by Steve Howe's Remedy. The album is an eclectic mix of rock, blues, and jazz.


2004 March
Steve Howe's Remedy tours Europe, playing a variety of songs from all of Steve's solo albums. His band consists of 2nd guitar: Ray Fenwick; Keyboards: Virgil Howe; Bass: Derrick Taylor; and Drums: Dylan Howe.
2004
Yes tours North America in the spring and Europe in the summer, playing larger venues; this was to accommodate an elaborate stage set designed by Roger Dean.
2005 May
Steve releases Steve Howe's Remedy on DVD. Solo tour in Europe occur this month, including a Master Class for the Steve Howe Appreciation Society.
2005 June
Spectrum is released. It features Dylan and Virgil Howe, Tony Levin, and Oliver Wakeman.
2005 October
Steve contributes to Billy Sherwood's tribute album, Back Against the Wall, a tribute to the Pink Floyd. He is featured on "Goodbye Blue Sky". Steve also releases Homebrew 3.
2006
Steve tours the Eastern US and Europe; appearances include a performance with the Yes tribute band Fragile.
2006 January
The original members of Asia announce their reformation and a tour beginning in late August of 2006.
2007March-July
Asia tours North America, Europe, Latin America, and Japan. The band also releases the DVD Fantasia: Live in Tokyo in August.

Pheonix

Motif

The Haunted Melody
2007 May
Steve launches The Steve Howe Trio, a jazz ensemble that features Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley on organ.
2007 September
Steve Yes joins the Yes tribute band Fragile for a series of shows.


2008 April-May
Asia tours UK, US, Japan, and Europe, and records a new album titled Phoenix, the first album from this lineup since Alpha.
2008
The Steve Howe Trio performs in March and July. Releases from Steve's label Howesound include his solo album "Motif" and "The Haunted Melody" from the Trio.
2008 Nov-Dec
Yes cancels a summer tour after Jon Anderson fell ill. Later in the year Steve joins Alan White and Chris Squire for the In the Present tour, which also featured Oliver Wakeman and Benoit David.
2008 Nov-Dec
Yes tours the USA with Asia opening, and Steve performs with both bands.
2009 August
Martin Guitars announces a new Special Edition guitar: the MC-38 Steve Howe.
2010 January
The Steve Howe Trio tours the UK..
Steve Howe
Omega

2010 February
Yes tours the eastern half of the US.

2010 March
Travelling, a live album from The Steve Howe Trio, is released.
2010 April
Asia begins a tour of Europe in support of their new album Omega.
2010 May
Asia releases Omega, and Steve serves up another helping of demos with Homebrew 4.