Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
Drummers "I've analyzed hundreds of players over the years. They're all a part of what I do": Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
Hal Blaine
Drummers Drum heroes: Wrecking Crew legend Hal Blaine, Neil Peart's "six favourite drummers"
Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson backstage at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 17, 2009 in Palm Desert, California
Recording “They all remind me of certain times in my life”: McCartney names his all time top three albums
Adrian Smith and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden lock in onstage as they perform Long Beach in 2003. Smith plays his Olympic White Fender Strat. Harris is on his trusty Precision Bass.
Artists Adrian Smith on how Steve Harris is the secret behind Iron Maiden’s triple-guitar attack
Rush in their pomp as they perform on the Farewell To Kings tour in 1967, with both Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee playing double-neck guitars. Neil Peart's drum kit is similarly grand.
Artists How Rush marshalled Alex Lifeson’s dreams to write a bona-fide prog-rock classic
Roger Taylor and Hank Marvin
Bands "Every one of them said yes": Hank Marvin and Roger Taylor have just remade a classic for charity
Getty Compile of Artist Pics
Artists 9 fresh long reads on tracks with astounding musical moments
  1. Artists
  2. Drummers

6 career defining records of Yes's Alan White

News
By Douglas McPherson published 2 September 2009

Prog rock hero picks his finest

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Alan White

Alan White

While Alan White was sharing his dos and don’ts for drummers with MusicRadar, he also took time out to talk to our friends at Rhythm Magazine about the records which have most defined his career behind the kit.

From backing prog-rockers Yes, to accidentally hanging up on John Lennon, here are the six career-defining records of Alan White, as chosen by the man himself.

Next page: a phone call from John Lennon… no, really

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Live Peace In Toronto 1969 (1969)

Live Peace In Toronto 1969 (1969)

20-year-old Alan was playing London clubs when he received a call from John Lennon. Naturally, he put the phone down…

“I thought it was a friend playing around! But he called back and said, ‘I saw you playing last night, and you’re perfect for my new band. I’ll send a car and meet you at London airport tomorrow’.”

“We rehearsed on the plane - me playing sticks on the back of the seat and Eric Clapton playing acoustic guitar. Then it was straight from the plane to the show: 25,000 people in a football field with a kit I’d never played before. There was no time to think!”

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Imagine (1971)

Imagine (1971)

After playing on Lennon’s hit, Instant Karma, Alan returned to the studio to share drum duties with Jim Keltner on John’s solo masterpiece, including the iconic title track.

“John gave me pretty much free reign in the studio. Whatever I did, he never told me, ‘don’t do that.’ He always said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it! I played vibraphone on Jealous Guy and piano on some tracks.”

“Before we made the album, John gave us the lyrics to every song. He wanted everyone involved to know what every song meant.”

“It was such a great experience for me. At the time I was very young and thought it was just what happened, but it is something you look back on and think, ‘Wow, that was a piece of history’. I really was so lucky.”

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Yessongs (1973)

Yessongs (1973)

Stepping into Bill Bruford’s shoes, Alan made his Yes debut on this triple-disc live set. It was a memorable case of being thrown in at the deep end.

“They said, ‘Oh, by the way, we’ve got a gig on Monday in Dallas, Texas.’ So I had three days to learn all the material. We had one rehearsal and the rest of the time I spent practising at home, listening to the records and trying to figure it all out.”

“I thought it was a little unfair, actually, that they were recording a live album on my first tour, and playing such complex stuff. But, funnily enough, that first night, in front of 10,000 people, I made very few mistakes.”

“I think they wanted to get a more funky, r’n’b feeling into the music, and that’s where I fitted in.”

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)

Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)

This chart-topping double album was Alan’s first studio work with Yes, and gave him the chance to make his mark... and teach the rest of the band to drum.

“We spent an awful long time making this album, over nine months. Musically, it was an adventure into new things, and completely different to anything I had done before.”

“We came up with a lot of diverse rhythms: a bit ethnic at one point, then back to rock‘n’roll, jazz sections and orchestral influences. On Ritual the idea was to take the melody and only play it with drums at the end.”

