Editing Jon Anderson (section)

===1980–1990: Solo career, return to Yes, and ABWH===
Anderson acquired Jannis Zographos as his new manager, who also handled Vangelis.<ref name=melodymaker1980>{{cite journal|url=http://www.zenponies.com/yitp/1980/sep/sep27_80.html|title=Confessions of an Astral Traveller|date=27 September 1980|first=Allan|last=Jones|journal=Melody Maker|access-date=3 September 2016}}</ref> He continued his collaboration with Vangelis by singing on "Suffocation" and "See You Later" for Vangelis's album ''[[See You Later]]'', released in 1980.{{sfn|Griffin|1997|p=49}} After he secured a recording deal with [[Virgin Records]], Anderson retreated to southern France to write material for a solo album. His proposals for albums based on the Russian-French artist [[Marc Chagall]] and the book ''A True Fairy Tale'' by Daphne Charters were not enthusiastically received by the label's management, who lost interest and requested their advance back.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-real-reason-why-jon-anderson-won-t-be-making-another-album-with-vangelis|title=The real reason why Jon Anderson won't be making another album with Vangelis|first=Chris|last=Roberts|date=15 July 2016|website=loudersound.com|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> Anderson spent much of 1980 recording a collection of songs for ''[[Song of Seven]]'' with a group of musicians he named the New Life Band, which Atlantic agreed to release. When it was put out in November, it reached number 38 in the UK and number 143 in the US. Anderson completed his first solo tour with the band, performing a mix of solo and Yes material in Germany and England.

In 1981, Anderson played on Wakeman's concept album ''[[1984 (Rick Wakeman album)|1984]]'' and released his second album with Vangelis in July 1981, ''[[The Friends of Mr Cairo]]''. The album produced two singles, "I'll Find My Way Home" and "[[State of Independence]]"; the latter became a hit for [[Donna Summer]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/donna-summer/state-of-independence|website=Songfacts|title=State of Independence|accessdate=April 30, 2023}}</ref> The album was also notable for the title track, which was an ode to classic Hollywood gangster films of the 1930s and 1940s with voice impressions of [[Humphrey Bogart]], [[Peter Lorre]] and [[James Stewart]] which paid homage to ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]'' (1941). In 1982, Anderson released ''[[Animation (Jon Anderson album)|Animation]]'', and in 1983 appeared on "In High Places" from ''[[Crises (Mike Oldfield album)|Crises]]'' by [[Mike Oldfield]].
[[Image:Jon Anderson.jpg|thumb|upright|Anderson performing with Yes at NEC Arena, Birminghan, 1984|left]]
In early 1983, Anderson was contacted by [[Phil Carson]] of Atlantic Records who suggested that he hear a tape of demos that [[Cinema (band)|Cinema]], a new group formed of Squire, White, Kaye, and guitarist [[Trevor Rabin]], with Horn as producer, had developed for a new album. Anderson was invited to sing lead vocals on the album and join the group, which he accepted. Cinema then changed their name to Yes, and ''[[90125]]'', released in November 1983, became Yes's best selling album. In 1987, the group released its successor, ''[[Big Generator]]''.

Anderson appeared on the song "Cage of Freedom" from the 1984 soundtrack for a re-release of the [[Fritz Lang]] film ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]''. In 1985, his song "This Time It Was Really Right" was featured on the soundtrack for ''[[St. Elmo's Fire (film)|St. Elmo's Fire]]''. He also sang "Silver Train" and "Christie" on the soundtrack to ''[[Scream for Help (album)|Scream for Help]]'' by [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]]. Along with [[Tangerine Dream]], he appeared on the song "Loved by the Sun" for ''[[Legend (1985 film)|Legend]]'' (1985). Anderson released a Christmas-themed solo album, ''[[3 Ships]]'' (1985). ''[[Biggles: Adventures in Time]]'' (1986) features two songs sung by Anderson. In early 1986, Anderson recorded a single with Mike Oldfield (''[[Shine (Mike Oldfield song)|Shine]]'') and later shot a video with him in Barbados.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhXHDwAAQBAJ&q=shine+oldfield+video+barbados&pg=PA120|title=The Mike Oldfield Chronology|first=Patrick|last=Lemieux|date=28 May 2018|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781926462134|via=Google Books|edition=2nd}}</ref> During this year, he recorded some demo tracks that would later be reworked. He and Vangelis also started writing new songs and recording demos for another album. Though the album was not made, they performed live together on 6 November 1986. The last three years of the 1980s saw Anderson sing on "[[Moonlight Desires]]" on [[Lawrence Gowan|Gowan]]'s album ''[[Great Dirty World]]'' (1987), record his fifth solo album ''[[In the City of Angels]]'', sing on "[[Stop Loving You]]" on the [[Toto (band)|Toto]] album ''[[The Seventh One]]'' (1988), and record an album that would later be released as ''The Lost Tapes of Opio''. He also sang on the songs "Within the Lost World" and "Far Far Cry" for the [[Jonathan Elias]] album ''Requiem for the Americas''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Jonathan-Elias-Requiem-For-The-Americas-Songs-From-The-Lost-World/release/688749 |title= Jonathan Elias – Requiem For The Americas – Songs From The Lost World |website=Discogs.com |date= 1989 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>

In 1988, after Yes' ''Big Generator'' tour, Anderson reunited with Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe to form [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe]] (ABWH) with bassist [[Tony Levin]]. They recorded one album and supported it with a world tour.