Yes = Tap?

Given the shambolic tour chronicled in This Is Spinal Tap, you'd think bands would run away from any hint that they inspired the fictional British metal group. Far from it. It's some sort of strange badge of honor for some to say "we inspired Tap."

The latest contenders? Yes, if former (who can tell these days?) keyboardist Rick Wakeman is to be believed. In a column in last Sunday's UK Daily Mail, Wakeman (who's written a book, apparently) writes about his personality clashes with the rest of the band:

The singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer were all thoughtful people - interested in philosophy and alternative lifestyles and this was an image at odds with the fact that the keyboard player was a beer-swilling, darts-playing, meat-eating oaf, one who would happily eat a curry in the middle of a show.

Rick did in an interview once famously say he "drank for England," after all. As for those Tappish moments:

There are people who think the film This Is Spinal Tap is simply a very funny 'mockumentary'. Well, with Yes we lived it.

Take the hilarious scene in the film in which the bass player is trapped in a giant pod - that actually happened to Alan one night.

It also occurred during the Tales From Topographic Oceans album tour. That was not my favourite Yes album and I said so at the time. Maturely, I renamed it Tales From Toby's Graphic Go-Kart.

The grandiose elements of Yes were spiralling out of all control and the stage set was unbelievable. It had been designed by Roger Dean, who had done the album cover, and reflected the record's artwork.

The drum kit was inside a giant seashell, which would open after the show started, revealing Alan doing his stuff. However, one night when the curtain went up the gearing jammed and he was trapped inside.

The problem was, it was a sealed unit, so Alan quickly began running out of air.

As this was live on stage in front of thousands of people, Alan, the consummate professional, continued playing. Meanwhile the roadies began trying to smash the pod open, staying out of the line of sight of the crowd so no one noticed.

Before long, they had to start pumping oxygen in until eventually, somehow, they prised the wretched thing open with pickaxes.

By now the audience must have noticed the rescue effort because as the pod sprang open a huge cheer went up, and Alan stumbled out gasping for breath.

We may have a winner! Still, I'm fairly confident in saying that Jon Anderson was never in danger of crushing any stage scenery.

The whole article is a good read, even if you're not a Yes fan. It's a humorous chronicle of 70s rock excess.