View source for Yes (band)

{{Short description|English progressive rock band}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Yes
| image             = Yes Union octet May 1991.jpg
| alt               = Promotional photograph of eight band members
| caption           = Yes [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Union Tour|Union Tour]] octet in 1991. From left to right: [[Chris Squire]], [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]], [[Trevor Rabin]], [[Jon Anderson]], [[Bill Bruford]], [[Rick Wakeman]], [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]] and [[Steve Howe]].
| landscape         = yes
| background        = group_or_band
| origin            = London, England
| genre             = {{flatlist|
* [[Progressive rock]]
* [[art rock]]
* [[symphonic rock]]
* [[pop rock]]
}}
| works             = [[Yes discography|Discography]]
| years_active      = {{flatlist|
* 1968–1981
* 1983–2004
* 2009–present}}
| label             = {{flatlist|
* [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
* [[Atco Records|Atco]]
* [[Arista Records|Arista]]
* [[JVC|Victory]]
* [[Castle Communications|Essential]]
* [[Eagle Records|Eagle]]
* [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]
* [[Frontiers Music|Frontiers]]
* [[Voiceprint Records|Voiceprint]]
* [[BMG Rights Management|BMG]]
* [[Inside Out Music|Inside Out]]}}
| spinoffs          = {{flatlist|
* [[Asia (band)|Asia]]
* [[XYZ (English band)|XYZ]]
* [[Cinema (band)|Cinema]]
* [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe]]
* [[Conspiracy (band)|Conspiracy]]
* [[Circa (band)|Circa]]
* [[Yoso]]
* [[Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman]]
* [[Arc of Life]]
}}
| spinoff_of        = {{hlist|[[Mabel Greer's Toyshop]]}}
| website           = {{URL|yesworld.com}}
| current_members   = * [[Steve Howe]]
* [[Geoff Downes]]
* [[Billy Sherwood]]
* [[Jon Davison]]
* [[Jay Schellen]]
| past_members      = 
* [[Chris Squire]]
* [[Peter Banks]]
* [[Jon Anderson]]
* [[Bill Bruford]]
* [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]]
* [[The Koobas|Tony O'Reilly]]
* [[Rick Wakeman]]
* [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]]
* [[Patrick Moraz]]
* [[Trevor Horn]]
* [[Trevor Rabin]]
* [[Eddie Jobson]]
* [[Igor Khoroshev]]
* [[Oliver Wakeman]]
* [[Benoît David]]
}}

'''Yes''' are<!-- not "is"; British English is used for this article. See WP:ENGVAR for more info. --> an English [[progressive rock]] band formed in London in 1968. Comprising [[List of Yes band members|20 full-time musicians]] over their career, their most notable members include lead singer [[Jon Anderson]], bassist [[Chris Squire]], guitarists [[Steve Howe]] and [[Trevor Rabin]], drummers [[Bill Bruford]] and [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]], and keyboardists [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]] and [[Rick Wakeman]]. The band have explored several musical styles and are often regarded as progressive rock pioneers. Since February 2023, the band's line-up consists of Howe, keyboardist [[Geoff Downes]], bassist [[Billy Sherwood]], singer [[Jon Davison]], and drummer [[Jay Schellen]].

Founded by Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Kaye, and guitarist [[Peter Banks]], Yes began performing a mix of original songs and covers of [[Rock music|rock]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[blues]], and [[jazz]] songs, as showcased on their first two albums, ''[[Yes (Yes album)|Yes]]'' (1969) and ''[[Time and a Word]]'' (1970). A change of direction in 1970 after the replacement of Banks with Howe led to a series of successful progressive rock albums, with four consecutive US platinum or multi-platinum sellers: ''[[The Yes Album]]'' (1971); ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' (1971), which included the successful single "[[Roundabout (Yes song)|Roundabout]]"; ''[[Close to the Edge]]'' (1972); and the live album ''[[Yessongs]]'' (1973). Further albums ''[[Tales from Topographic Oceans]]'' (1973), ''[[Relayer]]'' (1974), ''[[Going for the One]]'' (1977), and ''[[Tormato]]'' (1978) were also commercially successful. Yes earned a reputation for their elaborate stage sets, light displays, and album covers designed by [[Roger Dean (artist)|Roger Dean]]. During this time, Kaye and Bruford were replaced by Wakeman and White respectively, while keyboardist [[Patrick Moraz]] joined for ''Relayer'' and its subsequent tour. In 1980, growing musical differences led to Anderson and Wakeman's departures; Yes recruited Downes and singer [[Trevor Horn]] for the album ''[[Drama (Yes album)|Drama]]'' (1980) before disbanding in 1981.

In 1983, Squire, White, Anderson, and Kaye reformed Yes with Rabin joining. Rabin's songwriting moved the band toward a more pop-oriented sound, which resulted in their highest-selling album ''[[90125]]'' (1983) featuring the band's only US number-one single, "[[Owner of a Lonely Heart]]", and the successful follow-up album ''[[Big Generator]]'' (1987). In 1989, the offshoot group [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe]] formed and released a [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (album)|self-titled album]]. At the suggestion of the record company, the groups merged into a short-lived eight-piece line-up for ''[[Union (Yes album)|Union]]'' (1991) and its tour. Yes regularly released studio albums from 1994 to 2001 with varying levels of success, beginning a second hiatus in 2004. After a 2008 world tour was cancelled, Yes enlisted [[Benoît David]] as the new lead singer, then Davison in 2012. Squire died in 2015, leaving the band with no original members. White, the longest-tenured member at that point, died in 2022. Former members [[Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman|Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman toured]] from 2016 to 2018. Yes's latest album, ''[[Mirror to the Sky]]'', was released in 2023.

Yes are one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting progressive rock bands. Their [[Yes discography|discography]] spans 23 studio albums, with 13.5 million [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA)-certified albums sold in the US<ref name=riaatotal>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=TAA#search_section|title=Top Selling Artists|publisher=RIAA|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> and more than 30 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/discography/yes-the-studio-albums-1969-1987/|title=Yes the Studio Albums 1969–1987|publisher=yesworld|access-date=25 November 2021}}</ref> In 1985, they won a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance|Best Rock Instrumental Performance]] with "[[Cinema (Yes song)|Cinema]]". They were ranked No. 94 on [[VH1]]'s ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxm64mApR05CJVCePlmcUFluSZyiAvKZ8|title=VH1 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock|publisher=YouTube|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> In April 2017, Yes—represented by Anderson, Bruford, Kaye, Howe, Wakeman, White, and Rabin, with Squire honored posthumously—were inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].

== History ==
=== 1968–1970: Formation, first album and ''Time and a Word''{{anchor|Mabel Greer's Toyshop}} ===
{{multiple image|align=right
 | footer    = Yes formed in the basement of the Lucky Horseshoe Cafe (left) at 184 [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], London in mid-1968. Right: commemorative plaque at the address.
 | width     =
 | image1    = Yes plaque Basement 184 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2 8JB.jpg
 | width1    = 190
 | image2    = Yes the English Progressive Rock Band (cropped).jpg
 | width2    = 142
}}
In late 1967, bassist [[Chris Squire]] and guitarist [[Peter Banks]], both formerly of [[the Syn]], joined the [[psychedelic rock]] band [[Mabel Greer's Toyshop]], which had been formed in 1966 by Clive Bayley and Robert Hagger.<ref name=Loudersound2014>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/mabel-greer-s-toyshop-reunite|title=Mabel Greer's Toyshop reunite|publisher=Loudersound|date=13 November 2014|first=Scott|last=Munro|access-date=13 July 2024}}</ref><ref name=ZM2015>{{cite web|url=https://zacharymule.com/wp/?p=2458|title=Yes-terday and Today: An interview with Mabel Greer's Toyshop about their surprising comeback and some "unfinished business"|first=Kevin|last=Renick|date=7 February 2015|publisher=Zacharymule|access-date=12 July 2024}}</ref> They played at the [[Marquee Club]] in [[Soho]], London where Jack Barrie, owner of the nearby La Chasse club, saw them perform.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=23}} He later recalled: "the musicianship was very good but it was obvious they weren't going anywhere".{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=23}} Barrie introduced Squire to singer [[Jon Anderson]], a worker at the bar in La Chasse, who found they shared interests in [[Simon & Garfunkel]] and harmony singing. That evening they wrote "Sweetness", which was included on the first Yes album, and Anderson joined as lead vocalist.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=24}} During this time, the band rehearsed in the basement of The Lucky Horseshoe cafe on [[Shaftesbury Avenue]] between 10 June and 9 July 1968.{{sfn|Bruford|2009|p=35}}{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=39}}{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=44}} In June 1968, Hagger was replaced by [[Bill Bruford]], who had placed an advertisement in ''[[Melody Maker]]'',{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}}{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=37}} while in July the classically trained organist and pianist [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]], of Johnny Taylor's Star Combo and the Federals, became the keyboardist.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=38}} Meanwhile, Banks had left Mabel Greer's Toyshop to join Neat Change, but he was dismissed by this group on 14 July 1968{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}} and was recalled by Squire, replacing Bayley as guitarist.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}}

