Malcolm Wyatt

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 9:15 AM

Yes yesterdays and todays – the Alan White interview

Malcolm Wyatt (writewyattuk)

April 14, 2016

This coming summer, drummer and songwriter Alan White will have been in the band Yes for a staggering 44 years – give or take one worked gap-year.

That equates to two-thirds of his 66 years and counting, so I guess this multi-talented County Durham lad still enjoys playing with one of the most revered progressive rock outfits.

“Well, it’s been my whole life for a lot of years, so I guess I have to.”

You wouldn’t do it if you weren’t interested, surely.

“No, definitely not”.

While based in the United States these days, Alan is returning to his roots as Yes embark on a 10-date UK tour, playing two more albums in their entirety, 1971’s Fragile and 1980’s Drama, as well as various Yes classics.

The tour starts at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on April 27 and ends at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 10, the band hoping for a similar reception to their 2014 sell-out itinerary. And it will be the first time Yes have performed in the UK since bass player and founder member Chris Squire died last June, after a battle with leukaemia.

Chris, from North West London, was the one constant member over 47 years, having co-founded the band in 1968 with vocalist Jon Anderson, from Accrington, Lancashire, the latter leaving in 2008 after his third stint.

Alan is joined in the current line-up by Billy Sherwood, who took over bass duties last year and previously featured from 1997 to 2000 on guitar; guitarist Steve Howe, involved from 1970–1981, 1990–1992, and since 1995; Geoff Downes on keyboards, who first featured in 1980 between spells in The Buggles and Asia, rejoining in 2011; and lead singer Jon Davison, who joined in 2012.

And the long-serving drummer agreed there’s something of a commemorative feel to this next tour, with fans and band alike getting to remember Chris Squire.

“Chris and I played together for 43 years. We were the two guys who stayed together the longest out of everybody. He hadn’t been that well for a while, a couple of health problems building up to that. But when I got an email from him explaining he’d been diagnosed with leukaemia, I thought, ‘Oh, my God!’ I guess he fought it real well though, and believe in the end he’d almost beaten the leukaemia but his heart gave out.”

Even during the early ‘80’s band hiatus, Alan was working with Chris on his Cinema band project.

“We were left calling each other asking, ‘What’ll we do now?’ We wanted to keep with Yes, and that’s how we carried the band on really. We ran into Trevor Rabin and that turned into 90125, which was a really great period for the band.”

“That was the first album after Drama. It was a bit of a risk, but Trevor Rabin (who stayed for 12 years) was a really fantastic musician all-round and wrote great songs too. And that album (90125) was the best as far as sales go of all the Yes albums.”

Even before that, the band’s dynamics were shifting, Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman – after the second of his five stints with the band – leaving and Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn from The Buggles joining, not long after their worldwide hit with Video Killed the Radio Star.

That particular Yes had a heavier, harder sound, the album – the band’s 10th – reaching No.2 in the UK and the US top-20. But after the tour, it was all change again. Reconvening in England, they dismissed their manager. Then Trevor Horn left to pursue a career in music production, with Alan and Chris next to depart. Sole remaining members Geoff Downes and Steve Howe then went their own separate ways in December.

It’s fair to say that Alan wouldn’t go near Drama for a long time. I asked if he’d rediscovered an appreciation of it all while re-learning songs for this tour. He wasn’t to be drawn though, and we soon moved on, on safer ground talking about the forthcoming dates, including those in the North West.

“I’m really happy we’re playing Liverpool again. We played Manchester a few times, but haven’t got over to Liverpool, despite playing great gigs there in the past. Until a couple of years ago I was going quite regularly for a Beatles festival, with five or six days there. I really enjoyed that, and the people who put it on are friends of mine. They wanted me to do this year, but I’ll be on the road with Yes. I wish I could do that as well though.”

