HISTORY

Quality performance was the idea, when Jon Anderson and Chris Squire first put the band together in 1968 when they met in La Chasse Club in Soho, London. The two found they had a lot in common, with a fondness for Simon & Garfunkel, The Fifth Dimension and The Byrds. They wanted to form a new group that would get out of the R&B rut and emphasize melody, lyrics and vocal harmonies. This would be backed by a top-notch group that could play like an orchestra.

They rehearsed the first version of Yes in a West End basement with Peter Banks on guitar, Tony Kaye on organ and Bill Bruford on drums. Together they defined the future Yes sound with their first two Atlantic albums 'Yes' (1969) and 'Time And A Word' (1970).

Word started to spread to America about the group in 1972. At the same time, Steve Howe joined the band as lead guitarist and helped make 'The Yes Album' (1971) a success. During the early Seventies intensive US touring established their reputation with rock hungry audiences. Rick Wakeman, their brilliant new keyboard player replaced Tony Kaye and made his debut on 'Fragile' (1972) which unveiled such dazzling new works as 'Roundabout' and 'Long Distance Runaround.'

Many more important albums followed during these boom years. 'Close To The Edge,' (1972) the double LP epic 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' (1973) and 'Relayer' (1974) gripped the public's imagination and were accompanied by ever more spectacular stage shows. During this hectic period Bill Bruford was replaced by powerful new drummer Alan White and keyboard player Patrick Moraz was featured on 'Relayer' during Wakeman's absence.

Then came punk rock. Many established bands fell victim to a violent change in fashion and attitudes. Yes rode out the storm and came back with some of their biggest and most successful albums. At the end of the decade they produced 'Going For The One' (1977), which yielded the hit song 'Wondrous Stories' and 'Tormato' (1978) which despite less favourable reviews included the audacious 'Arriving UFO.'

However, at the beginning of the Eighties Yes underwent a crisis. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left to pursue solo projects and were replaced by Trevor Horn (vocals) and Geoff Downes (keyboards). The 'new' Yes unveiled an aptly titled album called 'Drama' (1980), which contained some unexpectedly powerful work, notably 'Machine Messiah.' Following the US tour that introduced Trever Rabin, the band departed on a difficult European tour.

The new recruits left along with Steve Howe, who promptly set about forming Asia, which became one of the most successful rock bands of the Eighties. Chris Squire and Alan White kept the Yes flag flying with South African born guitarist Trevor Rabin providing much needed new material. He co-wrote one of the band's biggest hits 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' which graced the hugely successful '90125' album (1983). With Jon Anderson back as lead vocalist and Tony Kaye recruited on keyboards it seemed the band's future was assured. The same team, Rabin, Anderson, Squire ,White and Kaye would produce the acclaimed follow up 'Big Generator' (1987).

The early Nineties saw some confusion. The band split into different spheres of influence. At one point Jon headed a breakaway unit called Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe while the 'official' Yes remained active in Los Angeles under the aegis of Chris Squire and Trevor Rabin. In 1991 nostalgia set in. Jon Anderson had the idea of bringing as many ex-members of Yes as possible together for the 'Union' album and tour of 1991. Some eight musician including both Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman on keyboards, Bill Bruford and Alan White on drums, with Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin on guitars took part in this unique project. They set off on a world tour performing 'in the round,' As the circular stage revolved around Jon singing in the middle, many Yes fans felt their past lives were spinning before them!

A new Yes album 'Talk' emerged in 1994 with multi-skilled Trevor Rabin in charge of production. Jon Anderson was back as lead vocalist and the 'Talk' tour introduced guitarist and back-up vocalist Billy Sherwood. Trevor Rabin concentrated on writing film music and producing his own albums. Yes was far from over. They got back together with Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire and Alan White creating a classic line up.

They began work on a new series of recordings which included the elaborate CD sets 'Keys To Ascension Vol.1' and 'Vol.2' (1996) based on recordings made during a series of concerts at the Freemont Theatre in San Luis Obispo, Cal. The band played brilliantly on 'Roundabout,' 'Starship Trooper' and 'America' and revived many more old favourites. It was at this point that Rick Wakeman decided he wanted to concentrate on his solo career and quit the band.

The band's next studio album 'Open Your Eyes' (1997) featured songs written by Chris Squire and Billy Sherwood and included guest keyboardist Steve Porcaro (Toto). Billy became the 13th new member of Yes respectively and joined the line up for the 1997/98 'Open Your Eyes' world tour.

Under the aegis of highly respected producer Bruce Fairbairn, the band gathered to record The Ladder. Performances range from ballads like 'It's A Good Day' and 'If Only You Knew' to a remarkable Afro-Caribbean set.

For their 32nd album, the group went back to their classic chemistry and Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White made 'Magnification' (2001). Although several rock and pop artists have recorded albums accompanied by a symphony, YES becomes the first to involve a conductor, award-winning composer/conductor Larry Groupe' (The Contender), in writing, arranging and producing the entire project. Never before has a rock or pop artist integrated classical orchestration for the entire creative process in this way. Released in 2002, The YesSymphonic DVD captures the live tour and was shot in state-of-the-art high definition in Amsterdam, the DVD features rare behind-the-scenes material as well as more than two hours of Yes performing their hits live. In addition, 2002 saw the release of Magnification and Fragile on the new hi-end audio format DVD-A.

In January of 2003, Yes's first four albums 'YES' (1969), 'Time and a Word' (1970), The Yes Album' (1971) and 'Fragile' (1972) were re-released by Warner Records. These re-issued classics have been completely re-mastered and will feature previously un-released bonus material. This was followed by the June releases of "Close To The Edge", "Relayer", "Tales from Topographic Oceans" and "Going For The One" also each digitally remastered with bonus material. Finally, early in 2004 will see the reissues of the final 3 YES albums for the series, "Tormato", "Drama" and "90125".