“Chris Squire (bassist) was playing timpani, Jon Anderson (vocalist) had a cocktail kit... I played a regular kit and taught them all how to play the melody. It became very tribal.”

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Ramshackled (1976)

Ramshackled (1976)

As Rick Wakeman temporarily left Yes to pursue a solo career, so the other members of the band all released solo albums, including Alan.

“Most of the material was from a band I had on the side just prior to joining Yes. We did very little gig wise. We never even had a name. It was just a bunch of guys who got ourselves together in a house in the country, playing every day.”

“I’d go into town and earn a bunch of money doing sessions, and cook big pots of stew to keep everybody alive just so we could make our own kind of music. It was an interesting period, but it set me up drum-wise so I could handle things like Yes music.”

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
90125 (1983)

90125 (1983)

With 90125, Alan and founder/bassist Chris Squire reformed the band once more and scored the hit Owner Of A Lonely Heart.

“Jon and Rick Wakeman had gone on their merry way; Steve Howe was talking about doing something with Asia; so Chris and myself went, ‘Okay...’ – then Atlantic introduced us to guitarist Trevor Rabin.”

“We played some music and decided to make an album. We rehearsed for nine months then started recording with Trevor Horn. Then Jon heard a few of the tracks and wanted to sing on them, and there was nothing we could call ourselves but Yes. So we carried on again.”

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Categories
Drums
Douglas McPherson
Read more
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
"I've analyzed hundreds of players over the years. They're all a part of what I do": Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
Hal Blaine
Drum heroes: Wrecking Crew legend Hal Blaine, Neil Peart's "six favourite drummers"
Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson backstage at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 17, 2009 in Palm Desert, California
“They all remind me of certain times in my life”: McCartney names his all time top three albums
Adrian Smith and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden lock in onstage as they perform Long Beach in 2003. Smith plays his Olympic White Fender Strat. Harris is on his trusty Precision Bass.
Adrian Smith on how Steve Harris is the secret behind Iron Maiden’s triple-guitar attack
Roger Taylor and Hank Marvin
"Every one of them said yes": Hank Marvin and Roger Taylor have just remade a classic for charity
Rush in their pomp as they perform on the Farewell To Kings tour in 1967, with both Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee playing double-neck guitars. Neil Peart's drum kit is similarly grand.
How Rush marshalled Alex Lifeson’s dreams to write a bona-fide prog-rock classic
Latest in Drummers
Phil Collins and Daryl Stuermer
“It was confusing to me": Guitarist Daryl Stuermer on recording Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight
Zak Starkey
"I dropped some beats apparently. I’ve looked and I can’t find them!": Zak Starkey on Who sacking and more
Lars Ulrich on stage, early 1990s
“He, to me, was a role model”: Which A list metal drummer could Mike Portnoy be talking about?
The Who
“I have to be careful what I say": Pete Townshend on Zak Starkey’s protracted dismissal from The Who
The Who
“I got it right and Roger got it wrong”: Zak Starkey provides more details about his sacking from The Who
Liam Gallagher, Sharna Liguz, Nicole Appleton and Zak Starkey attend the launch party of Liam Gallagher's new store Pretty Green on July 29, 2010
“I’ll cry... I’d have done that gig for nothing” Zak Starkey on why he'll miss the Oasis gigs
Latest in News
[Left] Richie Faulkner plays his custom Les Paul Custom while Rob Halford looks on; [right] Late-stage Ozzy-era Sabbath the first time around, with Ozzy cheering on guitarist Tony Iommi
Judas Priest salute the OG metal gods with a cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters mark their 30th anniversary with a new song
Doja Cat
"I could not sing”: Doja Cat says that she now knows how to use her voice “as an instrument”
Fender Chris Shiflett Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
Meet the guitarist who’s worked his dad’s ashes into his Telecaster
MXR MB301 Bass Synth: the six-knob pedal is pictured in use against a petrol-blue background.
“Thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects with killer tracking and sustain”: MXR unveils the MB301 Bass Synth – instant funk for your pedalboard
Future Sound Awards
“The award for best AI song goes to…”: The Future Sound Awards are new music awards for AI music

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...