At this point Alan broke off to confirm the dates of International Beatleweek, which runs from August 24, its guests including The Monkees’ singer/drummer Micky Dolenz and Billy J. Kramer. And then he changed tack, thinking it might be a possibility after all.

“I might be able to do that. The tour will be over in mid-August, in Rome. I’ll look into that.”

The tour also includes Newcastle City Hall (April 29), not far from Alan’s North East roots. And as it turns out he does lives in Newcastle – albeit a city of the same name in Washington.

“I just did an interview with a guy writing for the Chronicle in Newcastle, going on about the old days, schools and all sorts. Actually, the band I started with was called the Downbeats, and one guy recently sent me an email saying he wanted to get the band back together. But I’m not sure who’s still alive! When I was in that band I was the youngest, and that was a long time ago!”

Alan was 13 when he joined the Downbeats, having started his musical education learning piano at the age of six, in time switching to drums. He went on to feature with a number of bands, his career taking off after joining fellow County Durham lad Alan Price, a spell with the former Animals keyboard player in 1967 and 1968 including two LPs and an EP.

Despite being proud of his heritage, Alan loves life in America. Married to Gigi for 33 years, his two children are now in their early 30s, becoming a grandfather two years ago (and excited about an impending visit from his grandson when I called, all the way from Denver, Colorado). So what were the chances of this North East lad ending up in the mid-1990s in Newcastle, Washington rather than its Tyne and Wear namesake?

“The district I live in is Bellevue, then there’s Renton nearby, and the two joined together to form a new city three months after I bought this house. I always tell people that because I know the mayor very well I made a phone call to change the name of the city!

“Actually, the real reason is we’re on the side of a big hill where there was a coal mine, with a lot of the people who worked there originally from Newcastle.”

Alan also holds a charity event every summer for the Mayor, his local band among those playing an outdoor event.

“They’ve even given me my own day here – September 12th is Alan White Day in Newcastle, which means I have the key to the city and keep bars open when they’re supposed to close!

“However, I don’t stay up that late anymore, and I tried doing it in Philadelphia too, as I have a key for that city, but a guy kicked me out of one bar because he thought I was drunk!”

Switching back from local history to the Yesstory again, we get on to Fragile, the other LP featured on the tour – with 10 UK dates followed by 15 more in mainland Europe – was he aware of the band when that came out?

“I’d heard them on the radio, as that’s when they started to get airplay. And I believe the first song I heard was Roundabout, from that album. I was playing with Terry Reid’s band (Alan features with the band in Nicolas Roeg’s 1972 documentary Glastonbury Fayre), and we were setting up equipment in Bournemouth when they were playing the radio in this club.

“I heard them come on, and said, ‘Who’s this band? They sound good!’ I went to see them when they played Wembley, supporting someone. That was when Chris wore his furry boots and all that.”

Well, I suppose by that point he had to keep up with the sartorially-flamboyant Rick Wakeman (as interviewed on this blog in September 2015, with a link here).

“Yeah, I think Rick had just joined when I saw them.”

Alan joined Yes in late July, 1972, taking over from King Crimson-bound drummer Bill Bruford for the Close to the Edge tour, after just one full rehearsal with the band. They went on to play 95 shows in the US, Canada, the UK, Japan and Australia, through until April 1973, having given each other three months to see if Alan fitted in.

He’s appeared on every Yes album since, from 1973 live offering Yessongs and sixth studio LP Tales from Topographic Oceans to 2014’s Heaven and Earth, the 21st studio release.

Long before all that, Alan’s career reached a whole new level while with the Alan Price Set when he received a call from a certain John Lennon. At first he thought it was a wind-up, but quickly took up an offer to join the Plastic Ono Band, his first contributions recorded for prosperity on hit album Live Peace in Toronto 1969.

Does he have good memories of his days with the former Beatle?

“They were fantastic. I spent a lot of time round at John’s house, and we just worked on music all the time. And that’s where Imagine came from.”

