In 2021, Ricky Phillips – then bassist with Styx – instructed Prog of his appreciation for late Sure counterpart Chris Squire, and the way issues went once they lastly met and later toured collectively.
“I used to be possibly 19 the primary time I heard Sure, and as a bass participant my ears gravitated in direction of the unbelievable, twangy tone of Chris Squire. To this present day, his sense of timing on a tune like Roundabout represents unparalleled perfection to me.
Together with Paul McCartney and John Entwistle, Chris turned one among my greatest influences as I grew up listening to King Crimson, Jethro Tull and ELP. I cherished that progressive music took me away from the normal components of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-to-fade. It represented considering exterior of the field – being harmful sufficient to vary time signatures.
I hadn’t recognized that Tommy Shaw would wave the flag of progressive music once more on Styx’s two most up-to-date albums, The Mission [2017] and Crash Of The Crown [2021]. What a blast we’re having with that – I needed to take issues even additional on Crash and so they needed to rein me in; however that’s okay!
A few years after I’d began, I met Chris on the NAMM commerce present in California. After I launched myself I mentioned one thing like, ‘I actually owe you for being such an enormous affect.’ He fired again with, ‘Nicely, pay up, mate!’ I invited him to see Dangerous English, the band I used to be in, per week later – and he got here, which was a giant thrill.
Only a few years earlier than Chris handed, Sure and Styx toured collectively. I watched these guys just about each evening from the soundboard and it made me really feel 19 once more. At one present Chris introduced his daughter Xilan up and danced together with her within the wings whereas we performed!
I’d used Alan White for a monitor on a challenge with Fergie Fredericksen [of Toto], so additionally on that tour Alan invited me for a lunch with him and Chris. One afternoon Chris supplied me a guided tour of his rig, which was cool – I had no thought how a lot stuff he used to create that inimitable sound of his.
He was only a actually candy man; I really feel so lucky that I obtained to hold with one among my heroes on some form of a real, pleasant stage.
