After a brief illness, Alan White, the longstanding drummer for the prog-rock band Yes, died at home at the age of 72.
White, who was born in County Durham in 1949, began playing the drums at the age of 12 and joined his first band, the Downbeats, a year later. With a spot in Billy Fury’s supporting band, John Lennon’s career took off, and after seeing a performance by another White band, prog rockers Griffin, he was hired as the drummer for the Plastic Ono Band.
The band expressed their astonishment and surprise by saying they were “shocked and flabbergasted” by the news.
White was one of the group’s longest-serving members, having joined in 1972 to replace Bill Bruford (who joined King Crimson).
Alan White children: Casse White, Jesse White
Casse White and Jesse White are the children of the late drummer.
With Squire, Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, and guitarist Trevor Rabin, White created Cinema, whose tapes wooed Jon Anderson back to the fold they soon revived the Yes brand.
With the song Owner of a Lonely Heart hitting No. 1 in the US in 1983, the group’s most commercially successful period started.
