Mabel Greer’s Toyshop Claim Guinness World Record

Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, the prog psychedelic outfit which sprouted the first shoots of YES, has applied for a Guinness World Record for longest period of time between a band forming and releasing their debut album.

The band, which releases its first record New Way of Life on 9th March, formed 49 years ago in 1966. There is no current holder for the record…

Founders Clive Bailey and Robert Hagger, joined by Billy Sherwood, Hugo Barre’ and Tony Kaye, took the band out of the freezer and back on the scene after a 45 year gap, to bring the sounds of their past into the 21st century. In their heyday, Mabel Greer’s Toyshop had a residency at the Marquee Club, where they played alongside the likes of Keith Emerson and The Nice. John Peel, a strong supporter and fan of the band also invited them to play on the BBC radio programme, Night Ride, which they did in March 1968. The line-up in those days included Chris Squire, Peter Banks and Jon Anderson.

Mabel Greer’s Toyshop morphed into YES in 1968 and has released a short six-minute documentary describing the history of the band. Clive Bayley and Bob Hagger started the group in 1966. The guys revived MABEL in 2014 and made a new album “New Way Of Life”. In the documentary, they describe the very beginnings of the band and talk about what its been like to release an album 49 years after the band’s inception. An amazing story indeed. The video contains footage never seen before and features background music from the new album. The documentary is released on YouTube today, check it out below:

www.mabelgreerstoyshop.com