Did Yes’ Chris Squire — a notable influence on bassist Geddy Lee — almost end up producing Rush’s Grace Under Pressure back in 1984?
In a new Q&A posted at Yes’ official site, Squire says he was part of a group of potential candidates to helm the project that also included Trevor Horn — who was then just coming off producing the platinum 90125 for Squire and Co.
Rush was in search of a producer after parting ways with long-time collaborator Terry Brown, who had been working with the band since 1975’s Fly By Night, but had fallen out of favor during the sessions for the previous Signals project.
Lee, Neal Peart and Alex Lifeson also approached Steve Lillywhite (U2, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads) about working with them on the songs that would become Grace Under Pressure, but he belatedly quit. It’s not clear whether Squire and Horn were part of the process before or after that split.
Ultimately, Rush decided to produce the new project themselves, with an assist from Peter Henderson (King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Supertramp).
But not before very nearly blending their musical histories with fellow prog legends Yes.
“I was a possible candidate to produce a Rush album, but when I showed up there, Trevor Horn was sitting next to me,” Squire says, laughing. “I said to Trevor ‘What are you doing here?’ and he said: ‘Oh, I’ve been asked to come and meet the band because I might be producing them,’ and I said: ‘So have I!'”
Chris Squire mentions meeting Lee around the time of Rush’s 1980s-era stop at Wembley Stadium in London, which would have been before the sessions for Grace.
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