Newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Yes announced on Sept. 5 that they will celebrate a half a century since their formation with a 50th Anniversary tour and new live album. The progressive rock titans will begin the celebration of the milestone with a 10-date U.K. tour in March 2018.
On the #YES50 tour, the group, whose current lineup is Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood, will feature many of the band’s classic hits, plus performances of Sides 1 and 4 (and an excerpt from Side 3) of their 1973 album, Tales From Topographic Oceans, the first Yes album to top the U.K. Album chart.
Today (Nov. 1), the group announced that their original keyboard player, Tony Kaye, will be the special guest for the tour and their annual Cruise to the Edge cruise.
Yes have also announced the release of Topographic Drama – Live Across America, a new album, recorded during their U.S. 2016/17 tours.
Related: Yes live Topographic Drama album coming
In the Sept. 5 announcement, Steve Howe said: “We want to mark this anniversary with a tour that encompasses some of our best loved work – we want to play things we enjoy, maybe songs we haven’t done in a while.”
Yes also announced several European shows and promise more to come. See dates below.
Yes is encouraging fans to use the hashtag #YES50.
The final weekend of the U.K. tour–at the London Palladium on March 24-25–will include a 50th Anniversary Fan Convention. Roger Dean (whose “fantastical” landscapes and logos have become synonymous with the band’s albums) will unveil new Close To The Edge paintings at the Palladium on March 25. More details on the fan convention are expected soon.
Related: Our interview with Roger Dean
U.K. tickets are on sale at BookingsDirect.com, via a 24-hour Ticket Hotline 0844 249 2222 (subject to fees), at venue box offices and select authorized ticket agencies.
Watch Steve Howe acknowledge Yes founder Chris Squire as the latter’s handpicked replacement on bass, Billy Sherwood, performs a favorite, earlier this year
#YES50 Tour Dates
U.K.
March 13 – Bristol Colston Hall
March 14 – Sheffield City Hall
March 16 – Glasgow SEC Armadillo
March 17 – Manchester Bridgewater Hall
March 18 – Gateshead Sage
March 20 – Birmingham Symphony Hall
March 21 – Brighton Centre
March 23 – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
March 24 – London Palladium
March 25 – London Palladium
Europe
March 27 – Tilburg, NL – Tilburg 013
March 28 – Antwerp, BE – Antwerp De Roma
March 30 – Paris, FR – Paris Olympia
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationHow can they have a 50th anniversary show without Jon and Rick? I can see a new bass player because Chris passed away, but to have stand ins while original members are still alive and touring Count me out! Besides the vocals sound like shit!
They can easily have a 50th anniversary tour since they’ve been more active than Anderson and Wakeman with Trevor Rabin who’s contributions to Yes pale in comparison to Steve Howe. I don’t know the whole story of why Anderson and Wakeman don’t want to tour with Howe and White. .along with Billy Sherwood who was hand picked by Chris Squire to replace him. It’s unfortunate that they all can’t get along but since Yes is now 2 separate bands..they both have the right to do a 50th anniversary tour. I saw Yes with Howe, White, Downes, Sherwood and Davison last year in Barclays arena and this summer at the amphitheater in coney island..with both shows being spectacular. How you can say Davison’s vocals are shit is beyond me and truly sounds like sour grapes. His vocals are beautiful..pure and angelic. The 1000s in attendance would absolutely agree as they cheered loudly after each and every song. You really sound disgruntled..like an angry old man..who’s living in the past. But thank you for staying home cause no one going to see YES would want to be around such negativity. Your loss is our gain..I only hope they come back to the US to continue the 50th anniversary tour. Geoff Downes is more than capable of handling the keys parts and the same goes for Billy and Jon. Would I rather it be the 4 original members..not counting the 1st album..of course. But, since it’s not likely to happen, I’m quite content seeing this awesome lineup again. I saw the original lineup, the later one with Rabin, the union tour, and now the Howe led lineup twice. I’d way rather hear Howe than Rabin as his gtr sound is the sound of Yes. And Billy on bass does Chris Squire proud. Since he’s with the Howe lineup it makes me think that Chris would have chosen this lineup to tour with over the ARW lineup. At least imho..I don’t know if you’ve actually seen them but if you haven’t it’s your loss. If you have than you surely saw all the fans loving every minute of it. I didn’t intend to write this much but your negativity just made me wanna put things in perspective. I feel kinda bad for you that you’re so hostile to the Howe led lineup. To each their own but such hostility does a disservice to Yes and their fans all over the world!
I know it all seems a bit absurd
because Jon and Rick are not in the band perchance Mr history student?