Drummer with English progressive rock band Yes and subsequently with King Crimson.

Born in Sevenoaks, Bruford began playing the drums when he was 13, and was influenced by jazz drumming, which would manifest itself on early Yes albums and would remain an influence on his style throughout his career.

Bruford was recruited into Yes from an ad he had placed in Melody Maker and replaced Bob Hagger in July 1968. Prior to that, Bruford had played just three gigs with blues revivalists Savoy Brown before leaving.

During his time with Yes, Bruford played on their first two albums as well as the more well-known albums The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge. He left Yes at the height of their success in 1972, ostensibly because he felt that the band had gone as far as it could, but also because he was tired of Squire always being late for rehearsals.

Bruford had accepted an invitation from Robert Fripp to join King Crimson, which he had wanted to join for quite some time. He stayed with the band until it was disbanded in 1974.

Bruford also spent a year touring with Genesis in 1976, recordings from which appeared on the live album Seconds Out.

Bruford led his own band in the late 1970s, called simply Bruford. Members of the band were initially Dave Stewart (keyboards), Jeff Berlin (bass), Allan Holdsworth (guitar) and Bruford (drums).

Following his first solo album, he was involved in a reunion with King Crimson bassist and vocalist John Wetton in the progressive rock group UK. During his time in the band, from 1977 to 1978, the band released its eponymous debut album and conducted a small tour of the US and Canada, after which he left the band to record two more solo albums as Bruford.

Bruford was part of a newly formed King Crimson again in 1981 with a different lineup, consisting of Bruford, Robert Fripp on guitar, Tony Levin on bass and Adrian Belew on guitars and vocals. They disbanded again in 1984.

In 1986, Bruford formed a jazz band known as Earthworks with a line up that included Django Bates on keyboards and Iain Ballamy on saxophone. This band continues to perform and record.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (sometimes referred to by the acronym ABWH) was a permutation of the progressive rock band Yes, consisting of vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and guitarist Steve Howe, with Tony Levin on bass as Yes bassist Chris Squire was involved with the real Yes. They recorded one self-titled studio album in 1989 and a live recording from their subsequent concert tour was released in 1993.

Bruford rejoined Yes briefly in 1991 and 1992 for the Union album and tour, so titled because it brought together ABWH and the members of Yes prior to the union as an 8-piece band.

Bruford and Howe later undertook a recording project together in 1992-93 to have an orchestra reinterpret some of Yes' most memorable works, but this was the very last of his involvement with Yes.

King Crimson re-emerged once more in 1994 as a 6-piece band, but Bruford quickly became frustrated with the lack of direction and decided not to stay.