Peter Banks
Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He was the original guitarist in the rock band Yes, Flash, and Empire; he was also a guitarist for The Syn. Banks has been described as "the architect of progressive music".[1]
For the keyboard player, see After the Fire.
Peter Banks
Peter William Brockbanks
15 July 1947
Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
7 March 2013 (aged 65)
Chipping Barnet, London, England
- Progressive rock
- rock
- improvisation
- Guitarist
- songwriter
- Guitar
- vocals
1966–2013
- The Nighthawks
- The Devil's Disciples
- The Syndicats
- The Syn
- Mabel Greer's Toyshop
- Neat Change
- Yes
- Blodwyn Pig
- Flash
- Empire
- Harmony in Diversity
Early life[edit]
Peter William Brockbanks was born in Chipping Barnet in north London, on 15 July 1947, and raised in 37 Alston Road.[2][3] His father William was an optical mechanic and his mother Ellen a cleaner. He attended Barnet Secondary School, followed by Barnet College of Further Education.[4][5] Lonnie Donegan was Banks' first major musical influence and inspired him to take up the guitar at around 8 years of age.[6] His parents bought him his records to listen to as well as his first guitar, an acoustic model which he later said "was practically unplayable".[4] His first electric guitar was a Gretsch Tennessean. Banks studied art and once had an ambition of becoming a zookeeper, but decided against it when he learned the job had unfavourable hours, and pursued music.[4] Banks also cited guitarist David O'List and Pete Townshend as an influence in his early period.[7]
Career[edit]
Early career and Yes[edit]
Banks started as rhythm guitarist in the Nighthawks, a local group, in 1963. His first gig took place at the New Barnet Pop Festival. In the following year he left to join the Devil's Disciples with John Tite on vocals, Ray Alford on bass, and Malcolm "Pinnie" Raye on drums.[8] They recorded two covers on an acetate, Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" and Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love", which became a hit record for the Yardbirds one year later. It was Banks' first visit in a recording studio, during which he wore headphones and experienced stereo sound for the first time. He found the experience "totally terrifying", and was so traumatised that he started having doubts if he could carry on playing the guitar and work in another studio again.[9] In 1965 Banks joined the Syndicats, replacing guitarist Ray Fenwick.
Personal life and death[edit]
Banks' first marriage was to American singer and musician Sidonie Jordan (known as Sidney Foxx). They first met in 1974 and co-formed Empire, and divorced in 1985.[15] Banks moved to Los Angeles, California in 1976.[10] In 1996, Banks left the US for his childhood home in Barnet, north London, to care for his ailing father.[2] In 1999, he married Peruvian-born Cecilia Quino Rutte. Although Banks found married life "fantastic" at one point, his second marriage ended in a divorce by the early 2000s due to the effects of his medication to treat his depression, which his friends said made him difficult to live with.[4][2] A longtime friend said he also went through seasonal "dark" periods around February and March.[3]
In 2011, Banks was hospitalised with a case of septicaemia, likely caused from an infected tooth due to dental neglect. He also caught Legionnaires' disease.[4] During this time his doctors discovered a cancerous tumour.[3] Banks died on 7 March 2013 in his rented flat where he grew up in Chipping Barnet, London, aged 65. He failed to turn up for a scheduled recording session, and a concerned friend had medical staff break into his home, where his body was discovered. The coroner declared that he died from heart failure.[4][21] His former business partner and manager George Mizer, who he first met in the 1970s, organised Banks' posthumous business affairs, and discovered that Banks' body was unclaimed in the local mortuary. As Banks had no children or a will, Mizer reached out to Quino, who gave the required approval for the body to be released. There was no money to pay for a funeral or wake, so Mizer setup an online fund for fans to contribute. Banks was cremated, after which several friends and associates, including David Cross of King Crimson and original Yes manager Roy Flynn, met for a memorial drink in Denmark Street. Mizer kept the ashes, and sprinkled some in areas that meant something to Banks.[3]
Sources