Alan played drums on six tracks on classic 1971 album Imagine as well as additional Tibetan cymbals on Oh My Love and vibraphone on Jealous Guy. He also played drums, piano and added vocals to early 1970 single Instant Karma! and was ’Dallas White’ on the Live Jam issued with Some Time in New York City the following year.

And when John introduced Alan to George Harrison, he was asked to perform on the critically-acclaimed All Things Must Pass album in late 1970.

“George used to come down for those sessions at John’s, and we’d sit and have dinner in the evening, all round the big table, with John, Paul, George, even Ringo occasionally. We’d sit and eat something then go back in the studio and keep working on stuff.”

Having spoken to Alan just after the death of Sir George Martin, I asked if he got to meet the legendary producer too.

“I did, a couple of times. He came down for the Imagine sessions for a while. I met him another time recording an album with George for Doris Troy (on You Tore Me Up Inside). George Harrison was the producer and had George Martin in for advice on mixing and recording.”

Alan went on to join Ginger Baker’s Air Force, also featuring Steve Winwood, in late 1971, and the following year while touring with Joe Cocker, received his invitation to join Yes.

Over the years he’s also featured with Billy Preston, Paul Kossoff, Denny Laine, Sky, Donovan and Yes alumni Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe, among others.

Having mentioned Sir George Martin, Alan’s clearly worked with several top producers. Was Trevor Horn’s time with Yes an eye-opener into innovative production techniques?

“Definitely. Eddy Offord too. Let me tell you, Eddy was bloody innovative! He’d try quadraphonic mixing, and built a quadraphonic desk before anyone ever thought of that.”

Eddy produced every LP from 1971’s The Yes Album through to 1974’s Relayer, the band taking the credits themselves for a while before Eddy returned for Drama.

Meanwhile, Alan’s always been far more than just a drummer, and has played piano and written music for several Yes albums. Not as if he’ll praise his contributions.

“Unfortunately I’ve written some songs at the wrong time. Like Machine Messiah on Drama. We play it on stage and I listen and think, ‘What the hell was I thinking when I wrote that?’

He also released a solo LP in 1976, Ramshackled, and more recently has played for several bands around Seattle, his guests including bandmates Billy Sherwood and Geoff Downes.

Did the band’s recent US tour also involve the same sets?

“No, the last show we did was more a hits show, rather than two albums in their entirety as we’re doing this time. Of course, two years ago we were doing three albums a time! That turned out to be one hell of a long set!”

When it came to the rehearsals, did the songs come back to you soon enough?

“Well, some songs on Drama we haven’t played for 35 years – since the original album tour. So there are songs that are big challenges, but I’m rehearsing on a daily basis in my studio.”

Do you work from home a lot these days between tours?

“I have my own studio here, although it’s not a full-blown set-up. It’s more a home studio.”

With no neighbours to complain?

He laughs. “Well, I’ve got some people who are relatively close, but they don’t complain!”

We mentioned how this tour ends in Rome. It’s not a bad life really, is it?

“Well, yeah, I think the last four gigs are in Italy. You know what though? I’ve been there a million times before. It’s nice to go back, but I’ve travelled the world before.

“I like to get back home and walk the dogs in the park. I have three Jack Russells. Actually, I misquoted myself – I don’t walk the dogs, they walk me these days.”

UK dates (all 7.30pm): Wed April 27th – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 0141 353 8000; Fri April 29th – Newcastle City Hall, 0191 277 8030; Sat April 30th – Manchester Apollo, 08444 777 677; Mon May 2nd – Liverpool Philharmonic, 0151 709 3789; Tue May 3rd – Sheffield City Hall, 0114 2789 789; Wed May 4th – Bristol Colston Hall, 0844 887 1500; Fri May 6th – Birmingham Symphony Hall, 0121 345 0602; Sat May 7th – Brighton Centre, 0844 847 1515; Mon May 9th – Oxford New Theatre, 0844 871 3020; Tue May 10th – London Royal Albert Hall, 0207 589 8212.

