Back in the early 2000s, there was a Yes tribute band called Fragile. In 2008 the band released an original album called 'Aquaplanage' which was mainly the brainchild of Robert. The album sold all over the world achieving some success, which included a track on the May 2009 'Classic Rock Presents Prog' magazine CD.

Work commenced on a follow up, but it was ultimately shelved for various reasons, mainly geography and people moving on in life.

Banner for the Aquaplanage album

Fragile the Yes tribute band, Rotherham 2000
L-R front: Tom Dawe, Jon Bastable, Steve Carney, Robert Illesh
L-R back: Mitch Harwood, Gonzalo Carrera

Over the subsequent years, Jon and Robert have recorded music together. The results always seemed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. Jon would start something and Robert would finish it off. Apart from low-run CDRs, none of these tracks had been properly released.

Fast forward to mid-2023, Jon asked Robert to finish off a track for him and put some guitar down. This track evolved into 'Swimming in Space' which is on the album. Sensing the potential, this then snowballed into a mixture of brand new tracks, old tracks recorded by Jon and Robert, and some ideas originally destined for Aquaplanage 2. Most of the tracks are instrumental and there is an underlying theme of 'Space Rock' with a modern feel. It all came together very quickly; after years of stored up creativity, tracks were being completed in two or three days. But when you think of it, the whole thing has taken 20 years!

Fragile on tour with Steve Howe, 013 Tilburg 2007
L-R front: Tom Dawe, Jon Bastable, Steve Carney, Steve Howe, Robert Illesh
L-R back: Mitch Harwood, Max Hunt

P.S. Fragile carried on after we all left and they have released some excellent albums of original material under their own name in recent years.

Jon Bastable

Bass guitars, bass synths, ambiences, programming, production

Musical visionary and conjuror of weird things.
In his own words...

"I bought my first bass guitar in 1980 - it was a very cheap plywood Rickenbacker copy but I loved it! The reason I bought one was because a friend, Mark Caulkett, had bought an electric guitar. We were all into punk / new wave music in a big way.

"In 1981 I did my very first gig at The Swan in Kingston with a band called 'Spice'. It was through this band I connected with the vibrant Kingston music scene including Cardiac Arrest (later 'Cardiacs'), The Trudy and The Magnificent Seven. I joined The Trudy and played occassional gigs for Cardiacs throughout the early 1980s.

"Towards the end of the 1980s I was disillusioned with original music bands and decided to join a function band - I did this right up until the early 2000s, playing all over Europe and in front of A-list celebrities. Not going to name drop, that comes later...

"In 1998 I went to see 'Yes' at Hammersmith Odeon with my vocalist friend Steve Carney. I was awe-inspired and on the way home we decided we could do that, so quite soon after, Fragile the Yes tribute band was born. I eventually left them in 2008 but in those 10 years I played all over Europe and the UK in front of between 6 and 10,000 people. I also got to play with original Yes guitarist Peter Banks and with Steve Howe (Yes, Asia) so that was good.

"Since 2008, I have played extensively with various covers bands and, for artistic outlet, played and recorded with William D Drake (Cardiacs and solo performer), Redbus Noface (with Cardiacs' Bob Leith and Mark Cawthra). Also in 2008, members of Fragile released an album of original material under the name Aquaplanage which kind of drew a satisfying line under that version of the band.

"Final note - I am still recording with The Trudy after more than 40 years!"

Jon with classic cult band The Trudy - he hasn't changed a bit!

Spice
The Trudy
Citadel
Hazard Profile
Cardiacs
Loreli
Tempting Fate
Menace Dancers

A Hideous Device
Roger Shoe
The Grownups
Kim & Co
Mirror Image
State of the Heart
Station to Station
Fragile

2003 BC
2004 BC
Jon Bastable (solo)
Oddbod
Ignition
The Astronauts
Hardtail
William D Drake

Redbus Noface
Boomstick
Chain
Retro Rock Icons
Tess Roks
G Force
Aquaplanage
JBRI of course!

Robert Illesh

Guitars, keyboards, vocals, drum programming

Uncanny habit of pulling massive musical rabbits out of nowhere. In his own words...

"I started playing the guitar at age 11. As many young people do, one dreams of being the next Beatles or Stones, and plays their heart out in various bands. I received some classical and jazz tuition during my teens which has proved invaluable over the years.

"Fast-forward to 1993 and of relevance to this story is that I joined a band called Blim. Heavily influenced by Cardiacs, Fripp and other fabulous wonky music, we put out an album called 'No Frills' which was re-released to the world in 2013. I actually played bass on this album, which has been described as 'harsh jazz'.

"Of note during this early period was I played with Jethro Tull members Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker in 1998, meeting keyboardist Gonzalo Carrera.

"In 2000 I joined Yes tribute Fragile and my connection with Jon began. I got the gig mainly because I was a friend of Gonzalo's - the others were not sure about me - however I think we did all right. Our escapades over the next few years speak volumes: breaking into theatres and Europe, a three-year relationship touring with Steve Howe and the Aquaplanage album.

"I carried on with Fragile until the end of 2012 after which I hung up my guitar and departed from live music for a while.

"I have put out two solo albums. 'Golden' from 2011 is a best expression of some of my classical and acoustic work. 'To Horsenden' from 2015 is an emotive folk/blues album compiling old and new recordings. These are all available in the usual places. And there's much more on my musical website robertillesh.com

"Which brings us to 2023. Fortutiously, I had just start playing again when I got a message from Jon, asking if I would like to collaborate on some space jams.

"And here we are..."

Greg Forster

Cover design and artwork

Fine artist specialising in portraiture

Polymath, modern-day renaissance man, talented in the arts and music

Being Robert's musical compatriot in cover and tribute acts The Crisis and The 1985, Greg was the natural choice for the JBRI album artwork.

Working in a mix of contemporary mediums, such as acrylic paint, ink, spray paint, marker pen, pencil on paper, board and canvas. Greg has blended his skills in graphics and illustration with his love of music and film to bring about detailed portraits that allow Greg to challenge boundaries and explore his own obsessions. Aside from famous rockers and movie stars, Greg continues to portray his family and friends and offers commissioned portraits in various media in mono or colour.

You can visit Greg in person at the Oren Art Gallery, 45 Watergate Street Row South, Chester CH1 2LE where he has prints for sale and he will invariably be working on the next masterpiece. What a body of work!

Oh, and did we also say he is a gifted drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist! 'The Force' by name and nature!

Original art © Greg Forster

Original art © Greg Forster