Anyone actually shook Steve's hand?

[GAZ]

When did he stop shaking hands - Anyone manage to get a handshake before Steve stopped?

[Ash Armstrong]

He shook a couple of hands in 1998 in Sheffield, when they were offered outside the stage door after the show. I didn't offer mine as I knew he wasn't keen. I chatted with him about Bob Dylan for a minute or two.
I sat with him for a few minutes in 2014 outside De Montfort Hall pre-show while he had a cup of tea and a rollie. Chatted about football (soccer) and snooker, and the last time Yes had played that venue on the Drama tour in 1980.
I can understand his reluctance about shaking hands. He can't be sure of enthusiastic fans being a little too firm with their handshakes. I've never seen it as an issue personally. He's made his preference known and that should be respected. I found him easy to talk to both times. Very polite.

[John Vehadija]

When I first met Steve, I didn't know he doesn't shake hands, so I kept raising my hand a couple of times and he kept nodding at me and smiling, until I understood I had to move on... I shook Jon's hand tho next so I was ok

[GAZ]

I can understand Steve's reluctance. He has strong, delicate hands. I'm sure big Chris Squire could easily have crushed my hand if he had wanted - even though I'm a pretty big guy with eight and a half inch wrists!
Didn't Anthony Phillips once say that Chris's sheer physical presence used to slightly intimidate him, although Chris has never come across as a violent man.
I always laugh when I remember Chris's classic line when Steve Howe wanted to 'kick the lighting man's head in' in the 1996 rehearsals- hilarious!!!

[TommyTopographic]

Did have a lil chuckle when i saw the title of this thread.
I do understand Steve's issue with it and protecting his hands, don't know why he just do a fist bump instead, must be awkward as hell at times with fans who offer a handshake.

[Yesjim]

My friends and I were talking to Steve outside the Troubadour in LA after his show there and after declining handshakes he carefully explained his reluctance and told us his hands were insured by Lloyds of London! He was very cordial that evening and even laughed about it a bit.

[Galactic]

He shook my wife's hand at the M&G for the Topographic Drama tour. The handlers mentioned several times that he wouldn't, and I don't think many tried; but he did shake my wife's which was very nice. He was in a very good mood, and the whole band was quite cordial and talkative for the few minutes we spent with them.

[profusion]

I shook hands with Steve when I met him back in 1991. Nice guy and quite willing to chat at length, given that we weren't in a concert or meet n greet setting.

It was a delicate handshake, for sure, and not a used-car salesman death grip, but that's fine with me.

[josuev80]

… and live to tell about it?

[Chrisklenox]

When I read the thread title, my mind jumped to a conspiracy theory for some reason. Does Steve Hower *really* have hands?

[Khatrooper]

Yes I have. And I made Rick laugh. How many points do I get?
Toronto 2004, at a record store before the show, back in the pre-VIP $ Meet n Greet days, when all you had to do to meet the band was be patient, 2 Yes friends, Jose & Mark & I waited in line to meet the band & get some stuff signed. We were near the end of the line, so after our brief turn was over, since we all had more than 1 thing with us to be signed, we returned to the end of the line & went in again. Rick said something like ‘weren’t you guys just here?’ and I made some smart ass reply about my identical twin which made him laugh. Chris was very interested in the JP Yessongs CD I brought, he didn’t know a they were out.
At the end of the receiving line I told Steve I’d read about his hand shaking aversion & I was a guitarist, then we talked for a few minutes about harmonics and having & making a career as a musician. He reached out & shook my hand as we were saying goodbye.
( I got my UK pressing of the TFTO LP, & the JP mini LP sleeve HDR CD of Yessongs signed by all of them, & Masterpiece Guitars CD (by Steve & Martin Taylor, mail order thru some guitar magazine) signed by Steve. )

[Leo the Lion]

Funny thread, I love it. Like John V above, before I realized Steve is not a handshaker, I reached out for his hand at a meet and greet at Tower Records in NYC in ‘96 I think. He politely advised “no handshaking please.” This was a pre Keys to Ascension thing which I believe fell apart shortly thereafter but I remember overhearing at that signing that Rick was not in attendance tending to a personal issue in the UK, but Jon, Chris, Alan (his wife Gigi) were all there and shaking hands. Hey, with today’s environment maybe Steve
had the foresight…..

[GroupWBench]

Met Steve in the early 90s, and I had just read about him not liking shaking hands, both for health but more for protecting fragile bones in case someone shook really hard. So when I met him, I led with "Steve, I have heard you prefer not to shake hands so I won't ask, but . . . " And he just lit up right away. Spent some time with me, asked questions about a Japanese "Steve Howe Album" cd that I had him sign, asked both me and my girlfriend about the show and what we enjoyed most. He was really personable and warm-tempered that evening, and I think it had a little to do with how I approached him. It was a good experience.