European dates: Fri May 13th – Paris Olympia; Sat May 14th – Brussels Ancienne Belgique; Sun May 15th –Utrecht Tivolivredenburg; Tue May 17th – Hamburg Mehr Theater; Thu May 19th – Frankfurt Alte Oper; Fri May 20th – Leipzig Haus Avensee; Sat May 21st – Berlin Admiralspalast; Mon May 23rd – Bonn Beethovenhalle; Tue May 24th – Stuttgart Hegelsaal; Wed May 25th – Munich Cirkus Krone; Fri May 27th – Zurich Volkshaus; Sat May 28th – Milan Teatro Nazionale; Sun May 29th – Padova Gran Teatro Geox; Tue May 31st – Florence Obihall; Wed June 1st – Rome Teatro Olimpico.

UK tickets £39 except London (£55 boxes, £48.50, £45, £38) and Oxford (£39 + £1.25 venue restoration levy) via 24-hour ticket hotline 0844 338 0000 or BookingsDirect.com.

For all the latest from the band, check out yesworld.com or follow them via Facebook and Twitter.

---
About writewyattuk

Music writer/editor, publishing regular feature-interviews and reviews on the www.writewyattuk.com website. Author of Wild! Wild! Wild! A People's History of Slade (Spenwood Books, 2023) and This Day in Music's Guide to The Clash (This Day in Music, 2018), currently writing, editing and collating Solid Bond in Your Heart: A People's History of The Jam (Spenwood Books, 2024). Based in Lancashire since 1994, after a free transfer from Surrey following five years of 500-mile round-trips on the back of a Turkish holiday romance in 1989. Proud of his two grown-up daughters, now fostering with his long-suffering partner, wondering where the hours go as he walks his beloved rescue lab-cross Millie, spending any spare time catching up with family and friends, supporting Woking FC, and planning the next big move to Cornwall. He can be contacted at thedayiwasthere@gmail.com.

Rabin105

Monday, March 14, 2016 9:19 AM

Very much looking forward to yes doing all of Drama and Fragile in Europe and then bringing Drama here.

Mick Burgess - Metal Express Radio

Friday, June 17, 2022 3:26 PM

Interview With ALAN WHITE (YES)

Mick Burgess
Metal Express Radio
April 28, 2016

Alan White has occupied the drum stool in Prog Rock legends Yes for 44 years and shows no signs of slowing down. Yes return to the UK to play their classic albums Drama and Fragile in their entirety. Mick Burgess caught up with Alan White to talk about the tour, how he joined the band and the loss of Chris Squire.

Your UK tour kicks off in a short while. Are you looking forward to playing here again?

Most definitely as we haven’t played there for quite a while. It’ll be good to get back home again as my mother passed away a couple of years ago so I haven’t really been back there that much so it’ll be good to get back over with Yes.

On 29th April you play at Newcastle City Hall. Being a Chester-le-Street lad, that’s almost your hometown show. You must have played there a fair few times over the years?

It’ll be quite nostalgic for me to come back there. We have played there a couple of times recently with Yes but we played there many times in the ’70s. I’ve also done a couple of shows with Lindisfarne at Christmas time. I just got up and sat in for a couple of numbers as they’re mates of mine. I love playing at the City Hall. The atmosphere is great and the whole theatre is wonderful. They just don’t make them like that anymore.

Will you be catching up with any old friends again while you’re here?

I was in touch with one of the lads who used to be in The Downbeats with me years ago. He wants to get the band together so we might get together sometime. It would be great seeing them again.

You now live in Newcastle, Washington but not our Newcastle. When did you move there?

I’ve been living in America for many years now. I’ve been married to my wife for 34 years in May and I’ve had a house in the Seattle area since then so it’s been quite a while but I did come back quite often as I had a place in Oxford. As my kids got older they enjoyed it more and more in America so we moved to California but I still had my place in Seattle. When my kids grew up we consolidated over in Seattle and I have this nice place overlooking a lake.