Having considered the experience of Mabel Greer's Toyshop concluded, the group exchanged ideas for a new name. Sources disagree on the origin of the name, but generally attribute it to Banks.<ref name="Hunter-Tilney-2018">{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4822acba-543b-11e8-b3ee-41e0209208ec |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/4822acba-543b-11e8-b3ee-41e0209208ec |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=A tale of Two Yesses|website=Financial Times|date=11 May 2018|last1=Hunter-Tilney|first1=Ludovic|quote=A band meeting was convened. 'I said, "Why don't we call ourselves Life?" And Chris said, "World". And [guitarist] Peter Banks, bless him, said "Yes". And we said, "The Yes?" He said, "No, no, no. Just Yes." So we said OK. And that's how it started.'}}</ref><ref>Yesspeak Live: The Director's Cut</ref>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}} According to the ''Financial Times'', Anderson suggested "Life" and Squire thought of "World"; Banks said simply, "Yes", and that was how the band was named.<ref name="Hunter-Tilney-2018"/> Welch states that Squire suggested the name over a phone call to Banks, with Banks replying, "But that was my idea!"{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}} According to Banks, it was initially used as a temporary name, but "nobody has thought of anything better yet."{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=33-34}}

After rehearsals between 31 July and 2 August, the first gig as Yes followed at a youth camp in [[East Mersea]], Essex on 3 August.{{sfn|Welch|2008|loc=op. cit.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forgotten-yesterdays.com/dates.asp?qbandid=1&qyear=1968&qdateid=619|title=08/03/1968 Mersea, United Kingdom|website=Forgotten Yesterdays|accessdate=15 September 2023}}</ref> Early sets were formed of cover songs from artists such as [[the Beatles]], [[The 5th Dimension]] and [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]].{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=45}} On 16 September, Yes performed at Blaise's club in London as a substitute for [[Sly and the Family Stone]], who had failed to turn up. They were well received by the audience, including the host [[Roy Flynn]], who became the band's manager that night.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=50–51}} That month, Bruford decided to quit performing to study at the [[University of Leeds]].{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=52–53}} His replacement, Tony O'Reilly of [[the Koobas]], struggled to perform with the rest of the group on stage and former Warriors and future [[King Crimson]] drummer Ian Wallace subbed for one gig on 5 November 1968.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=52–53}} After Bruford was refused a year's sabbatical leave from Leeds, Anderson and Squire convinced him to return for Yes's supporting slot for [[Cream (band)|Cream's]] farewell concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] on 26 November.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=52–53}}

After seeing an early [[King Crimson]] gig in 1969, Yes realised that there was suddenly stiff competition on the London gigging circuit, and they needed to be much more technically proficient, starting regular rehearsals.<ref name="banks">{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sjxnnx-jqU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/8Sjxnnx-jqU| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=Interview with Peter Banks by Mark Powell|date=7 April 2010 |publisher=[[Cherry Red Records|Cherry Red TV]]|access-date=21 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> They subsequently signed a deal with [[Atlantic Records]], and, that August, released their debut album ''[[Yes (Yes album)|Yes]]''.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=315}} Compiled of mostly original material, the record includes renditions of "[[Every Little Thing (Beatles song)|Every Little Thing]]" by the Beatles and "I See You" by [[The Byrds]]. Although the album failed to break into the UK album charts, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' critic [[Lester Bangs]] complimented the album's "sense of style, taste and subtlety".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bangs |first=Lester |date=7 February 1970 |title=Yes: Yes - album review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/yes/albums/album/113178/review/6067812/yes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603085300/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/yes/albums/album/113178/review/6067812/yes |archive-date=3 June 2008 |access-date=14 March 2013 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> ''Melody Maker'' columnist Tony Wilson chose Yes and [[Led Zeppelin]] as the two bands "most likely to succeed".<ref>Liner notes on Yes (1969)</ref>

Following a tour of Scandinavia with [[Faces (band)|Faces]], Yes performed a solo concert at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] on 21 March 1970. The second half consisted of excerpts from their second album ''[[Time and a Word]]'', accompanied by a 20-piece youth orchestra.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=77}} Banks left the group on 18 April 1970, just three months before the album's release. Having expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of recording with an orchestra as well as the sacking of Flynn earlier in the year,{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=315}}{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=80}} Banks later indicated that he was fired by Anderson and Squire, and that Kaye and Bruford had no prior knowledge that it would be happening.<ref name=banks/> Similar to the first album, ''Time and a Word'' features original songs and two new covers–"Everydays" by [[Buffalo Springfield]] and "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" by [[Richie Havens]]. The album broke into the UK charts, peaking at number 45.<ref name=officialchartsuk>{{Cite web |title=YES {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16452/yes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014043851/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16452/yes/ |archive-date=14 October 2022 |access-date=14 October 2022 |website=www.officialcharts.com |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Banks' replacement was [[Tomorrow (band)|Tomorrow]] guitarist [[Steve Howe]], who appears in the photograph of the group on the American issue despite not having played on it.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=89}}

=== 1970–1974: ''The Yes Album'', ''Fragile'', ''Close to the Edge'' and ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' ===
[[File:Steve howe.jpg|thumb|upright|Steve Howe in 1977]]
[[File:Rick Wakeman - Winterland 1974.jpg|thumb|upright|Rick Wakeman with Yes in March 1974, months before his first departure from the band]]
The band retreated to a rented farmhouse in [[Devon]] to write and rehearse new songs for their following album.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 1970 |title=Yes Into Second Gear |magazine=[[Beat Instrumental]] |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Beat-Instrumental/Beat-Instrumental-1970-10-S-OCR.pdf |page=19 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> Howe established himself as an integral part of the group's sound with his [[Gibson ES-175]] and variety of acoustic guitars. With producer and engineer [[Eddy Offord]], recording sessions lasted as long as 12 hours with each track being assembled from small sections at a time, which were pieced together to form a complete track. The band would then learn to play the song through after the final mix was complete.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nfte.org/interviews/EO234.html|title=Conversation with Eddy Offord|first=Tim|last=Morse|year=2000|publisher=Notes From the Edge |access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Released in February 1971, ''[[The Yes Album]]'' peaked at number 4 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 40 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] charts.<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/>

Yes embarked on a 28-day tour of Europe with [[Iron Butterfly]] in January 1971.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=102}} The band purchased Iron Butterfly's entire [[public address system]], which improved their on-stage performance and sound.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=104}} Their first date in North America followed on 24 June in [[Edmonton]], Alberta, Canada, supporting [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]].{{sfn|Bruford|2009|p=55}} Friction arose between Howe and Kaye on tour;{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=109}} this, along with Kaye's reported reluctance to play the [[Mellotron]] and the [[Minimoog]] synthesizer, preferring to stick exclusively to [[piano]] and [[Hammond organ]],<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book|first=John|last=Tobler|year=1992|title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition=1st|publisher=Reed International Books Ltd|location=London|page=229|id=CN 5585}}</ref> led to the keyboardist being fired from the band in the summer of 1971. Anderson recalled in a 2019 interview: "Steve and Chris came over and said, 'Look, Tony Kaye... great guy.' But, you know, we'd just seen [[Rick Wakeman]] about a month earlier. And I said, 'There's that Rick Wakeman guy,' and we've got to get on with life and move on, you know, rather than keep going on, set in the same circle. And that's what happens with a band."<ref name="BCBYesIndeed">{{cite web|url=https://bestclassicbands.com/jon-anderson-interview-3-26-19/ |title=Jon Anderson Interview? Yes, Indeed |last=Brodsky |first=Greg |publisher=Best Classic Bands |date=26 March 2019|access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref> Wakeman, a classically trained player who had left the folk rock group [[Strawbs]] earlier in the year, was already a noted studio musician, with credits including [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]], [[David Bowie]], [[Cat Stevens]] and [[Elton John]]. Squire commented that he could play "a grand piano for three bars, a Mellotron for two bars and a Moog for the next one absolutely spot on",<ref>{{cite video|people=Squire, Chris|title=BBC broadcast of Sounding Out: Yes on 10&nbsp;January&nbsp;1972}}</ref> which gave Yes the orchestral and choral textures that befitted their new material.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Released on 12 November 1971,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Sounds/70s/Sounds-1971-10-23-S-OCR.pdf|title=No Yes|magazine=Sounds|page=2|date=23 October 1971|access-date=24 July 2022|via=World Radio History}}</ref> the band's fourth album ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' showcased their growing interest in the structures of classical music, with an excerpt of ''[[The Firebird]]'' by [[Igor Stravinsky]] being played at the start of their concerts since the album's [[Fragile Tour|1971–1972 tour]].<ref>''Yessongs'' track listing. Atlantic Records 1973.</ref> Each member performed a solo track on the album, and it marked the start of their long collaboration with artist [[Roger Dean (artist)|Roger Dean]], who designed the [[Yes bubble logo|group's logo]], album art and stage sets. ''Fragile'' peaked at number 7 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 4 in the US<ref name="allmusicalbumchart">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430165547/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647/awards |archive-date=30 April 2016 |title=Yes Billboard Albums |website=Allmusic |url-status=unfit |access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> after it was released there in January 1972, and was their first record to reach the top ten in North America. A shorter version of the opening track, "[[Roundabout (Yes song)|Roundabout]]", was released as a single that peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] singles chart.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/>

In February 1972, Yes recorded a cover version of "[[America (Simon & Garfunkel song)|America]]" by [[Simon & Garfunkel]] and released it in July. The single reached number 46 on the US singles chart.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647/biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013092446/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647/biography|archive-date=13 October 2022|title=Yes Biography|website=Allmusic|access-date=13 October 2022|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> The track subsequently appeared on ''[[The New Age of Atlantic]]'', a 1972 compilation album of several bands signed to Atlantic Records, and again in the 1975 compilation ''[[Yesterdays (Yes album)|Yesterdays]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Popoff |first=Martin |title=Time and a Word: The Yes Story |publisher=Soundcheck Books |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9932120-2-4 |location=Great Britain |page=32}}</ref>

