Mabel Greer's Toyshop Return with New Album 'The Secret' This December
By: Caryn Robbins Oct. 10, 2017
On a new Mabel Greer album ?The Secret? to be released by December 15, and for the first time in 50 years, Peter Banks and Clive Bayley are heard playing a guitar duo. Clive has written a new song around previously un-released guitar parts by Peter Banks. The song is included in the album as a tribute to Peter Banks and Chris Squire joining Mabel Greer in September 1967. ?I did it because reading of Peter?s passing in 2013 was the catalyst for meeting Bob Hagger again and coming up with the crazy idea of re-forming Mabel Greer. The result is that we have produced two new albums since then, and released re-mastered BBC tapes from 1967 on the EP ?Images??; said Clive.
Clive and Bob first met in 1966 - a time when the London underground music scene was an impressive force for future development of a different kind of rock music. Clive at sixteen years old, had already been playing music in a band since the age of 13, he was writing his own compositions and already had an idea of what kind of music he wanted to perform. Bob had previously been for an audition in the band 'The Syn'. The bass player happened to be Chris Squire and the guitarist Peter Banks, it wasn't long before they both joined Bob and Clive in Mabel Greer's Toyshop and the seeds of 'Yes' were planted. In early 1968, Jon Anderson also joined the group, in June Bill Bruford replaced Bob and Tony Kaye joined on keyboards. But in August of that year Clive left the band and they changed name to 'Yes'.
Fast forward to 2013, Clive met Bob again for the first time in 45 years! Both now in their sixties. The first thing Clive said to Bob was 'let's get into the studio, see if we still have the old magic'. The result became the album 'New Way Of Life' featuring Billy Sherwood and Tony Kaye, released in 2015.
This new album of 9 songs 'The Secret' with Max Hunt on keyboards and Hugo Barré on bass will be available on or before December 15, 2017 on CD and digital download at: https://mabelgreerstoyshop.bandcamp.com
A special thanks to Daniel Earnshaw of QEDG Management for providing the Peter Banks recordings.
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