It certainly beats the frozen North of England?

I always say when people grow up in the North of England, there’s nothing else to do on a cold night except practice the drums. It was cold and wet so I’d practice all the time. I got my own set of drums and not long after I’d got them I was playing in a band. Up until that time I was getting piano lessons from Mrs Thompson in the village.

What do you miss the most about the North East of England?

I used to like Newcastle Exhibition beer, that was my favourite drink but I think it’s the people in general that I miss the most. I grew up around Ferryhill and it hasn’t really changed that much but all the pit heaps have gone and have been replaced with grass but the people are still the same. I still see a couple of people I used to go to school with at Dean Bank School as a young kid. I had a request to come back to the school 2 or 3 years ago, where they wanted people who’d gone on to be successful to come and do a talk to the kids. I wasn’t able to do it back then but I think it’d be quite interesting so I might still do that in the future. It’d be a lot of fun to go back and see what it’s like now.

As a Northerner you must have a love of football?

My Dad was a big fan of Sunderland and I remember going to Roker Park when I was 9 or 10 years old. I remember being in the stand where there were no seats and I watched the whole match without ever touching the ground. None of the teams up in the North are doing too well at the moment. That’s such a shame as the region deserves so much more as the fans are so passionate. I still get to watch matches occasionally on the television but haven’t been to a game in quite some time.

When you first joined Yes in 1972 you only had 3 days to learn the set. Now that’s some baptism of fire. How did that first show go?

That was really unexpected. I’d just finished doing a tour with Joe Cocker and I was heading home from that when I got a call asking me to join the band. I had a meeting with Chris Squire and Jon Anderson and they threatened to throw me out of the window if I didn’t join. I was also in a band at the time with people mainly from the North East and we played a lot of music that was quite adventurous so I was quite prepared to a degree to tackle the music of Yes. On that first meeting I played some songs and they didn’t really say anything until they were walking out of the door. They turned around and said that they had a gig on Monday in Texas, which was in 3 days’ time. At that time we were going to do Close To The Edge which had never been played on stage before. I only had 3 days but the show went quite well so I stayed for another 43 years.

The last time you played at the City Hall you performed not one, not two but three albums Going For The One, Close To The Edge and the Yes album in their entirety. That must have been quite some challenge performing those?

That was a really challenging tour for us to do but it was also really rewarding and the fans loved hearing those albums as some of the songs we’d never played live before so it was really enjoyable for everyone.

This time, you’re taking it a little easier and only doing Drama and Fragile. Why did you decide to pick these two for the full performance treatment?

We have done Fragile before in the last few years and that was very popular but we’ve never actually done Drama. We’ve all been rehearsing Drama at the moment and we’ve had a bit of a shock and have been thinking what the hell have we done. There’s some pretty dynamic, fast playing on there so it’s taken a bit of work to relearn some songs we haven’t played in years.

Machine Messiah from Drama is a monster of a song. I imagine that one going down pretty well each night?

The way things are going, you’d better be on time for the show as that is looking like it’ll be the first song of the night. It always goes down well and it’s a big chunk of music and quite difficult to play but I’ve only got myself to blame for that as I wrote it. We’ve played Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit, the first and last songs from the album, a fair few times but the two songs in the middle Does It Really Happen and Into The Lens haven’t been played for years. I certainly know that Doesn’t Really Happen hasn’t been done since we made the album. We haven’t actually done Run Through The Light since then either. I’ve been rehearsing here in my home studio every day going through all of the little bits from 35 years ago but I’m getting there.

What about the rest of the set? What else will you cover other than those two albums?

We’ll be discussing that when we do rehearsals in England closer to the date of the tour but I think Going For The One and Time and a Word could be in there too. We might also do Soon from the end section of Gates of Delirium from our Relayer album and Owner of A Lonely Heart which was a big hit for us.

