Watkinson Jon Anderson & The Warriors

The Road To Yes
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-78952-638-7
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 256 Seiten

Jon Anderson is the enigmatic lead singer and founding member of Yes. He is also a composer, artist, writer, dreamer, lyricist, poet and musician, with a career spanning more than fifty years. Many books have been written about the band, but until now none have covered Jon's early years in his first band, The Warriors, in any sort of detail. This group played a key role in developing Jon's Anderson's vocal range, work ethic and determination to succeed, as well as giving him valuable experience in the music business, to be of invaluable help as his career blossomed.
David Watkinson takes us on a journey from the Lancashire beat music scene in the early 1960s to the vibrancy of London later in the decade. In the short time The Warriors existed - from 1963 to 1967 - they released a single, appeared on TV and in a movie and spent a year following in the Beatles footsteps as a working group in Germany.
As well as providing a complete history of The Warriors, this book also follows Jon's subsequent career in London, via appearances with Gun and his brief solo career as Hans Christian. He finally met Chris Squire and found a home in Mabel Greer's Toyshop, as that group gradually morphed into Yes during the summer of 1968. The book includes new interviews with Jon and many members of The Warriors, who were in the band through its various line-up changes, most for the very first time. It also features a newly-researched family tree, never before seen photographs, both of the Warriors and the first line up of Yes, plus many items of memorabilia and an exclusive look into the band's diaries. It closes with a comprehensive discography and a collectables section.
This unique and meticulously researched book will delight both Yes fans and students of the 1960s music scene. It is essential reading for all lovers of the world's greatest progressive rock band, and fans of the genre's finest vocalist - Jon Anderson.

The Author
David Watkinson was born in Bolton, Lancashire. He has a background in antiques, furniture, sales and the automotive world. He is currently working within the field of historic furniture restoration in London, and his interests include the arts, music, classic cars, cinema, antiques, collectables, and being creative. The author of the bestselling history of the band Perpetual Change (Plexus, 2001), he has been a passionate admirer, collector and historian of the band Yes for over 40 years, even though his mother said he would grow out of it in 1975! He lives in West Sussex, England.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Watkinson, David

Leseproben

1. Beginnings

A Star is Born

The Lancashire mill towns of Bolton, Accrington and Nelson are not perhaps the most likely places to launch an internationally successful singing career. Yet for Johnny Anderson, these towns were the first stepping stones on the path to joining one of the greatest bands in the world. Born into a working-class family, little Johnny had ambitions in life and was never going to be satisfied shifting milk churns around forever, as he did in his early years of employment. Although Accrington itself was far from the hub of the musical revolution in the 60s, it was one of the many towns that knew a new musical scene was on its way. The effect of American music was filtering into the everyday lives of the working classes and changing the social environment. With the advent of music systems (radios and gramophones) becoming more accessible to the average household, teenagers were immersing themselves in music. It was an exciting time to be growing up. The enthusiasm and hype in the music scene were difficult to escape, especially when The Beatles, four cheeky Liverpudlians, began to make a name for themselves, and sold-out performances at The Cavern Club, so close by. It was almost possible to taste and touch the excitement.

It was a Wednesday on 25 October 1944 in Accrington, Lancashire, that Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson) came into the world. He had three siblings: his oldest brother, Stuart, was born in the late 1930s, followed by another brother, Anthony (Tony), born in 1941, and finally a sister, Joy, who was the youngest of the family, arriving in July 1949. They grew up in what is still referred to by many, as a two-up-two-down terraced house, at 13 Norfolk Street. These small houses were so-called because they had two rooms both upstairs and downstairs. The house was set on a cobble-stoned row of terraced working-class houses, primarily built for the local workforce, each one exactly the same size as its neighbours. Built side by side, with no green grass in sight, they were small, but very well constructed brick buildings. These designs sometimes featured a little front walled garden of brick and stone, and if they were lucky, to the rear of the house, the residents would get a flagged, paved, yard area. This would be enclosed by high walls, and most likely, had an outside toilet. A gate led to an outer path or walkway which divided the houses.

Jon’s home was only a short distance from the greener terrain of local farms and the Lancashire moors, which were windy and cold in winter, but a joyous escape into nature in the summer. The harmonious and friendly northern way created a feeling of a community. However, not everyone shared the same dreams. Johnny didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his contemporaries or his predecessors. He didn’t want to go down into the pit or get an apprenticeship in the local area. He had bigger dreams.

Delving into their Roots

We need to go back to Jon’s parents for clues as to what sparked his interest in a potential career in music and showbiz. Jon’s father, Scottish- born Albert, was a hardworking man who had multiple jobs – as many did in those days – to make ends meet. He worked as a shop-keeper, a dancer, comic and salesman in the local town of Rishton. Albert was a sociable and outgoing man who had performed for the army entertainment section, ENSA (The Entertainments National Service Association). Indeed, Jon says that his father was essentially a show-off. Hard-working and fun, he worked for the family, making sure its life was as good as it could be in tough economic times.