Released in September 1972, ''[[Close to the Edge]]'', the band's fifth album, was their most ambitious work so far. At 19 minutes, the [[Close to the Edge (song)|title track]] took up an entire side on the vinyl record and combined elements of classical music, psychedelic rock, pop and jazz. The album reached number 3 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> and number 4 on the UK charts.<ref name=officialchartsuk/>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=185}} "[[And You and I]]" was released as a single that peaked at number 42 in the US<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/> The growing critical and commercial success of the band was not enough to retain Bruford, who left Yes in the summer of 1972, before the album's release, to join [[King Crimson]]. The band considered several possible replacements, including [[Aynsley Dunbar]] (who was playing with [[Frank Zappa]] at the time),<ref>{{cite web|title=Chris Squire Takes A Straight And Stronger Course|url=http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2013/03/chris-squire-takes-a-straight-and-stronger-course-by-rick-suchow-bass-musician-magazine-march-2013/|website=Bass Musician Magazine|author=Rick Suchow|date=March 2013|publisher=V.I.E., LLC|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-date=20 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620064253/http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2013/03/chris-squire-takes-a-straight-and-stronger-course-by-rick-suchow-bass-musician-magazine-march-2013/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and decided on former [[Plastic Ono Band]] drummer [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]], a friend of Anderson and Offord who had once sat in with the band weeks before Bruford's departure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/2005/05/alan-white-3/|title=Yes' Alan White Exclusive Interview: Modern Drummer Magazine|date=18 May 2005|publisher=Moderndrummer.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> White learned the band's repertoire in three days before embarking on their [[Close to the Edge Tour|1972–1973 tour]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sweeting |first=Adam |date=29 May 2022 |title=Alan White obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/29/alan-white-obituary |access-date=22 June 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

By this point, Yes were beginning to enjoy worldwide commercial and critical success. Their early touring with White was featured on ''[[Yessongs]]'', a triple live album released in May 1973 that documented shows from 1972. The album reached number 7 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 12 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=136}} A [[Yessongs (film)|concert film]] of the same name premiered in 1975{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=146}} that documented their shows at London's [[Rainbow Theatre]] in December 1972.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=42}}

{{quote box
| quote = It is a fragmented masterpiece, assembled with loving care and long hours in the studio. Brilliant in patches, but often taking far too long to make its various points, and curiously lacking in warmth or personal expression ..."Ritual" is a dance of celebration and brings the first enjoyable moments, where Alan's driving drums have something to grip on to and the lyrics of la la la speak volumes. But even this cannot last long and cohesion is lost once more to the gods of drab self indulgence.
| source = —''[[Melody Maker]]'' review of ''[[Tales from Topographic Oceans]]'', 1973<ref name="Melody Maker TFTO">{{cite web|url=http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/date.asp?s=5&tname=5&tdate=135&navb=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030718012628/http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/date.asp?s=5&tname=5&tdate=135&navb=10|archive-date=18 July 2003|title=Yes – Adrift on the Oceans|publisher=Melody Maker|date=1 December 1973|access-date=4 November 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| width = 33%
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''[[Tales from Topographic Oceans]]'' was the band's sixth studio album, released on 7 December 1973.<ref>[https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified "BRIT Certified – bpi"], search "Tales from Topographic Oceans"</ref> It marked a change in their fortunes and polarised fans and critics alike. The double vinyl set was based on Anderson's interpretation of the [[Shastra|Shastric]] scriptures from a footnote within [[Paramahansa Yogananda]]'s book ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]''. The album became the first LP in the UK to ship gold before the record arrived at retailers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQkEAAAAMBAJ|title=Yes LP Breaks Ground in U.K.|date=15 December 1973|magazine=Billboard|page=42|access-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> It went on to [[List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1970s#1974|top the UK charts]] for two weeks<ref name=officialchartsuk/> while reaching number 6 in the US,<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> and became the band's fourth consecutive gold album. Wakeman was not pleased with the record and is critical of much of its material.<ref name=spinal>{{cite news|title=Yes, we were the original Spinal Tap, says Rick Wakeman of Seventies prog-rock supergroup|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23537889-yes-we-were-the-original-spinal-tap-says-rick-wakeman-of-seventies-prog-rock-supergroup.do|work=London Evening Standard|date=17 August 2009|access-date=15 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091102143937/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23537889-yes-we-were-the-original-spinal-tap-says-rick-wakeman-of-seventies-prog-rock-supergroup.do|archive-date=2 November 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> He felt sections were "bled to death" and contained too much musical padding.<ref>Chambers 2002, p. 233.</ref> Wakeman left the band after the [[Tales from Topographic Oceans Tour|1973–1974 tour]]; his solo album ''[[Journey to the Centre of the Earth (album)|Journey to the Centre of the Earth]]'' topped the UK charts in May 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=3 |title= Number 1 Albums – 1970s |publisher= The Official Charts Company |access-date= 11 February 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091230114951/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=3 |archive-date= 30 December 2009 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref> The tour included five consecutive sold-out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, the first time a rock band achieved this.{{sfn|Wooding|1978|p=114}}

=== 1974–1980: ''Relayer'', ''Going for the One'', ''Tormato'' and the Paris sessions ===
Several musicians were approached to replace Wakeman, including [[Vangelis Papathanassiou]], [[Eddie Jobson]] of [[Roxy Music]] and former Atlantis/Cat Stevens keyboardist [[Jean Roussel]]. Howe says he also asked [[Keith Emerson]], who did not want to leave [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]].{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=108}} Yes ultimately chose Swiss keyboardist [[Patrick Moraz]] of [[Refugee (band)|Refugee]], who arrived in August 1974<ref>{{cite news |title= News Briefs |magazine=Billboard |date=31 August 1974}}</ref> during the recording sessions for ''[[Relayer]]'', which took place at Squire's home in [[Virginia Water]], Surrey. Released in November that year, ''Relayer'' showcased a [[jazz fusion]]-influenced direction the band were pursuing. The album features the 22-minute track titled "[[The Gates of Delirium]]", which highlights a battle initially inspired by ''[[War and Peace]]'' by [[Leo Tolstoy]]. Its closing section, "Soon", was subsequently released as a single. The album reached No. 4 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and No. 5 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=154}} Yes embarked on their [[List of Yes concert tours (1960s–70s)#Relayer Tour|1974–1975 tour]] to support ''Relayer''. The compilation album ''[[Yesterdays (Yes album)|Yesterdays]]'', released in 1975, contained tracks from Yes's first two albums, the B-side track from their "Sweet Dreams" single from 1970 titled "Dear Father", and the original ten-minute version of their cover of "America".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Relayer & Yesterdays|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Ken|last=Barnes|date=19 June 1975}}</ref>

Between 1975 and 1976, each member of the band released a solo album. Their subsequent [[List of Yes concert tours (1960s–70s)#1976 Solo Albums Tour|1976 tour]] of North America with [[Peter Frampton]] featured some of the band's most-attended shows. The show of 12 June, also supported by [[Gary Wright]] and [[Pousette-Dart Band]] at [[John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia)|John F. Kennedy Stadium]] in Philadelphia, attracted over 100,000 people.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yestour '76 – Laser Show Intrigues Audiences|work=Circus Magazine|date=13 September 1976|author=Peter Crescenti}}</ref>
[[File:Yes concert.jpg|left|thumb|Yes in concert in August 1977. From left to right: [[Steve Howe]], [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]] (behind the drums), [[Jon Anderson]], [[Chris Squire]] and [[Rick Wakeman]].]] Roger Dean's brother Martyn was the main designer behind the tour's "Crab Nebula" stage set, while Roger and fabric designer Felicity Youette provided the backgrounds.

In late 1976, the band travelled to Switzerland and started recording for their album ''[[Going for the One]]'' at [[Mountain Studios]], [[Montreux]]. It was then that Anderson sent early versions of "Going for the One" and "[[Wonderous Stories]]" to Wakeman, who felt he could contribute to such material better than the band's past releases. Moraz was let go, after Wakeman was booked initially on a session musician basis, before being convinced by Squire to re-join the band full time.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Yesyears documentary 1991}}</ref> Upon its release in July 1977, ''Going for the One'' [[List of number-one albums from the 1970s (UK)#1977|topped]] the UK album charts for two weeks<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and reached number 8 in the US<ref name="allmusicalbumchart"/>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=166}} "[[Wonderous Stories]]" and "Going for the One" were released as singles in the UK and reached numbers 7 and 25, respectively.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=166}} Although the album's cover was designed by [[Hipgnosis]], it still features their Roger Dean [[Yes bubble logo|"bubble" logotype]]. The band's [[List of Yes concert tours (1960s–70s)#Going for the One Tour|1977 tour]] spanned across six months.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

