Jon Anderson’s Comments on The Current Yes Tour
Not long after Yes announced plans for a European tour, Jon Anderson is checking in and publicly sharing his feelings about his relationship with the rest of the group.
Anderson, the long-time frontman for the venerable group, had reportedly been battling serious health problems over the past five years and has now reached the point where he feels that he is ready to begin performing again. He has stated that his band mates are being “disrespectful” by continuing to tour as ‘Yes’ with current stand in Benoit David.
“The band recruited a guy from a Canadian Yes tribute band and went on the road with him. I felt they could have waited until I’d recovered,” Anderson said.
He goes on to explain that be believes that fans are being misled because they are buying tickets to a Yes show where they are expecting to see him fronting the group instead of a replacement singer.
Anderson says that he had been in touch with the group before the current tour and made it know that he was available to re-join them, but he was told that the group must fulfill contract obligations to David. Anderson describes it as a “complicated situation.”
The fact that the group is touring under the Yes banner does not sit well with Anderson under the circumstances, and he feels that they should not be using that name and should be advising fans that he is not part of the tour.
Despite the obvious friction between himself and the rest of the group, Anderson still indicates that he wishes the group well. As someone who has been involved with the music business as long as Jon Anderson has been, it is probably not too surprising to him that that contractual obligations to David must be honored. How long the contract lasts is not clear.
Maybe things will be patched up once David’s contract expires, and as long as Anderson remains healthy, perhaps fans can hold out some hope of seeing him reunited to once again assemble a group that more closely resembles the Yes that fans fondly recall from years gone by.
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There are a few inconsistencies with Jon’s comments and actions over the last five or so years that should be noted along with his comments.
1. He says he has had health issues for the last few years, yet he had absolutely not problem putting on long solo tours and even hooking up with Rick Wakeman for a while. As I understand it, Chris, Alan, and Steve were hoping for a tour sometime between 05-08 that Anderson did not want to participate in, so they shelved any Yes plans on his behalf.
2. Fans are not being mislead by the band about who they are seeing. It is noted almost everywhere that Jon is not part of this tour, and that Benoit is handling the vocal duties. If anyone is misleading anyone, it is promoters and not the band.
3. With Anderson came baggage that the band doesn’t have to deal with in having Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman. I thought Benoit did a fantastic job when I saw them last year in Milwaukee, and am glad that Chris, Allan, and Steve have decided to honor him by not jumping ship on him overseas even if Anderson could join them.
4. Finally… this will all blow over by next year. Not even counting Oliver and Benoit, there have been 14 other official members of this band since 1968! It’s not quite the same as bands that have hit the classic rock stage with new members every year, its just that they have changed every member of the band except bass since the beginning. Wait until the new year when the European tour is over and they re-group to do an album. That’s when the real test as to who is “in” and “out” is really decided.
Reply to #1 post. I couldn’t agree more. I saw them in Pittsburgh this summer and they were fantastic. Chris introduced Benoit and Oliver at the show as newest members, so I’m not sure what to think about their status. One thing for sure, this is clearly now Chris and Steve’s band. Having seen them 12 times since 1979, this past summer and the Drama tour in 1980 are in top 5 for me personally. The band in both cases had something to prove and just nailed it live. I personally would love to hear what this line up could come up with in a studio setting. Something along the lines of Drama would be a welcome change from the last predictable few (Open your eyes, Ladder, Magnification and even the Keys To.. volumes).
The Yes brand has been [hopefully not permanently] cheapened by their
greedy and inconsiderate moves. Jon outclasses the rest of the band by ten times. I would rather hear Jon & his guitar than the rest of these musicians, even though they are some of the world’s best.
I look forward to Jon’s new music, there are some awesome things in the works from him.
I wish the rest of the band the best, but they are not YES.
As Krsna says in the Gita, “I AM THE YES OF ALL”
Jon also said ” I AM YES, WHERE I AM YES IS ”
jon is Krsna omkara pranava The Sound incarnation of GOD
these words are True and I know so because I have always
known Him
Your BROTHER NARA ARJUNA MICHAEL ADAM DAVID
Playing in SoCal, i saw the ten went online to buy tickets. Then I double-checked the billing.
No Jon Anderson?!! I can live without Rick Wakeman, but no Jon?!
That’s NOT YES…at least not the YES I’m going to pay to see.
No Jon Anderson??, to para-phrase my 70’s sentiment, “screw-that!”
I am not going. Nor are any of my family and friends. Sorry to the other bandmates. We’re Troopers…just the way it is.
Jon Is and always will be the true driving force behind YES.I truly believe the rest of the band may have stuck there foot in there mouth. i have seen Jon solo and it moved me,truly to the soul.I wish jon the best and will be looking forward to seeing him in Maryland.Jon projects an energy unlike an other performer I know.That is what I go for,to be moved.you know?I do.
Just facts. Legally speaking, Chris Squire own the trademark to the “YES” name in regards to the music industry. That’s why Squire has been the only constant member. So one could argue that it has been, in fact, Squire solo project for the past 40 years.