Jon’s brother, Tony, remembers his childhood fondly, recalling:

As a family, it was tough for our parents, because the war years had taken their toll, and money was very short. We had no bathroom in the house, but had a tin bath in the kitchen, which was rather cold and unpleasant! We would have to heat up the water in a kettle to fill the bath up.

It was hard for dad, as he would go out in the snow, wind, rain or (occasionally!) the sunshine, and travel to Blackpool, Blackburn or often even further afield, selling his wares door to door. With the bad weather to deal with, along with the smog – from chimneys and cars when he was out, from the coal fire burning at home – it was all too easy to get health problems. They affected Father badly – and as a result, the family income was also affected. Dad would get colds, the flu, and, eventually, much more serious illnesses, resulting in our mother having to care for him for over ten years.

Jon and I were only farmhands. We were very close – and we still are. We had to work hard for the family. Father used to keep a scrapbook about Jon after he got ill. Jon’s career was a big interest to him. He was proud of Jon, and his son’s success and that kept him going while he was ill. I’m not sure who has that scrapbook now, possibly Jon.

Growing up, Jon and I shared a room, and we used to sing ourselves to sleep. We had the room over the back door, which overlooked the small back yard. Stuart had the room to the left. I used to ride my motorbike up and down those cobbled streets in later years. It’s still the same even now if you go there.

Jon’s mother, Kathleen, also contributed to the upkeep of the family by working in the mills, as many had done before her. In the nineteenth century, the cotton trade had revolutionised and transformed the area. Cotton was moved by road, rail and river around the country and a century on, the giant industrial mills remained the principal employer for many in Lancashire. They were huge factories with hundreds of workers, spread across several massive floors, but with very poor working conditions. They were noisy, dangerous places, with scant regard given to the health and safety of the workers. Nevertheless, they were places where women could work hard, support their families, and be a part of the community.

It was a hard life with little spare money for the Andersons. But Jon’s parents did have a means of escape from the grind of day-to-day living, in the unlikely form of ballroom dancing. They were talented as well as passionate about dancing, becoming East Lancashire County champions. Jon recalls the many cups and awards his parents won, which were proudly displayed on the mantelpiece over the fireplace at home. Although his parents were not musicians, it was clear that this theatrical part of their lives helped inspired him to pursue his career in music. Jon, as a very young child, recalls seeing his father on stage. He specifically remembers that he wore a kilt and was telling jokes, noting that entertaining people could be enjoyable, even at such an early age.

Time for School

Johnny attended St. John’s Infants School, on Maudsley Street, not far from Norfolk Street in Accrington. He was a happy student, receiving good reports from his teachers, who said that Jon fitted in well at school. It does, however, appear that Jon liked to sing a lot, to the point that he would be told off. Surprisingly, though, he didn’t display any real interest or talent in musical instruments. More interested in drawing, Johnny was reportedly a likeable young man, and friendly to his classmates. One of his teachers, Mrs Smith, recalls Jon, describing him as ‘A lovely looking little boy with a happy disposition.’

Jon shared his memories of his old school and the surrounding area of Accrington when revisiting the town with his wife, Jane, in 1994. He visited the Accrington Stanley stadium, recalling:

I remember running on here in 1955 – I was a mascot for Accrington Stanley. They got thrown out of the league because they went bankrupt. It sounds a bit like my life, really!

Jon remembered an occasion at school, during a pantomime, when he got up on stage and sang ‘Rock around the Clock’. The singing bug clearly gripped Jon at an early age. He would always attempt to hit the high notes, but to no avail. Jon remembers:

In the 1970s I was singing top E. I can’t believe I was hitting all those notes all the way through. When I was young, I could never sing falsetto. At choir, I would try to sing these top notes. The teacher would say ‘Anderson, for God’s sake, shut up! Turn it down or you can sing outside of the room!’

School’s out!

Although Jon enjoyed school, it didn’t fulfil him. He recalled his days at secondary school in a 1972 interview:

The school was called St. Christopher’s Secondary Modern, it was a newly opened school when I went there. The school did nothing for me. They didn’t seem to have any idea of what should be taught to children. They didn’t tell you what the world out there was really like.

For Jon, by the age of fifteen, he knew his priorities lay elsewhere, and that he was needed at home to help with the family. He tried attending an agricultural college in St Michael’s, but hated it, in spite of the years he had spent working on the farm. He was back at the family home within a week.

While still attending school, Jon had worked on the local Huncoat Hall Farm, becoming adept at all the farm duties, including mucking out the animals. This taught Jon the benefits of hard...