''[[Tormato]]'' was released in September 1978 at the height of [[punk rock]] in England, during which the music press criticised Yes as representing the bloated excesses of early-1970s progressive rock. The album saw the band continuing their movement towards shorter songs; no track runs longer than eight minutes.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Yes Decade|date=17 October 1978|website=Circus Magazine|first=Kurt|last=Loder}}</ref> Wakeman replaced his Mellotrons with the [[Birotron]], a [[sampler (musical instrument)|tape replay keyboard]], and Squire experimented with harmonisers and [[Mu-tron]] pedals with his bass. Production was handled collectively by the band and saw disagreements at the mixing stage among the members. With heavy commercial rock-radio airplay, the album reached number 8 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 10 in the US charts, and was also certified platinum (1 million copies sold) by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref name="allmusicalbumchart"/> Despite internal and external criticisms of the album, the band's [[List of Yes concert tours (1960s–70s)#Tormato Tour|1978–1979 tour]] was a commercial success. Concerts were performed [[Theatre in the round|in the round]] with a £50,000 revolving stage and a 360-degree sound system fitted above it. Their dates at [[Madison Square Garden]] earned Yes a [[Madison Square Garden Gold Ticket Award|Golden Ticket Award]] for grossing over $1 million in box office receipts.{{sfn|Wooding|1978|p=197}}

In October 1979, the band convened in Paris with producer [[Roy Thomas Baker]]. At the time, Anderson and Wakeman favoured a more fantastical and delicate approach while the rest preferred a heavier rock sound. Howe, Squire and White liked none of the music Anderson was offering at the time as they felt it was too lightweight and lacking in the heaviness that they were generating in their own writing sessions. The Paris sessions abruptly ended in December after White broke his foot while rollerskating in a [[roller disco]].<ref name="lithiummagazine.com 21 March 2014">{{cite web|url=http://lithiummagazine.com/interview-chris-squire-yes-march-19-2014|title=An Interview with Chris Squire of YES – March 19, 2014|work=Lithium Magazine|date=21 March 2014|access-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322030334/http://lithiummagazine.com/interview-chris-squire-yes-march-19-2014|archive-date=22 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When the band, minus Wakeman (who had only committed to recording keyboard overdubs once new material would be ready to record), reconvened in February to resume work on the project, their growing musical differences, combined with internal dissension, obstructed progress. Journalist Chris Welch, after attending a rehearsal, noted that Anderson "was singing without his usual conviction and seemed disinclined to talk".<ref>Welch, Musicians Only, 14 June 1980, p. 5.</ref> By late March, Howe, Squire and White had begun demoing material as an instrumental trio, increasingly uncertain about Anderson's future involvement. Eventually, a serious band dispute over finance saw Anderson leave Yes, with a dispirited Wakeman departing at around the same time.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== 1980–1981: ''Drama'' and split ===
In 1980, pop duo [[The Buggles]] (singer [[Trevor Horn]] and keyboardist [[Geoff Downes]]) secured the services of [[Brian Lane (manager)|Brian Lane]], who had managed Yes since 1970, as their manager. The Buggles were best known for their 1979 hit single "[[Video Killed the Radio Star]]" from their album ''[[The Age of Plastic]]''. At this point, the departure of Anderson and Wakeman had been kept secret from everyone outside the Yes inner circle. Seeing an option of continuing the band with new creative input and expertise, Squire revealed the situation to Horn and Downes and suggested that they join Yes as full-time members. Horn and Downes accepted the invitation and the reconfigured band recorded the ''[[Drama (Yes album)|Drama]]'' album, which was released in August 1980. The record displayed a heavier, harder sound than the material Yes recorded with Anderson and Wakeman in 1979, opening with the lengthy hard rocker "[[Machine Messiah]]". The album received substantial radio airplay in the late summer–fall of 1980, and peaked at number 2 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 18 in the US, though it was the first Yes album to not be certified Gold by the RIAA since 1971.<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> Their [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Drama Tour|1980 tour]] of North America and the UK received a mixed reaction from audiences. They were well received in the United States and were awarded with a commemorative certificate after they performed a record 16 consecutive sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden since 1974.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=197}}

After the ''Drama'' tour, Yes reconvened in England to decide the band's next step, beginning by dismissing Lane as their manager. Horn was also dismissed,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Trevor |title=Adventures in Modern Recording |date=2022 |publisher=Nine Eight Books |location=UK |isbn=978-1-7887-0603-2 |page=95}}</ref> and went on to pursue a career in music production, with White and Squire next to depart. Left as the sole remaining members, Downes and Howe opted not to continue with the group and went their own separate ways in December 1980.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

''[[Yesshows]]'', a live album recorded during 1976 to 1978, mixed in mid-1979 and originally intended for release in late 1979, was released in November 1980, peaking at number 22 in the UK charts<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 43 in the US.<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/>

An announcement came from the group's management in March 1981 confirming that Yes no longer existed. Downes and Howe soon reunited to form [[Asia (band)|Asia]] with former [[King Crimson]] bassist and vocalist [[John Wetton]], and drummer [[Carl Palmer]] from [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]]. Squire and White continued to work together, initially recording sessions with [[Jimmy Page]] for a proposed band called [[XYZ (UK band)|XYZ]] (short for "ex-Yes-and-Zeppelin") in the spring of 1981. Page's former bandmate [[Robert Plant]] was also to be involved as the vocalist but he lost enthusiasm, citing his ongoing grieving for recently deceased Led Zeppelin drummer [[John Bonham]]. The short-lived group produced a few demo tracks, elements of which would appear in Page's band the Firm and on future Yes tracks "Mind Drive" and "Can You Imagine?". In late 1981, Squire and White released "[[Run with the Fox]]", a Christmas single with Squire on vocals which received radio airplay through the 1980s and early 1990s during the Christmas periods. A second Yes compilation album, ''[[Classic Yes]],'' was released in November 1981.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== 1982–1988: First reformation, ''90125'' and ''Big Generator'' ===
At the beginning of 1982, [[Phil Carson]] of Atlantic Records introduced Squire and White to guitarist and singer [[Trevor Rabin]], who had initially made his name with the South African supergroup [[Rabbitt]], subsequently releasing three solo albums, working as a record producer and even briefly considered being a member of [[Asia (band)|Asia]]. The three teamed up in a new band called [[Cinema (band)|Cinema]], for which Squire also recruited the original Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye. Later in 1982, Cinema entered the studio to record their debut album. Although Rabin and Squire initially shared lead vocals for the project, Trevor Horn was briefly brought into Cinema as a potential singer,<ref name="innerviewsrabin2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.innerviews.org/inner/rabin.html|title=Trevor Rabin – Capturing adrenaline |publisher=Innerviews.org|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> but soon opted to become the band's producer instead.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Horn worked well with the band. However, his clashes with Tony Kaye (complicated by the fact that Rabin was playing most of the keyboards during the recording sessions) led to Kaye's departure during the recording, though some of his playing was kept on the final album and he had returned by the time it was released.<ref name=innerviewsrabin2004/> Meanwhile, Squire encountered Jon Anderson (who, since leaving Yes, had released two solo albums and had success with the [[Jon and Vangelis]] project) at a Los Angeles party and, encouraged by Atlantic Records vice-president [[Phil Carson]], played Anderson the Cinema demo tracks. Anderson was then invited into the project as lead singer and joined in April 1983 during the last few weeks of the sessions, having comparatively little creative input beyond adding his lead vocals and re-writing some lyrics.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

At the suggestion of Carson and other Atlantic executives, Cinema then changed their name to Yes in June 1983. Rabin initially objected to this, as he now found that he had inadvertently joined a reunited band with a history and expectations, rather than help launch a new group.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scoremagacine.com/Entrevistas_eng_det.php?Codigo=19|title=Web dedicada a la Música de Cine y Bandas Sonoras|publisher=ScoreMagacine.com|date=22 September 2005|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-date=5 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705221320/http://www.scoremagacine.com/Entrevistas_eng_det.php?Codigo=19|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, with four of the five members having been members of Yes (with three of them being original members, including the distinctive lead singer) it suggested that the name change was sound commercial strategy. The new album marked a significant change in style as the revived Yes had adopted more of a [[pop rock]] sound with few moments that recalled their progressive rock past. This incarnation of the band has sometimes been informally referred to as "Yes-West", reflecting the band's new base in Los Angeles rather than London.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

[[File:Trevor Rabin July 2017.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Trevor Rabin in 2017]]
Yes released their comeback album ''[[90125]]'' (named after its catalogue serial number on [[Atco Records]]) in November 1983. It became their biggest-selling album, certified by the [[RIAA]] at triple-platinum (3 million copies) in sales in the US, and introduced the band to younger fans. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" [[List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)|topped]] the [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart for four weeks and went on to reach the [[List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984|number-one spot]] on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, the only single from Yes to do so,<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/> for two weeks in January 1984. Kaye's short-term replacement on keyboards, [[Eddie Jobson]], appeared briefly in the original video but was edited out as much as possible once Kaye had been persuaded to return to the band.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yesfans.com/archive/index.php/t-36085.html|title=Why I did not join Yes – by Eddie Jobson [Archive&#93; – Yesfans.com: The place for YES fans since 2001|publisher=Yesfans.com|date=20 February 2004|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>

