A Fan’s History of 80’s Boston Bands: Y is for…

Yanni. Seriously? I couldn’t come up with a “y” entry Boston band for the life of me, but I do have a Yanni story.

I have mentioned in some of my other posts that I worked at concerts for 15 years as an usher/usher supervisor/head usher at various venues. During those years I saw a variety of musical acts, including some bands or performers I would never have bought a ticket to see, but ended up enjoying.

Yanni was one of those performers. I had seen his special on PBS so I knew that I enjoyed listening to his music; I found it uplifting and emotional. My husband-to-be was also working that night at the Orpheum theater taking tickets at the door. Of course the workers had to be there before the doors opened to the public. Sometimes if we were lucky, we saw sound check; if we were REALLY lucky, the performers would be wandering around the theater. My fiance and I were standing in the lobby before the doors opened, talking to a friend who I had brought to the show as a guest usher. Suddenly my love whispered, “Do you want to meet Yanni?”

With a quizzical look I said, “What?”

“Turn around now,” he whispered, which I did and came face to face with Yanni! And I mean literally, face to face! I am a short woman (5 ft 2 in before I shrunk), and he couldn’t have been more than an inch taller than me! I have to say he was a handsome man — what incredible eyes. I said “hello,” he said “hello” and walked on. My face stayed red for quite a while.

A bit later, my husband-to-be got his thrill. Yanni was dating Linda Evans at the time. She came right in the front door, in high heels and dressed to kill. As short as Yanni was, she was extremely tall, especially with the heels. So my husband came face-to-face with…her generous chest.  He and his friend at the door couldn’t stop talking about it after the show…their terrific vantage point and how gorgeous she was.

Oh, and the show was fabulous — a memorable night.