Trevor Rabin

Trevor Rabin is the South African-born rock guitarist, song writer and producer. He is best known for his involvement in UK prog-rock band Yes.

Rabin learned guitar and piano as youth, and played in a couple of bands as a teenager. His involvement in his first serious band Rabbitt was curtailed by National Service in the South African army, though he rejoined them a year later in time for their debut album Boys Will Be Boys.

South Africa’s apartheid policies, in force at the time, made South African performers largely unwelcome throughout the world. Rabin decided to leave the country, and Rabbitt, despite the success of their second album, A Croak and a Grunt in the Night. He left the band to pursue a solo career, and released his debut Beginnings in the UK in 1978.

In tandem with performing, Rabin became increasingly involved in production, working with ex-pat South African Manfred Mann among others. After three low key solo albums, on which Rabin worked with artists including Ray Davies and Jack Bruce, he linked up with Chris Squire. Squire was in the process of forming his own band, after the break of Yes. The band grew and eventually, with so many ex-Yes men in the group, including the lead singer Jon Anderson, they resurrected the name Yes.

Rabin’s first album with Yes, 1983’s 90125, with Trevor Horn on production, was unlike their previous proggy output and they scored hits with the synth-rock singles “Owner of Lonely Heart” and its follow-up “Leave It”. Rabin played on further releases Big Generator, Union and Talk, but at the same time he had released one solo album and finally decided to leave Yes in 1995 to concentrate on his own music.

He embarked on a new career, writing film scores, and has since worked on the films Enemy of the State, Snakes on a Plane and the National Treasure films.