In 1984, two further singles from the album "[[Leave It]]" and "[[It Can Happen (Yes song)|It Can Happen]]" reached number 24 and 57, respectively.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/> Yes also earned their only [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance|Best Rock Instrumental Performance]] in 1985 for the two-minute track "[[Cinema (Yes song)|Cinema]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT151|title=27th Annual Grammy Awards Final Nominations|date=26 January 1985|access-date=12 February 2011|volume=97|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=78|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|issue=4}}</ref> They were also nominated for an award for [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals]] with "Owner of a Lonely Heart", and a [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]] award with ''90125''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/02/22/and-whats-your-line-on-the-winners/|title=And What's Your Line on the Winners?|date=22 February 1985|newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> The band's [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#9012Live Tour|1984–1985 tour]] was the most lucrative in their history and spawned the home video release ''[[9012Live (video)|9012Live]]'', a concert film directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]] with added special effects from [[Charlex]] that cost $1 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/660003811.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+28%2C+1986&author=Steve+Morse%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=GENESIS%3A+PART-TIME+SOLOISTS%2C+PART-TIME+BAND&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118162911/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/660003811.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+28%2C+1986&author=Steve+Morse%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=GENESIS%3A+PART-TIME+SOLOISTS%2C+PART-TIME+BAND&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 November 2012|title=Genesis: Part-Time Soloists, Part-Time Band |date=28 February 1986|first=Steve|last=Morse|access-date=22 September 2017|newspaper=Boston Globe}}</ref> Issued in 1985, an accompanying live album also appeared that year, ''[[9012Live: The Solos]]'', which earned Yes a nomination for a second Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for Squire's solo track, a rendition of "[[Amazing Grace]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1987/grammys.htm|title=29th Grammy Awards – 1987|publisher=Rock on the Net|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>

Yes began recording for their twelfth album, ''[[Big Generator]]'', in 1985, initially with Trevor Horn returning as producer. The sessions underwent many starts and stops due to the use of multiple recording locations in Italy, London and Los Angeles, with interpersonal problems leading to Horn leaving the sessions partway through, all of which kept the album from timely completion (the album was intended for a 1986 release, but by the end of that year it was still incomplete).<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Yesyears documentary 1991|quote=Chris Squire on Big Generator: "It was supposed to come out a year before it did, which would've been better timing"}}</ref> Eventually Rabin took over final production. The album was released in September 1987, and immediately began receiving heavy radio airplay, with sales reaching number 17 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 15 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> ''Big Generator'' earned Yes a nomination for a second Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1988, and was also certified platinum (with 1 million-plus in sales) by the RIAA.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CeslAAAAIBAJ&pg=6885,4044707&dq|title=Irish rockers among Grammy nominees|date=15 January 1988|author=Larry McShane|website=[[The Telegraph (Nashua)|The Telegraph]]|publisher=Telegraph Publishing Company|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> The single "[[Love Will Find a Way (Yes song)|Love Will Find a Way]]" topped the Mainstream Rock chart, while "[[Rhythm of Love (Yes song)|Rhythm of Love]]" reached number 2 and "[[Shoot High Aim Low]]" number 11.<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> The [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Big Generator Tour|1987–1988 tour]] ended with an appearance at Madison Square Garden on 14 May 1988 as part of [[Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary|Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert]].{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== 1988–1995: ''Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe'', ''Union'' and ''Talk'' ===
By the end of 1988, Anderson felt creatively sidelined by Rabin and Squire and had grown tired of the musical direction of the "Yes-West" line-up. He took leave of the band, asserting that he would never stay in Yes purely for the money, and started work in [[Montserrat]] on a solo project that eventually involved Wakeman, Howe and Bruford. This collaboration led to suggestions that there would be some kind of reformation of the "classic" Yes, although from the start the project had included bass player [[Tony Levin]], whom Bruford had worked with in King Crimson. The project, rather than taking over or otherwise using the Yes name, was called [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe]] (ABWH).{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Their [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (album)|eponymous album]], released in June 1989, featured "Brother of Mine", which became an MTV hit and went gold in the United States. It later emerged that the four band members had not all recorded together; Anderson and producer [[Chris Kimsey]] slotted their parts into place. Howe has stated publicly that he was unhappy with the mix of his guitars on the album,<ref name="Innerviews">{{cite web|url=http://www.innerviews.org/inner/howe2.html|title=Steve Howe – Into the storm|publisher=Innerviews|year=2012|access-date=22 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723040600/http://www.innerviews.org/inner/howe2.html|archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref> though a version of "Fist of Fire" with more of Howe's guitars left intact appeared on the ''[[In a Word: Yes (1969-)|In a Word: Yes]]'' box set in 2002. ABWH toured in [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe Tour|1989 and 1990]] as "An Evening of Yes Music" which featured Levin, keyboardist [[Julian Colbeck]], and guitarist [[Milton McDonald]] as support musicians. A live album and home video were recorded and released in 1993, both titled ''[[An Evening of Yes Music Plus]]'' that featured [[Jeff Berlin]] on bass due to Levin suffering from illness. The tour was also dogged by legal battles sparked by Atlantic Records due to the band's references to Yes in promotional materials and the tour title.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Following the tour, the group returned to the recording studio to produce their second album, tentatively called ''Dialogue''. After hearing the tracks, [[Arista Records]] refused to release the album as they felt the initial mixes were weak.<ref>Chambers 2002, p. 112</ref> They encouraged the group to seek outside songwriters, preferably ones who could help them deliver hit singles. Anderson approached Rabin about the situation, and Rabin sent Anderson a demo tape with three songs, indicating that ABWH could have one but had to send the others back. Arista listened to them and wanted all of them, proposing to create a combined album with both Yes factions.<ref>Chambers 2002, p. 112-113</ref>

Meanwhile, the "Yes-West" group had been working on a follow-up to ''Big Generator'' and had been shopping around for a new singer, auditioning [[Roger Hodgson]] of [[Supertramp]], [[Steve Walsh (musician)|Steve Walsh]] of [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]], [[Billy Sherwood]] of [[World Trade (band)|World Trade]] and solo pop/dance singer [[Robbie Nevil]] (who'd scored a US #2 hit in 1986 with "[[C'est la Vie (Robbie Nevil song)|C'est la Vie]]").<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30492578/|title=Yes: a weird return of '70s once-weres and '80s wanna-bes|first=Roger|last=Catlin|page=4|date=18 April 1991|newspaper=Hartford Courant|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref> Walsh only spent one day with the band, but Sherwood and Squire quickly established a rapport and continued with writing sessions, although Sherwood ultimately chose not to formally join the group or become the lead singer. Arista now suggested that the "Yes-West" group, with Anderson on vocals, record the songs from Rabin's demo tape and add them to the incomplete ABWH album, which would then be released as a full album under the Yes name.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

''[[Union (Yes album)|Union]]'' was released in April 1991 and is the thirteenth studio album from Yes. Each group played their own songs, with Anderson singing on all tracks. Squire sang background vocals on a few of the ABWH tracks, with Tony Levin playing all the bass on those songs. The album does not feature all eight members playing at once. The track "Masquerade" earned Yes a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920108&slug=1469119|title=Grammy Nominations Span Streisand, Seal, Seattle Symphony|date=8 January 1992|access-date=12 February 2011|website=[[The Seattle Times]]|publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]}}</ref> Howe described the nomination for a track he had recorded solo at home as "pure justice", following the difficulties in making the album.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=91}} ''Union'' sold approximately 1.5&nbsp;million copies worldwide, and peaked at number 7 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 15 in the US charts.<ref name="allmusicalbumchart"/> Two singles from the album were released. "[[Lift Me Up (Yes song)|Lift Me Up]]" topped the Mainstream Rock charts in May 1991 for six weeks, while "[[Saving My Heart]]" peaked at number 9.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/>

Almost the entire band have openly stated their dislike of ''Union''.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=324–325}} Bruford has disowned the album entirely, and Wakeman was reportedly unable to recognise any of his keyboard work in the final edit and threw his copy of the album out of his limousine.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=420}} He has since referred to the album as "Onion" because it makes him cry when he thinks about it. ''Union'' co-producer [[Jonathan Elias]] later stated publicly in an interview that Anderson, as the associate producer, knew of the session musicians' involvement. He added that he and Anderson had even initiated their contributions, because hostility between some of the band members at the time was preventing work from being accomplished.<ref>{{cite web|author=Henry Potts|url=http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/iv/jeinterview.htm|title=Bondegezou.co.uk|publisher=Bondegezou.co.uk|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> The [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Union Tour|1991–1992 Union tour]] united all eight members on a revolving circular stage.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sutcliffe|first=Phil|date=5 March 1991|title=Stories|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=12–13}}</ref> Following the tour's conclusion in 1992, Bruford chose not to remain involved with Yes and returned to his jazz project ''[[Earthworks (album)|Earthworks]]''. Howe also ceased his involvement with the band at this time. In August 1991, while the ''Union'' tour was underway, Atlantic released ''[[Yesyears]]'', a four-CD box set anthology. Two accompanying home videos, ''[[Yesyears (video)|Yesyears]]'' and ''[[Greatest Video Hits (Yes video)|Greatest Video Hits]]'', were also released during 1991.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

In 1993, the album ''[[Symphonic Music of Yes]]'' was released, featuring orchestrated Yes tracks arranged by [[Dee Palmer]]. Howe, Bruford and Anderson perform on the record, joined by the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]], the [[English Chamber Orchestra]] and the [[London Community Gospel Choir]]. Howe and Bruford performed together on television (presented as "Yes") to promote the album, marking Bruford's final performance under the Yes name before retiring from performing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ewingpublished |first=Jerry |date=10 August 2022 |title=Revisiting the car-crash moment Yes inadvertently performed as a power trio on live TV |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/revisiting-the-car-crash-moment-yes-inadvertently-performed-as-a-power-trio-on-live-tv |website=loudersound |language=en}}</ref>