You mentioned Owner of a Lonely Heart. The 90125 album, which that song was from, was quite a departure for Yes going into the 80s.

Trevor Rabin was a fantastic musician and he’s been writing movie scores ever since he’s been in Yes, he’s just so talented. Back when Chris and I first met him we jammed together and everything just worked for all of us. He had a bunch of great songs which ended up becoming 90125. It was quite a change for the band, but it had started out as a project called Cinema so it wasn’t originally intended to be Yes but when Jon Anderson heard the music he wanted to sing on it so there was nothing else we could call it then but Yes.

Since the last time we saw you in Newcastle we have sadly lost Chris Squire. That must have come as a shock?

It was a big shock, well not so much a shock as he hadn’t been feeling that good for some time and he had a couple of other problems then all of a sudden this popped up. It didn’t take long at all, it was only about 6 weeks after he told me and the band that he passed away. He told me on the phone that he’d need 6 weeks to get over it and he’d be back on the road with the band. I think they were on the verge of beating the leukaemia but his heart gave out.

Chris has been the only constant member of Yes over the years. It must seem really strange being on stage and not seeing him there with you?

Chris started the band and he’s been there right through every different line up. He said to us regardless of what happened to him, we had to keep the band going.

As a drummer you and the bassist lay the foundations of the band. How did you and Chris interact as musicians together?

We played together for 43 years and we had an unwritten rule that we just knew what each other would be playing so I’d be lying if I said it’s not the same. It’s never going to be the same and I can’t pretend it will be but the band is still playing really well and Billy Sherwood was Chris’s Number 1 fan and he knows pretty much every single thing that Chris ever did. Chris told me that we had to get a replacement and Billy was his first choice.

Billy has in fact quite a long history with the band dating back to the ’90s. Did that close connection make the transition within the band as smooth as it could be under the circumstances?

Yes, Billy has been connected with Yes for over 20 years and I’ve worked with him on other projects over the years so I’ve known him quite some time. That’s certainly made him coming into the band fairly seamless.

Your current line-up features singer Jon Davison who took over from David Benoit. He was only with you for one album. What happened there?

David didn’t really fit the picture and didn’t gel with the rest of the band. That’s just my point of view. His voice was fine for a long time then it started to go. He just didn’t work out so it was best for everyone to move on.

Your singers have the unenviable task of replacing original singer Jon Anderson. Where did you first come across Jon?

He actually sent a tape in that Chris heard. Chris seemed to like him so we invited him for an audition and he really fit in well both musically and on a personal level too. I don’t remember auditioning anyone else. Working with Jon was one of the first things we did and that worked out so well that we didn’t need to try anyone else.

It’s difficult for a new member to integrate into an established band. What did you do to help ease that process or did you just chuck him in at the deep end with some live shows?

Jon had been in a Yes tribute band so he knew our music very well so there wasn’t much of a transition for him, he just seemed to fit in straight away.

In 2014 you released your latest album Heaven and Earth. That was your highest charting album in over two decades. That must have been great to hear?

Yes it was great and hard to believe that after so long we can still get our music into the charts. It was a lot of fun to make that record so it’s nice that it’s been so well received.

You’ve worked with John Lennon, George Harrison, Joe Cocker and Alan Price amongst many others. Who are you most proud of working with?

I would say that John Lennon’s Imagine was the biggest thing that I’d played on, it was the song of the Millennium. I am probably proudest of the Yes albums though as I get kids coming up to me at shows who rave about Yes songs so that’s great for me to hear. Albums like Relayer, Drama and Topographic Oceans have some pretty adventurous playing so I’m very proud to be a part of those albums.

You must have recorded dozens of albums over the years?

As well as all the time I’ve spent in Yes I’ve worked on numerous other albums with other artists. In a three year period when I was in London I must have done at least 50 albums. My full discography is on my website and every now and then when I look at it I think I’m sure I have done another album in there somewhere but I can’t remember it. I’m sure it’ll come back sometime or someone will fill in the gaps.

