Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970.

He embarked on a music career in 1964, first playing in several London-based blues, covers, and psychedelic rock bands for six years, including the Syndicats, Tomorrow, and Bodast.

Upon joining Yes in 1970, Howe's blend of acoustic and electric guitar helped shape the sound and direction of the band, leading to more commercial and critical success.

He grew up in a middle-class family apartment with three older siblings, brothers Phillip and John, and sister Stella,[2] the son of Cyril Howe, head chef at The Palmerston, a Bishopsgate restaurant, and his wife Ada.

[13] At age 14, Howe and his friend from Tottenham started a group that played in youth clubs, eventually landing gigs in pubs and ballrooms.

[11] In 1964, the 17-year-old Howe became a member of his first professional band, the North London-based rhythm and blues group the Syndicats that formed the year prior and were produced by Joe Meek.

[11] His first of three studio recordings with the band was a rendition of "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry that was released as a single with "True to Me" on its B-side, a song Howe co-wrote with their singer, Tom Ladd.

[17] The Syndicats occasionally opened for Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds; one night Farlowe asked Howe to step in for Albert Lee at a Wolverhampton gig when Lee was taken ill.[18] In 1965, Howe left the band and accepted an invitation to join the In Crowd, a soul and covers band who often played in Tottenham and released a rendition of "That's How Strong My Love Is" by Otis Redding which went to No.

[19] The band soon renamed themselves Tomorrow and adopted a psychedelic rock sound, writing more original songs and changing their stage clothes.

[22] Howe and his Tomorrow bandmates also took part in a pie fight scene in the satirical comedy film Smashing Time (1967)[23] (where he had one line, "Let's do it!

"[24]), toured the London club circuit, sharing bills with Pink Floyd, jamming with Jimi Hendrix and playing at the Christmas on Earth concert at Earl's Court.

[29] After Bodast split, Howe auditioned with the progressive rock band the Nice as a potential new member, but decided it was not for him, and left the next day.

Howe was invited to a try out session with the group in Fulham, which consisted of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Bill Bruford, and Tony Kaye; he was successful and became a member in June.

Howe's proficiency with a wide range of guitars, and his strong contributions to the songwriting, made him a prolific member who was an essential part of the band's change in musical direction towards progressive rock.

The Yes Album and Fragile (1971) include his solo acoustic pieces "Clap" and "Mood for a Day", and writing credits for the popular tracks "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Starship Trooper", and "Roundabout".

[33] In 1971, Wakeman and Howe had contributed to the recording of Lou Reed's self-titled debut album as session musicians, working together for the first time on this occasion.

In the summer of 1972, Howe performed one gig with Stone the Crows at the Great Western Festival in Lincoln while they sought a replacement following the death of Leslie Harvey.

In 1981, Howe teamed with Downes, singer and bassist John Wetton, and drummer Carl Palmer to form the supergroup Asia.

[39] Subsequently, Howe performed an acoustic guitar solo on "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" on the 1984 same titled album by the pop group Frankie Goes to Hollywood that Horn produced.

Howe noted Hackett and himself made the conscious effort to produce a pop album without "flashy guitar solos" as it was something listeners may not wish to hear and may be classified as self-indulgent.

The label organised a UK tour named Night of the Guitars with Howe in the line-up, performing "Clap", "Wurm", and the all-cast encore.

[36] In 1990, the four joined forces with the 1983–88 line-up of Yes (Chris Squire, Alan White, Trevor Rabin, and Tony Kaye) to contribute songs for the Yes album Union (1991).

[43] At the end of Yes's supporting tour for Union in 1992, Howe played the guitar and co-produced Symphonic Music of Yes (1993), an album of orchestral arrangements of Yes tracks.

[44] In a departure from his earlier two albums, Howe focused on rock instrumentals that feature Currie, Bruford, and drummer Nigel Glockler.

[44] Howe also contributed a flamenco guitar solo to the 1991 UK number one single "Innuendo" by Queen, something he felt proud to have played on.

The In Crowd was originally to be seen performing in Michelangelo Antonioni's influential 1966 film Blow-Up, and a prop version of Howe's guitar was built for him to smash during that scene.

He has traveled on private jets and by land between shows to avoid having to check it, although he denies a rumour he bought the instrument its own seat on Concorde, noting that the cabin crew were accommodating enough to let him put it in the wardrobe in the passenger compartment.

[76] Keith Levene, one of the founder members of the Flowers of Romance, The Clash and Public Image Ltd cited Howe as one of his main influences and "the greatest fucking guitarist in the world", and progressive rock as a genre he particularly liked.

[10][84] As a result of some accidents and near-accidents, particularly the one that injured then-keyboardist Tony Kaye badly enough to require the cast he is wearing on the cover of The Yes Album, in his early days with Yes, when the band traveled to dates around England in a small Rover, Howe has always preferred to travel by personal automobile, either driving himself or, more recently, with an "attentive" personal driver.

[86] In 1977 he bought a Bristol 411 Series 5, which he describes as "extremely high-quality ... a truly thrilling car to drive", although it had to be started with careful attention to the choke.