A memorial gathering for Peter Banks has been set for 4 p.m. April 7, 2013 at the 12 Bar Club in London, offering those who loved and knew him best a chance to give the seminal Yes guitarist a proper send off.
Organized by George Mizer, Banks’ longtime personal manager, the event “should be a fun time with Peter’s music playing, and friends and fans meeting and sharing stories,” Mizer tells us.
Mizer says the memorial will include a cash bar, and he is asking fans to join in creating the soundtrack for the event: “Fans can email me their suggestions of songs to play, and I will put together the mix,” Mizer added. His address is [email protected].
Banks, 65, was part of Yes’ initial two ground-breaking studio efforts, then later found success with 1970s acts Flash and Empire. He died on March 7 from an apparent heart attack, after dealing with a string of ailments in recent years, including cancer.
The 12 Bar Club, Mizer reminds, is located on Denmark Street — an historical place in the history of Yes. It was there, after all, that Banks first met Martyn Adelman, an early member of the Syn and the person who introduced Banks to Chris Squire. After working together in the Syn, Banks and Squire would then form part of the early nucleus of Yes. Chris Welch, in the book Close the Edge: The Story of Yes, described Denmark street as London’s version of Tin Pan Alley, full of music publishers, record shops and nightclubs in the late 1960s.
Banks was at work, over his final days, on a live set featuring Flash, and had also participated in an upcoming project called The Prog Collective 2.
Mizer said the memorial event was only made possible with the invaluable help of folks like Dave Wagstaffe, Mike Stewart, and Roy and Suzanne Flynn. More information on the 12 Bar Club is available at www.12barclub.com, or by calling 020 7240 2622.
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