42 Facts About Peter Banks

Peter William Brockbanks, known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist.

Peter Banks was the original guitarist in the rock bands Yes, Flash, and Empire; he was a guitarist for The Syn.

Peter Banks's father William was an optical mechanic and his mother Ellen a cleaner.

Peter Banks attended Barnet Secondary School, followed by Barnet College of Further Education.

Peter Banks's parents bought him his records to listen to as well as his first guitar, an acoustic model which he later said "was practically unplayable".

Peter Banks studied art and once had an ambition of becoming a zookeeper, but decided against it when he learned the job had unfavourable hours, and pursued music.

Peter Banks cited guitarist David O'List and Pete Townshend as an influence in his early period.

Peter Banks started as rhythm guitarist in the Nighthawks, a local group, in 1963.

Peter Banks found the experience "totally terrifying", and was so traumatised that he started having doubts if he could carry on playing the guitar and work in another studio again.

In 1965 Peter Banks joined the Syndicats, replacing guitarist Ray Fenwick.

Peter Banks was fired from the band after his bandmates wanted to adopt a skinhead look, and Banks refused to cut his hair.

The four entered a period of rehearsals in London, during which Peter Banks replaced a departing Bayley and keyboardist Tony Kaye was brought in to round out the group.

Peter Banks performed on the first two Yes albums, Yes and Time and a Word.

The latter features orchestral arrangements which Peter Banks disagreed with, and he often clashed with producer Tony Colton.

On 18 April 1970, Peter Banks was fired from Yes after their gig at the Luton College of Technology, and was replaced by former Syndicats guitarist Steve Howe.

Peter Banks was a sweet guy and came to many of our early gigs.

Peter Banks joined Blodwyn Pig for around six months in 1970, following the departure of original guitarist Mick Abrahams.

Peter Banks tried to incorporate more arrangements into their simple blues-oriented music, which he later realised did not fit and found his style incompatible.

In later years Peter Banks looked back on this period as a particularly happy one and enjoyed working with his bandmates.

Peter Banks earned some money as a session musician, but found the work restrictive in a creative sense.

Peter Banks' fortunes changed when music reporter Chris Welch wrote an article about him in Melody Maker in June 1971.

The article was spotted by vocalist Colin Carter, who contacted Peter Banks and invited him to form a band.

Peter Banks felt the group lacked the right management, and got angry at Carter and Bennett for often playing with their backs to the audience.

Ray Bennett of Flash was in the group for a period, but he and Peter Banks did not get along and Peter Banks caught Jordan having an affair with him.

Peter Banks made a steady living in the 1980s and 1990s as a session musician in Los Angeles, which he enjoyed over time.

Peter Banks played on various albums including those by Lonnie Donegan and Jakob Frimann Magnusson, and appeared on Romeo Unchained by Tonio K Peter Banks worked with Ian Wallace in The Teabags with Jackie Lomax, Kim Gardner, David Mansfield, and Mel Collins.

Peter Banks accepted and went to the show, but Kaye informed him that Howe did not want Peter Banks to play.

An angered Peter Banks proceeded to drink at the arena bar with comedian Billy Connolly.

In 1994 and 1998, Peter Banks was a featured guest at the Yes fan convention Yestival.

Peter Banks was featured in the 2006 Yes documentary Classic Artists: Yes and the 2009 DVDs The Lost Broadcasts and Rock of the '70s.

Peter Banks released three solo albums: the all-instrumental Instinct, Self Contained, which features Gerald Goff on keyboards, and Reduction.

In 2001, Peter Banks published a book with co-author Billy James, entitled Beyond and Before: The Formative Years of Yes.

Peter Banks was initially involved in a reunion of The Syn in 2003 and 2004, and recorded material with Steve Nardelli, Martyn Adleman, and Gerard Johnson.

Later in 2004 Peter Banks entered talks with former Flash bandmates Colin Carter and Ray Bennett about a reunion, but he fell out with them and was excluded.

In 2004, Peter Banks formed Harmony in Diversity, an improvisational trio with Andrew Booker and Nick Cottam of the music duo Pulse Engine.

Peter Banks formed a second version of the group named Harmony in Diversity II, featuring himself and keyboardist Gonzalo Carrera.

In Gibson Guitar's Lifestyle e-magazine o February 2009, Peter Banks is listed as one of the "10 Great Prog Rock Guitarists".

In 1996, Peter Banks left the US for his childhood home in Barnet, north London, to care for his ailing father.

In 2011, Peter Banks was hospitalised with a case of septicaemia, likely caused from an infected tooth due to dental neglect.

Peter Banks died on 7 March 2013 in his rented flat where he grew up in Chipping Barnet, London, aged 65.

Peter Banks failed to turn up for a scheduled recording session, and a concerned friend had medical staff break into his home, where his body was discovered.

Peter Banks was cremated, after which several friends and associates, including David Cross of King Crimson and original Yes manager Roy Flynn, met for a memorial drink in Denmark Street.