Steve Howe: “There is no plagiarism. “Dare to Know” is mine”

The guitarist of Yes Steve Howe has strongly denied the accusation of copyright infringement that was recently leveled against him.

The historic guitarist of the English band was taken to court for the song “Dare to Know“, taken from the album The Quest of the band’s 2021.

The lawsuit was filed by the band’s former collaborator Riz Storyaccording to which “Dare to Know” would be an imitation of his 2012 work”Reunion“. The singer of Yes Jon DavisonStory’s lifelong friend, had already issued his denial after being named in the lawsuit: “It’s difficult to put into words how it feels to hear that a person I thought was a friend had filed a lawsuit that was not only totally fictitious but also defamatory. against me.”

In a new social media post Howe wrote: “Jon Davison didn’t write ‘Dare to Know.’ I wrote it, and it’s based on a theme I’ve been developing since 1973. Early versions are easily found in our demo and studio recordings from the time and on the internet – some were released on an extended version of “Tales Of Topographic Oceans” in 2002”. The statement was accompanied by a 12-second audio track containing a snippet of “Dare to Know” on one stereo channel and “The Ancient” on the other.

This comparison demonstrates how Steve Howe has a version of this same tune in a 1974 recording (“The Ancient”). Here is evidence that Steve explored this same idea in 1974 and it should be obvious that it is much more likely to be the source of this tune.” The note explains that: “The Ancient” was raised three semitones to make it match, and the relationship between the notes has not been changed or adjusted.”

Story’s lawsuit included claims that Davison was aware of “Reunion”, that he and Howe had reworked the song together, and that the singer’s name had been removed from the credits to hide its origin. The lawsuit will take place in the Central District of California.