The next Yes studio album, as with ''Union'', was masterminded by a record company, rather than by the band itself.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=336}} Victory Music approached Rabin with a proposal to produce an album solely with the ''90125'' line-up. Rabin initially countered by requesting that Wakeman also be included. Rabin began assembling the album at his home, using the then-pioneering concept of a digital home studio, and used material written by himself and Anderson.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeRiso |first=Nick |date=10 May 2014 |title=Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson on Yes' Most Overlooked Album |url=https://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/05/10/it-was-a-perfect-storm-trevor-rabin-and-jon-anderson-remember-yes-most-overlooked-album/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |website=Something Else! |language=en-US}}</ref> The new album was well into production in 1993, but Wakeman's involvement had finally been cancelled, as his refusal to leave his long-serving management created insuperable legal problems.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

''[[Talk (Yes album)|Talk]]'' was released in March 1994 and is the band's fourteenth studio release. Its cover was designed by [[pop art]]ist [[Peter Max]]. The record was largely composed and performed by Rabin, with the other band members following Rabin's tracks for their respective instrumentation.<ref name=ultimateclassicrock>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-talk/|author=Jeff Giles|title=Revisiting Yes' Confused 1994 Album, 'Talk'|date=21 March 2014|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> It was digitally recorded and produced by Rabin with engineer Michael Jay, using 3.4 [[Gigabyte|GB]] of hard disk storage split among four networked [[Apple Macintosh]] computers running [[Digital Performer]]. The album blended elements of radio-friendly rock with a more structurally ambitious approach taken from the band's progressive blueprint, with the fifteen-minute track "[[Endless Dream (Yes song)|Endless Dream]]". The album reached number 20 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 33 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> The track "[[The Calling (Yes song)|The Calling]]" reached number 2 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart and "[[Walls (Yes song)|Walls]]", which Rabin had written with former [[Supertramp]] songwriter and co-founder [[Roger Hodgson]], peaked at number 24.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/> It also became Yes's second-last-charting single.<ref name="SomethingElse">{{cite web|url=http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/12/25/roger-hodgson-yes-trevor-rabin/|title=Roger Hodgson collaboration represents road not taken for Yes: 'One of those things that fizzled out'|publisher=Something Else! Reviews|date=25 December 2014|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Rabin and Hodgson wrote a lot of material together and became close friends.<ref name="SomethingElse"/> Yes performed "Walls" on Late Show with David Letterman on 20 June 1994.<ref name="morningcall1994">{{cite news
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151223054631/http://articles.mcall.com/1994-06-19/entertainment/2971686_1_bands-sound-punk
|archive-date=23 December 2015
|url=https://www.mcall.com/1994/06/19/yes-uses-the-latest-sound-techniques-affirmative-action/|title=Yes Uses The Latest Sound Techniques Affirmative Action|date=19 June 1994|first=Rich|last=Harry|newspaper=The Morning Call|access-date=4 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Talk Tour|1994 tour]] (for which the band employed Billy Sherwood as a support musician on additional guitar, bass, vocals and keyboards) used a sound system developed by Rabin named Concertsonics which allowed the audience located in certain seating areas to tune portable FM radios to a specific frequency, so they could hear the concert with headphones.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/08/05/yes-mines-cutting-edge-of-sound/|date=5 August 1994|author=Parry Gettelman|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=22 September 2017|title=Yes Mines Cutting Edge Of Sound}}</ref>

In early 1995, following the tour, disagreements and dissatisfactions forced another change in the band. 1990s Yes manager Jon Brewer has stated that Squire had not appreciated the ''Talk'' production process: "(he) didn't like that. He didn't think it was what Yes was all about; he was very much against a computerised, digital sound at that time. So Trevor and Chris moved away from one another for quite a while."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Rob |title=Former Manager And Friend Jon Brewer Remembers Chris Squire |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/former-manager-and-friend-jon-brewer-remembers-chris-squire |access-date=15 May 2024 |work=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]] |date=28 September 2015}}</ref> For his part, Rabin felt that he had achieved his highest ambitions with ''Talk'' and lamented its disappointing reception, feeling that this was due to the fact that it "just wasn't what people wanted to hear at the time." Having remarked at the conclusion of the tour "I think I'm done", Rabin quit the band and returned to Los Angeles, where he shifted his focus to composing for films.<ref name=ultimateclassicrock/> Kaye also left Yes to pursue other projects.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== 1995–2000: ''Keys to Ascension'', ''Open Your Eyes'' and ''The Ladder'' ===
In November 1995, Anderson, Squire and White resurrected the "classic" 1970s line-up of Yes by inviting Wakeman and Howe back to the band, recording two new lengthy tracks called "Be the One" and "That, That Is". In March 1996 Yes performed three live shows at the [[Fremont Theater]] in [[San Luis Obispo]], California which were recorded and released, along with the new studio tracks, that October on [[CMC International]] Records as the ''[[Keys to Ascension]]'' album, which peaked at number 48 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 99 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> A same-titled [[Keys to Ascension (video)|live video]] of the shows was also released that year.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Yes continued to record new tracks in the studio, drawing some material written around the time of the XYZ project. At one point the new songs were to be released as a studio album, but commercial considerations meant that the new tracks were eventually packaged with the remainder of the 1996 San Luis Obispo shows in November 1997 on ''[[Keys to Ascension 2]]''. The record managed to reach number 62 in the UK,<ref name=officialchartsuk/> but failed to chart in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> Disgruntled at the way a potential studio album had been sacrificed in favour of the ''Keys to Ascension'' releases (as well as the way in which a Yes tour was being arranged without his input or agreement), Wakeman left the group again. (The studio material from both albums would eventually be compiled and re-released without the live tracks onto a single CD, 2001's ''[[Keystudio]]''.){{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

With Yes in disarray again, Squire turned to Billy Sherwood (by now the band's engineer) for help.<ref name=se-sherwood102013>{{cite news|url=http://news.allaboutjazz.com/something-else-interview-billy-sherwood-formerly-of-yes.php#.VHNWNrFFDVU|title=Something Else! Interview: Billy Sherwood, Formerly of Yes|publisher=News.allaboutjazz.com|date=13 October 2011|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Both men had been working on a side project called [[Conspiracy (band)|Conspiracy]] and reworked existing demos and recordings from there to turn them into Yes songs, and also worked on new material with Anderson and White. (Howe's involvement at this stage was minimal, mainly taking place towards the end of the sessions.) Sherwood's integral involvement with the writing, production, and performance of the music led to his finally joining Yes as a full member (taking on the role of harmony singer, keyboardist and second guitarist).{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The results of the sessions were released in November 1997 as the seventeenth Yes studio album, ''[[Open Your Eyes (Yes album)|Open Your Eyes]]'' (on the Beyond Music label, who ensured that the group had greater control in packaging and naming). The music (mainly at Sherwood's urging) attempted to bridge the differing Yes styles of the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="se-sherwood102013"/> (Sherwood: "My goal was to try to break down those partisan walls…&nbsp;For that, I am proud—to have aligned planets for a moment in time."<ref name="se-sherwood102013"/>) However, ''Open Your Eyes'' was not a chart success; the record peaked at number 151 on the ''Billboard'' 200<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> but failed to enter the charts in the UK. The [[Open Your Eyes (Yes song)|title single]] managed to reach number 33 on the mainstream rock chart.<ref name=allmusicsinglechart/>

For the [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Open Your Eyes and Thirtieth Anniversary Tour|1997/1998 ''Open Your Eyes'' tour]], Yes hired Russian keyboard player [[Igor Khoroshev]], who had played on some of the album tracks. Significantly, the tour setlist featured only a few pieces from the new album, and mostly concentrated on earlier material. Anderson and Howe, who had been less involved with the writing and production on ''Open Your Eyes'' than they'd wished, would express dissatisfaction about the album later.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

By the time the band came to record their eighteenth studio album ''[[The Ladder (Yes album)|The Ladder]]'' with producer [[Bruce Fairbairn]], Khoroshev had become a full-time member (with Sherwood now concentrating on songwriting, vocal arrangements and second guitar). With Khoroshev's classically influenced keyboard style, and with all members now making more or less equal writing contributions, the band's sound found a balance between its eclectic 1970s progressive rock style and the more polished pop sound sought on the previous album. ''The Ladder'' also featured Latin music ingredients and clear world music influences, mostly brought in by Alan White (although Fairbairn's multi-instrumentalist colleague [[Randy Raine-Reusch]] made a strong contribution to the album's textures). One of the album tracks, "Homeworld (The Ladder)", was written for Relic Entertainment's [[Homeworld]], a real-time strategy computer game, and was used as the credits and outro theme. Pleased with the result of the album's creation, the band had been in tentative discussions to continue work with Fairbairn on future projects, but he died suddenly during the final mixing sessions of the album.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Morse|first=Tim|date=March 2000|title=Chris Squire Still Climbing|magazine=Bass Player|url=https://yesinthepress.com/2000/mar/mar_00.html|location= |publisher= |access-date=30 May 2023}}</ref>

''The Ladder'' was released in September 1999, peaking at number 36 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 99 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> While [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#The Ladder Tour|on tour in 1999 and early 2000]], Yes recorded their performance at the [[House of Blues]] in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] on 31 October 1999, releasing it in September 2000 as a live album and DVD called ''[[House of Yes: Live from House of Blues]]''. As Sherwood saw his role in Yes as creating and performing new music, and the rest of the band now wished to concentrate on performing the back catalogue, he amicably resigned from Yes at the end of the tour.<ref name="se-sherwood102013"/>