Is there any artist who you’d particularly like to work with if you had the chance?

I’m pretty lucky with who I’ve played with over the years. When Yes aren’t on tour or working on a record I have my own band here in Seattle, called The White Band and we do occasional gigs and play a lot of Yes music and Lennon and stuff like that.

After your UK shows are over where do you head next?

We finish our UK tour at the Royal Albert Hall, which should be an incredible show, before heading over to Europe where we’ll play in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy and a few shows in Germany. Newcastle is only the second show on this tour so there’ll be a lot more shows to do after we have played up there.

Yes are on tour in the UK now.

[Link]

Ryan Reed - Rolling Stone

Friday, September 16, 2022 4:27 PM

Yes Plot Summer Tour Behind ‘Drama,’ ‘Topographic Oceans’ LPs

Prog-rock veterans will perform entirety of 1980's 'Drama,' sides one and four of 1973's divisive 'Oceans' on American trek

BY RYAN REED

APRIL 11, 2016

Yes will perform the entirety of their 1980 album Drama, sides one and four of their 1973 double-LP Tales From Topographic Oceans and a selection of greatest hits on their upcoming American summer tour. The 25-date trek kicks off July 27th at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus, Ohio and concludes September 4th in San Diego, California. Further dates and ticket information will be announced at the band’s website.

“We are proud to present the American public with forward-looking albums from the past,” guitarist Steve Howe said in a statement. “Promoting Drama at Madison Square Garden on multi-nights was a career milestone in 1980, and we are especially looking forward to performing both the opening and closing sides to Topographic Oceans [“The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) and “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”].”

These dates will mark Yes’ first-ever full performances of Drama, a transitional album recorded with singer Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, who – as New Wave act the Buggles – cemented their place in rock history with their lone 1979 hit, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” (That track later became the first music video ever played on MTV.)

Horn and Downes replaced two of the band’s most recognizable members (co-founder/frontman Jon Anderson and acclaimed keyboardist Rick Wakeman) for this one album, before quitting themselves. Horn reunited with the group as producer of 1983’s 90125; Downes re-joined the line-up in 2011.

Tales From Topographic Oceans, which found drummer Alan White replacing longtime percussionist Bill Bruford, remains one of Yes’ most divisive albums: an 81-minute, four-song behemoth that polarized critics but nonetheless topped the UK charts, leading to a bold tour cycle in which the band played the whole track list on-stage.

Yes will perform both Drama and 1971 classic Fragile during a UK/European tour launching April 27th. The band has also scheduled another edition of their floating festival Cruise to the Edge for February 2017.

Yes 2016 American Tour Dates

July 27 – Columbus, OH @ Ohio State Fair
July 30 – Atlantic City, NJ @Tropicana
July 31 – Bethlehem, PA @Sands Event Center
August 2 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark
August 4 – Lynn, MA @ Lynn Auditorium
August 5 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
August 6 – Westbury, NY @ Theatre at Westbury
August 9 – Staten Island, NY @ St. George Theatre
August 10 – Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center
August 12 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theater
August 13 – Morristown, NJ @ Morristown Performing Arts Center
August 16 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
August 17 – Munhall, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
August 19 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
August 20 – Chicago, IL @ Copernicus Center
August 21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
August 24 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
August 26 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
August 27 – Las Vegas, CO @ Las Vegas Events Center
August 28 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre
August 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theater
August 31 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
September 2 – Reno, NV @ Silver Legacy Casino
September 3 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Winery
September 4 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s

Rhod Sharp - BBC Radio 5 Live

Friday, September 16, 2022 6:55 PM

BBC Radio 5 Live

Steve Howe interview with Rhod Sharp

13 April 2016

Steve Howe, in an unusually long interview, talks about YES and the forthcoming UK Tour, playing the Fragile & Drama albums.