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Master of Images – Barry Plummer’s Yes Legacy – Part 2 – Squire’s new bass with Miguel Falcão – 724

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we welcomed bass maestro Miguel Falcão back onto the YMP, this time to talk about the bass that appears in Barry Plummer’s photo set from Redan Recorders in February 1980. Chris shows off his new instrument to the camera so we have a great insight into his feelings, shortly after he received his customised Electra MPC bass. He seems rather pleased with it, as you can see in the photos I have included, appropriately watermarked, in the show notes for this week.
I kick off the conversation by explaining what Yes were doing in Redan Recorders and why Barry Plummer’s visit was fortuitous, at least for those of us interested in the history of the world’s greatest progressive rock band.
Miguel then takes us through all the details of the Electra bass, delving deeply into the weeds in the way we enjoy very much on the YMP.

  • What was special about this bass guitar?
  • Where and how did Chris use it?
  • What happened to the instrument in the end?

Please do add any other details you know about this remarkable bass in the comments below.


Barry Plummer 2026 Calendar is still available!

ORDER HERE

Apply £11.00 off with the promo code wh4y4pk3

Enrich your Prog year with iconic images of Yes in the 1970s, taken by the legendary rock photographer, Barry Plummer.

Enjoy 12 beautiful colour and black and white photographs of Yes in the studio and live, capturing the essence of the world’s greatest progressive rock band. With this limited-edition calendar on your wall throughout 2026, you’ll agree that Barry Plummer is, indeed, the Master of Images!

(A flat shipping fee will be added at checkout depending on your location.)

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Yes – The Tormato Story & Tales from Topographic Oceans – Yes Album Listening Guide

Available now!

YesMusicBooks.com

YMP Patrons:

Producers:

  • Joseph Cottrell
  • Wayne Hall
  • Ken Fuller
  • Jeffrey Crecelius

Patrons:

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Episodes

Yes (sort-of) Unplugged – 696

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

As you will hear, I was looking at one of the amazing photos in the Barry Plummer Calendar (available now from YesMusicBooks.com) recently, when I noticed something peculiar about Chris Squire. I think what Barry has captured is a unique moment in Yes concert history. I don’t think Chris ever did this in any other situation than the shows on the 1975 Relayer tour – and maybe not all of those performances. I have watched the QPR video many times but I hadn’t realised exactly what was going on until I saw this photo and then re-watched the QPR performance.

After watching that QPR version, Mark and I also took a careful look at a much later version, from the Yes Acoustic video. It’s very different.

I’ve included a heavily watermarked version of the Squire photo below but if you want to enjoy the full-quality version, you know what to do. Order the calendar now while there’s still time to receive it before the New Year.

So, what do you think I’m on about? Stay tuned for the full rabbit hole exploration with Mark.

  • What’s unique about the QPR live situation?
  • What is that guitar?
  • Which is the ‘better’ version?

See if you agree with us and then leave a comment below.


Barry Plummer 2026 Calendar is now available!

ORDER HERE

YMP Listener discount code – KVKBKC8Z

Enrich your Prog year with iconic images of Yes in the 1970s, taken by the legendary rock photographer, Barry Plummer.

Enjoy 12 beautiful colour and black and white photographs of Yes in the studio and live, capturing the essence of the world’s greatest progressive rock band. With this limited-edition calendar on your wall throughout 2026, you’ll agree that Barry Plummer is, indeed, the Master of Images!

(A flat shipping fee will be added at checkout depending on your location.)

ORDER HERE


Yes – The Tormato Story & Tales from Topographic Oceans – Yes Album Listening Guide

Available now!

YesMusicBooks.com

YMP Patrons:

Producers:

  • Joseph Cottrell
  • Wayne Hall
  • Ken Fuller
  • Jeffrey Crecelius

Patrons:

Become a Patron!
Categories
Episodes

A Chris Squire Master Class – 694

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius


This week Mark and I took a careful look at the iconic Chris Squire Star Licks video from 1990. Chris is at his relaxed and chatty best and shows off his skills, his guitars and his pedal board. It’s a wonderful time capsule of Yes goodness and Mark and I hugely enjoyed chatting about our reactions to it. The conversation goes down a couple of unexpected routes and we venture, predictably, into the weeds of both kit and musical theory! I promise it’s not tedious though – how could it be with your two favourite podcast hosts in tandem?

You’ll find the videos we talk about below.

  • What secrets does Chris share?
  • What kit does he show off?
  • What do we learn about Yes music from his bass lines here?

See if you agree with us and then leave a comment below.


Preorder the Barry Plummer 2026 Calendar!

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STANDARD VERSION

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Yes – The Tormato Story & Tales from Topographic Oceans – Yes Album Listening Guide

Available now!

YesMusicBooks.com

YMP Patrons:

Producers:

  • Joseph Cottrell
  • Wayne Hall
  • Ken Fuller
  • Jeffrey Crecelius

Patrons:

Become a Patron!
Categories
Episodes

Fragile Solo Songs Revisited – 683

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I discussed the ‘solo’ songs on Fragile. Each band member contributed an individual project, some with more success than others. The style and approaches used by Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe and Squire are very different and they certainly prompted an interesting discussion as you’ll hear.

Drama and Fragile Live!
Drama and Fragile Live!

With Yes soon to embark on playing the whole of Fragile live for the third time, we also touched on how these songs come over live – and if it’s even a good idea to include them alongside the 4 ‘proper’ songs.

  • Which of the solo songs is the best?
  • How do they differ in approach?
  • Should they be played live?

Yes – The Tormato Story & Tales from Topographic Oceans – Yes Album Listening Guide

Available now!

YesMusicBooks.com


YMP Patrons:

Producers:

  • Joseph Cottrell
  • Wayne Hall
  • Ken Fuller
  • Jeffrey Crecelius

Patrons:

Become a Patron!
Categories
Episodes

Chris Squire – bass lines we love – 619

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week would have been Chris Squire’s 76th birthday. To celebrate his legacy, Mark and I chose 3 of our favourite Squire bass lines and also chatted about his signature sound and how he achieved it. Make sure you add your own selections to the comments on the show notes for this episode and let’s celebrate the legacy of the world’s greatest bassist together.

  • What are your favourite Squire bass lines?
  • How did Chris achieve his sound?
  • Did he always take the same approach?

Let us know if you agree with us!


Check out the progress on my other podcast – https://anthem52.com/

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Yes – The Tormato Story

Available now!

TormatoBook.com


YMP Patrons:

Producers:

  • Joseph Cottrell
  • Ken Fuller
  • Jeffrey Crecelius

Patrons:

Jim Morrison Jon Pickles Declan Logue
Gary Betts Aaron SteelmanMichael Handerhan
Barry Gorsky Steve Perry Doug Curran
Martin Kjellberg Todd Dudley Rachel Hadaway
Lind  Paul Hailes Craig Estenes
Mark James Lang Steve Rode David
Bob Martilotta John Holden Stephen Lambe
Dem Fred Barringer Scott Colombo
Chris Bandini David Heyden John Thomson
Mark Baggs John Cowan John Parry
Dave Owen Simon Barrow Steve Scott
Terence Sadler Steve Dill Robert Nasir 
Fergus Cubbage William Hayes Geoff Bailie
Steven Roehr Lobate Scarp Geoffrey Mason
David Watkinson Tim Stannard Robert Vandiver
Brian Sullivan David Pannell Jamie McQuinn
Miguel Falcão Paul Tomei Michael O’Connor
Brian HarrisHogne Bø PettersenGuy DeRome
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Theme music

The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes concerts. My theme music is not take from a live concert – I put it together from: archive.org