In summer 2000, Yes embarked on the three-month [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#Masterworks Tour|Masterworks tour]] of the United States, on which they performed only material which had been released between 1970 and 1974 (''The Yes Album'' through to ''Relayer''). While on tour, Khoroshev was involved in a backstage incident of sexual assault with a female security guard at Nissan Pavilion in [[Bristow, Virginia]] on 23 July 2000<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailypress.com/2000/07/26/yes-keyboardist-needs-to-keep-his-hands-on-the-keys/|title=Yes Keyboardist Needs To Keep His Hands On The Keys|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Daily Press|date=26 July 2000|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630160439/http://articles.dailypress.com/2000-07-26/news/0007260043_1_guards-battery-sexually|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pollstar.com/article/touchy-feely-musician-gets-slapped-11021|title=Touchy-Feely Musician Gets Slapped|magazine=Pollstar|date=26 July 2000|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://zenponies.com/yitp/2000/jul/jul28_00.html|title=Yes in the Press|publisher=Zenponies.com|date=28 July 2000|access-date=21 September 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033404/http://zenponies.com/yitp/2000/jul/jul28_00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and parted company with the band at the end of the tour.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== 2001–2008: ''Magnification'', Anniversary touring, and Anderson's departure ===
Following the departures of Sherwood and Khoroshev and the death of Fairbairn, Yes once again set about reinventing themselves, this time choosing to record without a keyboardist, opting instead to include a 60-piece orchestra conducted by [[Larry Groupé]]; the first time the band used an orchestra since ''Time and a Word'' in 1970. The result was their nineteenth studio album, 2001's ''[[Magnification (album)|Magnification]]''. The record was not a chart success; it peaked at number 71 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and number 186 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> The Yes Symphonic Tour ran from July to December 2001 and had the band performing on stage with an orchestra and American keyboardist [[Tom Brislin]]. Their two shows in Amsterdam, in November, were recorded for their 2002 DVD and 2009 CD release ''[[Symphonic Live]]''. The band invited Wakeman to play with them for the filming, but he was on a solo tour at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfte.org/interviews/rw263.html|title=Conversation with Rick Wakeman|first=Mike|last=Tiano|publisher=Notes from the Edge|date=14 July 2002|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref>

Following Wakeman's announcement of his return in April 2002, Yes embarked on their [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#Full Circle Tour|Full Circle Tour]] in 2002–2003 that included their first performances in Australia since 1973.<ref name="billboard03">{{cite magazine|title=''Billboard'' Spotlight: Yes 35th Anniversary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0REEAAAAMBAJ|magazine=Billboard|date=1 November 2003|pages=45–46, 48–50, 55–59|publisher=Nielsen Business Media Inc}}</ref> The band's appearance in [[Montreux]] on this tour was documented on the album and DVD ''[[Live at Montreux 2003]]'', released in 2007. In 2002, [[Rhino Records]] issued ''[[In a Word: Yes (1969–)|In a Word: Yes]]'', a five CD box set of classic, rare and unreleased tracks from the band's history, including some from the 1979 Paris sessions, followed a year later by the compilation album ''[[The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection]]'', which reached number 10 in the UK charts,<ref name=officialchartsuk/> their highest-charting album since 1991, and number 131 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> During 2003 and 2004, Rhino also released remastered editions of all Yes' studio albums up to, and including, ''90125'', all featuring rare and previously unreleased bonus tracks. These editions would be collected in 2013 as ''[[The Studio Albums 1969–1987]]'' box set, with ''Big Generator'' also receiving the same treatment.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} On 18 March 2003, minor planet [[7707 Yes|(7707) Yes]] was named in honour of the band.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/special/rocknroll/0007707.html|title=(7707) Yes|publisher=Cbat.eps.harvard.edu|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>

On 26 January 2004, the film ''[[Yesspeak]]'' premiered in a number of select theatres, followed by a closed-circuit live acoustic performance of the group. Both ''Yesspeak'' and the acoustic performance, titled ''[[Yes Acoustic: Guaranteed No Hiss]]'', were released on DVD later that year. A [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#35th Anniversary Tour|35th anniversary tour]] followed in 2004 which was documented on the DVD ''[[Songs from Tsongas]]'', released in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yes, 'Songs From Tsongas' – DVD Review |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-songs-from-tsongas/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=8 October 2014 }}</ref> After their 35th Anniversary Tour, Yes described themselves as "on hiatus".{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=227-28,234}}

During the hiatus, Yes members continued to collaborate. Squire, Howe and White reunited for one night only with former members [[Trevor Horn]], [[Trevor Rabin]] and [[Geoff Downes]] during a show celebrating Horn's career, performing three Yes songs. The show video was released in DVD in 2008 under the name ''Trevor Horn and Friends: Slaves to the Rhythm''.<ref name=horn2004>{{cite web|title=2004 concert with Trevor Horn|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75O9XiiYHPA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/75O9XiiYHPA| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]]| date=19 June 2011 |access-date=22 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="SlavesToTheRythm">{{cite web|title=Trevor Horn and Friends: Slaves to Rhythm|url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/108749-trevor-horn-and-friends-slaves-to-rhythm/|website=Popmatter.com|date=23 July 2009|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Anderson toured jointly with Wakeman, for concerts focused largely on Yes material, White joined fellow Yes-men Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood in Circa, and Howe reunited to record, release and tour with once-and-future Yes bandmate Geoff Downes in the reunion of the original Asia line-up.

In May 2008, a fortieth-anniversary Close to the Edge and Back Tour—which was to feature [[Oliver Wakeman]] on keyboards—was announced. Anderson has said that they had been preparing four new "lengthy, multi-movement compositions" for the world tour,<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ex-yes-frontman-jon-anderson-opens-up-about-getting-fired-20110706|title=Ex-Yes Frontman Jon Anderson Opens Up About Getting Fired|work=Rolling Stone Music |author=Andy Greene|date=6 July 2011|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> but he had expressed disinterest in producing a new studio album after the low sales of ''Magnification'', suggesting that recording one was not "logical anymore".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045684/yes-reveals-very-different-new-material|title=Yes Reveals 'Very Different' New Material|magazine=Billboard|author=Gary Graff|date=1 May 2010|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 March 2008 |title=Yes - 2008 Tour Dates |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/yes-2008-tour-d/ |access-date=14 June 2025 |website=[[BrooklynVegan]]}}</ref> The tour was abruptly cancelled prior to rehearsals, after Anderson suffered an asthma attack and was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure, and was advised by doctors to avoid touring for six months.<ref name="NME">{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nme-1293-1332478|title=Yes cancel 40th anniversary tour|publisher=NME|date=4 June 2008|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>

In September 2008, the remaining three members, eager to resume touring regardless of Anderson's availability, announced the [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#In the Present Tour|In the Present Tour]] billed as Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes, with Canadian [[Benoît David]], the singer in a Yes cover band, and Oliver Wakeman on keyboards. According to Anderson, he was removed from the band against his will;<ref name="Louder Sound">{{cite web |title="I contacted Steve Howe and got very little back. Eventually you say, 'OK, I've got to move on'": Jon Anderson is finally over the idea of rejoining Yes |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/i-contacted-steve-howe-and-got-very-little-back-eventually-you-say-ok-ive-got-to-move-on-jon-anderson-is-finally-over-the-idea-of-rejoining-yes |website=Classic Rock |date=21 September 2024 |publisher=Louder Sound |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> he expressed wanting to rejoin the band after his recovery, and initially disputed the continuation of the band as "Yes".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/yes-jon-anderson-disappointed-that-band-recruited-replacement-20080924|author=Daniel Kreps|title=Yes' Jon Anderson "Disappointed" That Band Recruited Replacement|date=24 September 2008|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="Louder Sound"/> As Anderson was a co-owner of the Yes trademark, the remaining members agreed at the time not to tour with the Yes name.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/calgary-herald-rock-band-says-yes-to-you/171748449/|title=Rock band says Yes to YouTube star|first=Brian|last=Mansfield|newspaper=Calgary Herald|page=C7|date=4 November 2008|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=22 April 2019}}</ref>

=== 2009–2015: Second reformation, ''Fly from Here'', ''Heaven & Earth'', and Squire's death ===

In October 2009, Squire declared that the new line-up from the In the Present Tour "is now Yes", and the tour, with the band now billed as Yes, continued through 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://auralmoon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2885|title=Yes|publisher=Aural Moon|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Their 2010 studio sessions would yield material eventually to be released as ''[[From a Page]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-revisit-2010-recordings-for-new-album-from-a-page|title=Yes revisit 2010 recordings for new album From A Page|date=25 October 2019|publisher=Louder Sound}}</ref>

