Peter Banks

Peter William Brockbanks was born in Chipping Barnet in north London, on 15 July 1947, and raised in 37 Alston Road. His father William was an optical mechanic and his mother Ellen a cleaner. He attended Barnet Secondary School, followed by Barnet College of Further Education. Lonnie Donegan was Banks' first major musical influence and inspired him to take up the guitar at around 8 years of age. His parents bought him his records to listen to as well as his first guitar, an acoustic model which he later said "was practically unplayable". His first electric guitar was a Gretsch Tennessean. 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. Banks also cited guitarist David O'List and Pete Townshend as an influence in his early period. ==Career==

Early career and Yes Banks started as rhythm guitarist in the Nighthawks, a local group, in 1963. His first gig took place at the New Barnet Pop Festival. In the following year he left to join the Devil's Disciples with John Tite on vocals, Ray Alford on bass, and Malcolm "Pinnie" Raye on drums. They recorded two covers on an acetate, Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" and Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love", which became a hit record for the Yardbirds one year later. It was Banks' first visit in a recording studio, during which he wore headphones and experienced stereo sound for the first time. He 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 Banks joined the Syndicats, replacing guitarist Ray Fenwick. After leaving the Syndicats, Banks joined the Syn which at the time included Chris Squire on bass, Andrew Pryce Jackman on keyboards, Steve Nardelli on vocals, and Gunnar Hákonarson on drums. They recorded two singles, "Created by Clive"/"Grounded" and "Flowerman"/"14 Hour Technicolour Dream", both in 1967, before they split. Later that year, Banks and Squire joined Mabel Greer's Toyshop with Clive Bayley on rhythm guitar and vocals and Bob Hagger on drums. In the spring of 1968 Banks left the band to join Neat Change, with whom he recorded one single, "I Lied to Aunty May". He was fired from the band after his bandmates wanted to adopt a skinhead look, and Banks refused to cut his hair. Meanwhile, Jon Anderson had joined Mabel Greer's Toyshop as lead vocalist, and Hagger was replaced by drummer Bill Bruford. The four entered a period of rehearsals in London, during which Banks replaced a departing Bayley and keyboardist Tony Kaye was brought in to round out the group. While rehearsing with the new line-up, the band exchanged ideas for a name. Anderson suggested Life and Squire proposed World, but all agreed on Banks' suggestion of Yes, which he had thought of some time before. Post-Yes career 1970s Banks joined Blodwyn Pig for around six months in 1970, following the departure of original guitarist Mick Abrahams. The article was spotted by vocalist Colin Carter, who contacted Banks and invited him to form a band. Following the addition of bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough, the four named themselves Flash and began touring in 1972. 1980s–1990s Banks made a steady living in the 1980s and 1990s as a session musician in Los Angeles, which he enjoyed over time. Banks played on various albums, including those by Lonnie Donegan and Jakob Frímann Magnússon, In 1994 and 1998, Banks was a featured guest at the Yes fan convention Yestival. He co-ordinated the release of the 1997 live compilation ''Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970, and wrote about his days with the band in the liner notes. Around this time, Banks and Geoff Downes played some sessions and the possibility of Banks joining Asia was mooted, but came to nothing. Banks was featured in the 2006 Yes documentary Classic Artists: Yes and the 2009 DVDs The Lost Broadcasts and Rock of the '70s''. After returning to London in the mid-1990s, Banks continued as a session musician and released archive material. He released three solo albums: the all-instrumental Instinct (1993), Self Contained (1995), which features Gerald Goff on keyboards, and Reduction (1997). Later in 2004 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, Banks formed Harmony in Diversity, an improvisational trio with Andrew Booker and Nick Cottam of the music duo Pulse Engine. In Gibson Guitar's Lifestyle e-magazine o February 2009, Banks is listed as one of the "10 Great Prog Rock Guitarists". According to the article, "Before there was Steve Howe, there was Peter Banks. Artistic differences between Banks and singer Jon Anderson prompted Banks's departure from Yes in 1970, but in his little-known '70s band, Flash, Banks used an ES-335 to create several should-have-been prog rock classics. "Lifetime", from Flash's In the Can album, is his tour-de-force." In 2018, a documentary film on Banks' life and career written and directed by Heidi Hornbacher was in production, entitled Claiming Peter Banks. ==Personal life and death==

Banks' first marriage was to American singer and musician Sidonie Jordan (known as Sidney Foxx). They first met in 1974 and co-formed Empire, and divorced in 1985. A longtime friend said he also went through seasonal "dark" periods around February and March. His former business partner and manager George Mizer, who he first met in the 1970s, organised Banks' posthumous business affairs, and discovered that Banks' body was unclaimed in the local mortuary. As Banks had no children or a will, Mizer reached out to Quino, who gave the required approval for the body to be released. There was no money to pay for a funeral or wake, so Mizer setup an online fund for fans to contribute. 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. Mizer kept the ashes, and sprinkled some in areas that meant something to Banks. ==Discography==

Solo • Two Sides of Peter Banks (1973) • Instinct (1993) • Self-Contained (1995) • Reduction (1997) • Can I Play You Something? (The Pre-Yes Years Recordings from 1964 to 1968) (1999, compilation) • The Self-Contained Trilogy (2018, compilation) • Be Well, Be Safe, Be Lucky... The Anthology (2018, compilation including previously unreleased material) As band member Guest appearances ==References==