Yes "Union"

Union is the thirteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 30 April 1991 by Arista Records. Production began in 1990 following the amalgamation of two bands featuring current and previous members of Yes at the time: Yes, formed of Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Tony Kaye, and Alan White; and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH), formed of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford. The album is a collection of tracks written by each group separately; the eight members do not all play together. Production was met with differences from the beginning, including the merger of ABWH and Yes, the group's internal relations, and Anderson and producer Jonathan Elias's decision to have session musicians play parts already put down by Wakeman and Howe.

Union was released to a mixed reception. Most of the band have openly stated their dislike for the album, its production, and the difficulties faced with making it. The album reached number 7 in the UK and number 15 in the US. Three singles were released from the album: "Lift Me Up", "Saving My Heart", and "I Would Have Waited Forever". "Lift Me Up" topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for six weeks. In the United States, Union was certified gold in its first two months by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies. In 1992, Howe's guitar solo, "Masquerade", received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Yes supported Union with a 1991–92 world tour that featured all eight members playing on stage. Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe left the band at its conclusion.

In 1983, Yes reformed following the addition of returning singer Jon Anderson, joining bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, guitarist Trevor Rabin, and keyboardist Tony Kaye. The line-up went on to record Yes' most commercially successful albums, 90125 (1983) and Big Generator (1987), for Atco Records. In 1988, Anderson left Yes and formed Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH), a new group with past Yes members Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford, who also brought in bassist Tony Levin. ABWH released their self-titled album for Arista Records in 1989 and supported it with a world tour. During this time, the remaining members of Yes began to write new material with producer Eddy Offord and held sessions for potential new singers with English Supertramp lead vocalist Roger Hodgson and American singer and bassist of World Trade, Billy Sherwood.

In 1990, ABWH and Levin started to write and record a second studio album at Studio Miraval in Correns, France with producer Jonathan Elias, who had Anderson contribute to his solo album, Requiem for the Americas (1990). Bruford described the material written by Howe, Levin, and himself during this time, before Anderson's involvement, as "terrific", and had high hopes for ABWH's future. Matters became an issue when none of their songs were suitable for radio airplay or release as a single. After several tracks had been put down, Anderson travelled to a studio in Los Angeles, California to record his vocals. While there, he met with Rabin and heard some of the Yes music that was in development and suggested that he sing on it, and expressed a wish for Rabin to contribute a song for ABWH to record. "What I read into that was they needed a single" recalled Rabin, who had written many of Yes's hit singles in the 1980s and sent three demos to the group, including "Lift Me Up". Rabin requested that only one of his demos be used, but Anderson wished to use all three, which started discussions among the two bands' management to have Yes and ABWH work on a single album.


Rabin thought the idea of a merge "was useful and convenient to everyone, because we wanted to go on the road, and it was a quick way". Squire called Yes's involvement into the project as a "salvage job". Howe and Bruford resisted the idea, and saw no need to become part of Yes once again as they had reached substantial success as ABWH. Bruford thought ABWH "was a group in the making ... However, the politicians got involved and that idea was quickly crushed". Following a period of arrangements, Atco agreed to release the Yes members from the label to sign a four-album contract with Arista Records for an undisclosed sum, thus giving the green-light for the album released under Arista. As part of the deal, Atco retained the rights to the band's back catalogue. Squire remembered a "huge, 90-page contract" was produced to settle the various legal issues between the two bands, labels and promoters.

Union was released on 30 April 1991. The album was a success on the charts, reaching its peak of number seven on the UK Albums Chart in May 1991 during a six-week stay. In the United States, it debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number thirty-five, the week of 18 May 1991. The album climbed on the following week, reaching its peak at number fifteen on the week ending 25 May. It was present on the chart for a total of nineteen weeks.

On 2 July 1991, Union was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies.

In 1992, "Masquerade" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Howe described the nomination for his track as "pure justice", following the difficulties in making the album.


Yes released three singles from Union in 1991. "Lift Me Up" was the lead single, released in April 1991. It became one of the band's most successful singles, spending six weeks at number one from its third week on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, later known as the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was number one from the week of 4 May to 8 June 1991. It reached a peak of eighty-six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The second single, "Saving My Heart", released in July 1991, reached a high of number nine on the Album Rock Tracks chart a month later. "I Would Have Waited Forever" was the final single released.