Jon and Vangelis

Jon and Vangelis
Jon Anderson and Vangelis, 1981
Background information
Origin	Greece United Kingdom
Genres	Synth-pop electronic pop[1]
Years active	1979–1991
Labels	Polydor Records Arista Records Higher Octave Records
Past members	Jon Anderson Vangelis

Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson (lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes) and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991.^[1]

In 1974, Vangelis was considered as a replacement for Rick Wakeman as keyboardist in Yes,^[1] and although the job went to Patrick Moraz, it led to several collaborations with Anderson, who contributed vocals to Vangelis' Heaven and Hell (1975) on the song "So Long Ago, So Clear", harp to Opera Sauvage (1979) on "Flamants Roses" and finally vocals to See You Later (1980) on "Suffocation" and "See You Later".

They recorded their first album together, Short Stories, in 1979,^[1] producing the major hit "I Hear You Now" as well as "One More Time". Anderson wrote the lyrics and Vangelis composed the music. In 1980, Anderson left Yes and released his second solo album, Song of Seven. Vangelis released his See You Later album the same year, with Anderson contributing vocals to two songs. The two reunited to record their second album, The Friends of Mr Cairo, in 1981, including the songs "Friends of Mr Cairo" and "State of Independence". Later pressings of the album included the UK top 10 hit "I'll Find My Way Home".^[2] In 1983, Anderson rejoined Yes and they released the album 90125. Jon and Vangelis released their own album, Private Collection, the same year.^[1]

In 1986, the duo made a few attempts at writing a new album, but much of this work was never officially released under the Jon and Vangelis name. Twelve tracks were compiled on 1991's Page of Life, while other songs from these sessions appeared in later works, including "Let's Pretend", the last song on the 1989 album Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. Anderson ultimately took it upon himself to rework Page of Life, which was released in 1998 in the United States only with nine tracks. In 2011, Anderson approached Vangelis for a possible new collaboration but he did not receive a reply.^[3]

Vangelis died on 17 May 2022.^[4][5][6][7]

Notes:

• Jon and Vangelis discography