Director's Word

Impact recently went Stateside to catch up with a few of Yes' old friends. Michael Tait (stage designer), Roy Clair (sound engineer), Eddy Offord (producer), Phil Carson and Jerry Greenberg (former Atlantic Records executives).

Chris Welch kept a diary...

January 21st-22nd
The small town of Lidditz, Pennsylvania, proved an especially fascinating location. It is the home of both Tait Towers and Clair Brothers Audio, organisations with strong ties to Yes. Michael Tait invited Impact to film inside his industrial sized complex in the heart of Amish country. In a land where locals still dress like 18th century settlers and drive horse drawn buggies, there is a hive of rock'n'roll activity. Tait Towers' technicians work around the clock welding together multi-million dollar set pieces for the Rolling Stones and Madonna. Unwary visitors risk tripping over iconic items such as the bronze AC/DC cannon and Ozzie Osbourne's water jet in a fantasy factory that seems like Disneyland meets Ford Motors.

The founder reminisced about driving Yes to their first London gigs for a few pounds a night. Mr. Tait now lives in a medieval style castle, complete with a tower and turrets, which he built himself and resembles the surreal world created by the artists Roger and Martyn Dean for so many Yes album covers. On the day impacted visit his castle the ultimate 'Tait Tower' was covered in ice and snow. It was reassuring to know the structure could easily withstand a Pennsylvanian winter. He had made and laid every brick in the tower himself.

Roy Clair of Clair Brothers, situated close by Tait Towers and has even more sumptuous offices, decorated with gold and platinum discs. Roy, an integral part of the Yes team during their U.S., ensured the group played to huge audiences with the best possible sound systems. A former Mayor of Lidditz, his company has grown so large it tracks a worldwide network of daily events and concerts by global satellite. He to0 had fond memories of the young British band that came to America in search of fame and fortune.

January 22nd-23rd
Eddie Offord, who once had a song written about him called 'Are You Ready Eddie?' was found aboard his private yacht, moored at a marina on Hilton Head Island, near Charlotte, South Carolina. Impact flew down to his island in a twin-engine propeller plane that swooped over rivers and coastal inlets. On arrival the interview had to be conducted on the deck of his gently swaying yacht as a chill January breeze blew in from the Atlantic. A relaxed Eddie explained, that he spends his time sailing the oceans in search of peace and solitude, having recovered from decades of exposure to blistering heavy rock. But his eyes twinkled with good humour as he recalled the many hours spent helping to create such masterworks as 'Starship Trooper' and 'Roundabout.'

January 24rd-29th
It was back to rock'n'roll and the sunshine of a Hollywood hotel to complete American filming sessions with final interviewees Jerry Greenberg and Phil Carson, the former Atlantic Records executives long associated with Yes. Both expressed the view that Yes were long overdue for recognition in America's 'Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.'