Union is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 30 April 1991 by Arista Records. Production began following the amalgamation of two bands that featured previous and then current members of Yes: Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH), consisting of vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and guitarist Steve Howe, and Yes, comprised at that time of bassist and vocalist Chris Squire, guitarist and vocalist Trevor Rabin, keyboardist Tony Kaye and drummer Alan White. The eight musicians signed with Arista and a combination of unfinished tracks by both groups were selected for Union. The album's sessions were problematic from the start, including disagreements between some of the musicians regarding the "merger" of the two bands, strained relations during the recording process, and decisions by the production team of Anderson and producer Jonathan Elias to bring in session musicians to re-record parts that Wakeman and Howe had originally completed. Union was released to a decidedly mixed critical reception, and the majority of the band have openly stated their dislike of the material. Despite all this, it fared relatively well commercially, reaching No. 7 in the UK and No. 15 in the US. After two months, Union was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 500,000 copies. The first single, "Lift Me Up", was number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for six weeks. Howe's acoustic guitar piece "Masquerade" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Yes supported Union with their 1991–1992 Around the World in 80 Dates Tour that featured all eight members playing on stage; Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe left the band after the tour. Background In 1983, Yes had reformed with singer Jon Anderson joining bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White, who were working on new material with guitarist/singer/songwriter Trevor Rabin. Original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye rounded out the group, and five went on to record the group's most commercially successful albums, 90125 (1983) and Big Generator (1987), for Atco Records. In 1988, Anderson left Yes and formed Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH), a group with former Yes members Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Bruford's former King Crimson bandmate Tony Levin on bass guitar. ABWH released their self-titled album for Arista Records in 1989 and supported it with a world tour. During this time, the four remaining Yes