Writers: Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Trevor Horn
Producer: Trevor Horn
Recorded: Summer 1983 at Sarm Studios in London, England
Released: October 1983
| Players: | Jon Anderson — vocals Trevor Rabin — vocals, guitar, keyboards Chris Squire — bass, vocals Tony Kaye — keyboards Alan White — drums |
| Album: | 90215 (Atlantic, 1983) |
“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” was Yes's first Number One hit in the U.S., topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in January 1984. It reached Number 28 on the U.K. chart.
The song also heralded the return of Yes, which had broken up in 1981. The new lineup featured original members Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Tony Kaye, along with longtime drummer Alan White. The crucial addition was Trevor Rabin, a South African musician who started working with Squire and White in a band they were forming called Cinema.
After adding Kaye to the Cinema lineup, the quartet invited Anderson to be part of the group and opted to re-take the Yes moniker. At the time, Squire said, “It's not a reunion. It's more a re-establishing.”
Rabin was the principle creative force in the new Yes, and “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” came from the demo tape that had prompted Squire to contact Rabin about joining Cinema.
Playing to a broader audience than Yes had ever garnered in the past, “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” also topped the Billboard dance chart and even made a dent on the R&B chart.
The 90215 album, named after its catalog number, reached Number Five on the Billboard 200 and sold more than a million copies.
Former Buggles member Trevor Horn, who had replaced Anderson in Yes in 1980 and 1981, produced the album.