Fortunately
because we had most fans in London obviously our album sold really well in the
Virgin record store and for that reason it got to number one in the chart.
By the time
the strike was over all the other record stores accepted it was the number one
record and they all stocked and sold it too. Everyone thought it was a great
record to go out and buy because it was number one. There was a lot of luck
involved there and that got us noticed over in New York by the American staff
at Atlantic. 'Oh my God, this little folk group seem to have a number one
album! We'd better do something about promoting them in America.'
I have a lot
of fond memories of that album. We felt we were making a statement and it was
our third album for Atlantic and if it hadn't been a success I'm not sure they
would have kept on financing us.
Chris Welch, Close to the edge: The story of Yes