Graham Leatherman

Summer 1997 began promisingly enough. Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe had rejoined Yes. They had a new album out with another on the way. Better still, a tour was in the works. Blockbuster Pavilion in Charlotte, NC, was advertising their upcoming summer concert season with a clip from "Roundabout". (Blockbuster usually plays snippets from artists who intend on playing there during the season.) The mouth began to water! Then, the bottom falls out.

Wakeman leaves, the tour is "postponed," and Yes has to drop back and punt. Oh, well, these things happen. Such is the unpredictable nature of Yes, and, at least, Howe is still in the band.