Jon & Vangelis

Jon & Vangelis is the collaborative effort between the singer Jon Anderson (better known as lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes ), and the Greek synthesizer musician Evangelos Papathanassiou (better known as Vangelis). Together they released a number of successful albums in the 1980s.

The two artists probably met in the progressive rock scene of London in the 1970s. Vangelis reputedly was to join Anderson in Yes, replacing Rick Wakeman as keyboardist, but this never came to fruition. Nevertheless, Jon contributed vocals to Vangelis Heaven and Hell (1975), harp to Opera Sauvage (1979), and vocals to See You Later (1980). Rumours of Vangelis’s participation in the recording of Olias of Sunhillow, Anderson’s 1976 solo album, have also circulated — aided by Vangelis’s being credited in the album’s liner notes for «his energy» — but both Anderson and Vangelis have said that this was not the case.

The two embarked on a series of albums between 1979 and 1991, producing the major hits «I Hear You Now» (a UK No. 8) and «I’ll Find My Way Home». Anderson wrote the lyrics, and Vangelis composed the music. This was during one of Vangelis’ most productive periods, and a high level of experimentation is evident on some of their tracks.

In 1986, Jon & Vangelis made a few attempts at writing a new album, but none of this work was ever released under the Jon & Vangelis name. However, some of the songs from these sessions appeared in later works, including «Let’s Pretend», the last song on Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and «Sing With Your Eyes», which appeared in 1991 as a B-side on the CD single release of Wisdom Chain / Page of Life.