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Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius
Unless you have already read my book, Yes The Tormato Story, you may not recognise the name Derek Dearden. However, you have certainly heard the results of his amazing technical wizardry. This is another deep dive episode but it also contains much of interest to any Yes fan. Derek was a delight to speak to when Mark and I interviewed him a few months ago and I’ve been keeping this fascinating interview under wraps so that early readers of the book had a few surprises to discover. If you don’t like spoilers, then consider coming back to this episode at a later date. I won’t be offended.
Quite a bit of this conversation was used in the chapter entitled The Other Drums in my book but even if you have read that, I’m sure you’ll love hearing Derek explaining how it all came about in his own words. To whet your appetite, Derek was employed at Advision as a technician and then went on to found a company very closely associated with Alan White
- What did Derek Dearden create for Alan White?
- How did it all come about?
- What else did Derek invent?
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Producers:
- Joseph Cottrell
- Ken Fuller
- Jeffrey Crecelius and
- Wayne Hall
Patrons:
| Aaron Steelman | Dave Owen | Mark James Lang | Paul Tomei |
| Joost Maglev | David Heyden | Paul Wilson | Martin Kjellberg |
| Bob Martilotta | Lind | Michael O’Connor | William Hayes |
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| John Cowan | Tony Handley | Robert | Gary Betts |
| Jim Morrison |
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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
12 replies on “Technological Musical Magician, Derek Dearden – 585”
A wonderful, insightful interview with Mr. Dearden! Thanks to all of you for expanding our knowledge once again.
Thanks Doug. Yes, Derek is such a wonderful chap.
Excellent interview guys. He is such a talent, well captured as always.
Great interview and so important to capture these inner circle friends, workers, tech guys and more while you can. Enjoyed that guys.
Thank you Dave.
What a wonderful with Mr. Dearden! It cleared up a question I’ve had for a long time, since I saw Jon Anderson’s solo tour in 2006 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. What was that pedal he was depressing for string synth sounds to augment his acoustic guitar? Mystery solved! It was Derek’s invention! Worked quite effectively I would say.
My JA story:
I met Jon after the show when he was signing cd’s in the lobby. I told him that I had taught a class in mythology and when we read the story of Pygmalion & Galatea, I played the recording of Turn of the Century for the students. Jon’s response was: “You get it!”
What a wonderful interview with Mr. Dearden! It cleared up a question I’ve had for a long time, since I saw Jon Anderson’s solo tour in 2006 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. What was that pedal he was depressing for string synth sounds to augment his acoustic guitar? Mystery solved! It was Derek’s invention! Worked quite effectively, I would say.
My JA story:
I met Jon after the 2006 show when he was signing cd’s in the lobby. I told him that I had taught a class in mythology and when we read the story of Pygmalion & Galatea, I played the recording of Turn of the Century for the students. Jon’s response was: “You get it!”
PS, I saw Steve Howe’s solo show that same year, and got to see him fuss at people who were talking LOL!
Good little stories there Brian and I agree with Steve tbh, you shouldn’t be talking over him playing an acoustic number, you should be listening.
Thanks Brian. We aim to please! Delighted that we managed to help you discover the answer to your puzzle! Thanks for the Jon story as well!
Another thoughtful and insightful contribution to Yes history. Thank you.
Excellent and fascinating episode, even for someone like me who is not especially knowledgeable about electronic instruments. I credit the talent of the two interviewers, and to the impressive inventor Derek Dearden himself who explained his creations clearly and simply enough for us non-techies.
(Oops, sorry, didn’t proofread!)