In August 2010, it was announced that new material had been written for ''[[Fly from Here]]'', Yes's twentieth studio album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/yes-peter-frampton-performing-at-lucky-star-casino-in-oklahoma/article/3472712/?page=2|title=Yes, Peter Frampton performing at Lucky Star Casino in Oklahoma|author=Genbe Triplett|publisher=NewsOK.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/276493|author=Earl Dittman|title=On the road again, Prog-rockers Yes say 'no' to calling it quits|date=25 July 2009 |publisher=DigitalJournal|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Yes signed a deal with [[Frontiers Records]] and began recording in Los Angeles. Trevor Horn served as producer, and Geoff Downes was brought back to replace Oliver Wakeman on keyboards; much of the album material was extrapolated from a pair of songs written by Horn and Downes around the time that they had been Yes members. Asserting that all studio recording was to be carried out by "the line-up that actually ... does the work", Howe dispelled rumours that an invitation to sing on the record had been extended to Anderson, who subsequently announced a new project as an ongoing collaboration with former Yes members Wakeman and Rabin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Interview_Steve_Howe_on_Asias_Omega_Touring_With_Yes_and_the_Steve_Howe_Trio?page=2 |title=Interview: Steve Howe on Asia's "Omega", Touring With Yes, and the Steve Howe Trio|date=29 July 2010|publisher=Premier Guitar|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Trevor Rabin Interview|first=Malcolm|last=Dome|journal=Classic Rock Presents ... Prog|date=March 2010|issue=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Saying Yes to Seizing the Moment|first=Mike|last=Mettler|journal=Progression|issue=70|date=Fall 2016}}</ref><ref name=guitarinternational>{{cite web|url=http://guitarinternational.com/2010/10/21/interivew-with-composer-guitarist-and-recording-artist-trevor-rabin/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220072808/http://guitarinternational.com/2010/10/21/interivew-with-composer-guitarist-and-recording-artist-trevor-rabin/|date=21 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2011|title=Trevor Rabin Interview: Guitarist, Composer, Performer|first=Arlene R.|last=Weiss|publisher=Guitar International|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>

Upon completion in March 2011,<ref name="bradenton.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.bradenton.com/2011/03/10/3020865/yes-squire-on-bands-first-album.html|title=Yes' Squire on band's first album in a decade|publisher=Bradenton.com|date=10 March 2011|access-date=13 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317021234/http://www.bradenton.com/2011/03/10/3020865/yes-squire-on-bands-first-album.html|archive-date=17 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and post-production a month later,<ref name="theweekender.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.theweekender.com/music/Affirmative_action_03-22-2011.html|title=Affirmative action|author=Nikki M. Mascali|work=The Weekender|date=22 March 2011|access-date=12 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721143943/http://www.theweekender.com/music/Affirmative_action_03-22-2011.html|archive-date=21 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Fly from Here'' was released worldwide in July,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/yes-we-can-fly-video-released|title=YES: 'We Can Fly' Video Released|date=6 July 2011|publisher=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref> peaking at number 30 in the UK<ref name=officialchartsuk/> and 36 in the US<ref name=allmusicalbumchart/> Yes embarked on their [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#Rite of Spring and Fly From Here Tours 2011-2012|Rite of Spring and Fly from Here tours]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2011/11/12/concert-review-yes-at-birmingham-symphony-hall/|title=Concert review: Yes at Birmingham Symphony Hall|work=Express & Star|date=12 November 2011|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> with [[Styx (band)|Styx]] and [[Procol Harum]] supporting on select dates. The live Yes album and DVD, ''[[In the Present – Live from Lyon]]'', taken from the band's previous tour, were released in the same year.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

[[File:Jon Davison - 24 de Maio de 2013.JPG|thumb|In February 2012, David was replaced by singer Jon Davison (pictured).]]
In February 2012, David contracted a respiratory illness and was replaced by [[Glass Hammer]] singer [[Jon Davison]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/exclusive-yes-recruit-another-new-singer-20120208|title=EXCLUSIVE: Yes Recruit Another New Singer|publisher=Noise11|access-date=8 February 2012|first=Paul|last=Cashmere|date=8 February 2012}}</ref> Davison had been recommended to Squire by their common friend [[Taylor Hawkins]], drummer for the [[Foo Fighters]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Bill |date=13 September 2012 |title=Glass Hammer Singer is Yes Frontman |url=http://www.chattanoogapulse.com/articles/glass-hammer-singer-is-yes-frontman/ |access-date=13 October 2022 |website=The Pulse » Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative |language=en-us}}</ref> Davison would join Yes to complete the band's scheduled dates across the year.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

According to Anderson, he was healthy enough to sing for the 2012 dates, and had offered to return to the band.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/jon-anderson-on-obama-radiohead-and-yes-7051743|title=Jon Anderson on Obama, Radiohead and Yes |date=28 February 2012 |newspaper=Dallas Observer}}</ref> In November 2013, Anderson again expressed a wish to return to Yes, saying "it's really great music, but it's going to feel different because… leading the band… I had this certain energy, and it's missing."<ref>{{cite web|author=Hans Morgenstern|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/jon-anderson-on-yes-i-hope-we-get-back-together-and-do-the-tour-everybody-dreams-of-6448659?storyPage=2|title=Jon Anderson on Yes: "I Hope We Get Back Together and Do the Tour Everybody Dreams Of" – Page 2 &#124; Miami New Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106171940/http://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/jon-anderson-on-yes-i-hope-we-get-back-together-and-do-the-tour-everybody-dreams-of-6448659#page-2|archive-date=6 November 2017|publisher=Blogs.miaminewtimes.com|date=7 November 2013|access-date=18 October 2022}}</ref> On Anderson's potential return to Yes, Howe commented: “One never wants to say never, but basically I can’t see it. I love Jon. I'm a lot older now, and so is he, and the only terms I work on is that I'm happy working on this. I'm not going to take a sudden load on my back that I either don't need or want. My music’s always guided me, and it’s not telling me to do those things. It's telling me to go forwards."<ref>{{cite web |title=Yes guitarist Steve Howe on a potential reunion with Jon Anderson: “I love Jon – but the only terms I work on is that I'm happy” |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/steve-howe-yes-i-love-jon-anderson |publisher=Louder Sound |access-date=22 August 2025}}</ref>

On 7 March 2013, founding guitarist [[Peter Banks]] died of heart failure.<ref>{{cite news |last=Welch |first=Chris |date=14 March 2013 |title=Peter Banks: Original guitarist with Yes, giants of progressive rock|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-banks-original-guitarist-with-yes-giants-of-progressive-rock-8535209.html|access-date=30 November 2024}}</ref>

From March 2013 to June 2014, Yes completed the [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#Three Album Tour 2013-2014|Three Album Tour]] (performing ''The Yes Album'', ''Close to the Edge'' and ''Going for the One'' in their entirety),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.progrockmag.com/news/steve-howe-wanted-3-album-yes-tour-for-years/|title=Steve Howe Wanted 3-Album Yes Tour For Years|author=Martin Kielty|publisher=Progrockmag.com|date=18 December 2012|access-date=14 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128022113/http://www.progrockmag.com/news/steve-howe-wanted-3-album-yes-tour-for-years/|archive-date=28 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/yes-revisit-three-classic-albums-2013-north-american-tour|title=Yes to Revisit Three Classic Albums on 2013 North American Tour|publisher=GuitarWorld|date=10 December 2012|access-date=22 September 2017|author=Damian Fanelli|newspaper=Guitar World }}</ref> a progressive-rock themed cruise titled "Cruise to the Edge",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yesworld.com/|title=Official website for the progressive rock band YES|publisher=Yesworld.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> and a second cruise in April 2014. The show on 11 May 2014 in Bristol was released as a live video album, ''[[Like It Is: Yes at the Bristol Hippodrome]]''.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

''[[Heaven & Earth (Yes album)|Heaven & Earth]]'', the band's twenty-first studio album and first with Davison, was recorded between January and March 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/nl/interviews/view/id/4957|title=Lords of Metal ezine |work=Lords of Metal |publisher=Lordsofmetal.nl|access-date=22 September 2017 |author1=Winston }}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=asiageoff|number=441997244611317760|title=See ya Los Angeles! Done my bits on the Yes album. Been fun. Good luck to @RoyThomasBaker and the rest of the lads finishing up next week|access-date=22 September 2017|last=Downes|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoff Downes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212811/https://twitter.com/asiageoff/status/441997244611317760|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jambase.com/article/tour-dates-yes-u-s-summer-tour-2014|title=Tour Dates &#124; Yes U.S Summer Tour 2014 on JamBase|publisher=Jambase.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> at Neptune Studios in Los Angeles with [[Roy Thomas Baker]] as producer and former band member [[Billy Sherwood]] as engineer, backing vocals, and mixer.<ref name="sherwood">{{cite news|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152035889019141&set=a.147650954140.117254.752104140&type=1&stream_ref=10 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/752104140/10152035889019141 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Billy Sherwood announces involvement in next Yes album on Facebook|date=5 March 2014|access-date=22 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Squire described Baker as a "force in the studio" (Baker had previously worked with the group in the late 70s on a project that had ultimately been scrapped).<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Graff |first1=Gary |date=2 April 2014 |title=Chris Squire of Yes Talks 'Heaven and Earth' Album, New Singer, Rock Hall |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/chris-squire-of-yes-talks-heaven-and-earth-album-new-singer-rock-hall-6032603/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> Howe reflected that he "tried to slow down" the album production in hopes that "maybe we could refine it ..." and compared it to the success of the band's classic works in which they "arranged the hell out of" the material.<ref name="AskYesMar2017">{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2017/04/askyes-qa-steve-howe-march-2017/|title=#askYES – Q&A with Steve Howe – March 2017|date=3 April 2017|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> He wrote later that Baker behaved erratically and was difficult to work with, and was dissatisfied with the final mixes of the album.{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=281–84}} To promote ''Heaven & Earth'', Yes toured between July and November 2014 in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2014/03/yes-u-s-tour-summer-2014-fragile-close-edge-greatest-hits-heaven-earth/|title=Yes US 2014 Summer Tour: Fragile, Close To The Edge, Heaven & Earth|date=24 March 2014|publisher=Yesworld.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/360864|title=Interview with rock band Yes: 'Cruise To The Edge' (Includes interview)|date=25 October 2013 |publisher=DigitalJournal|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> The show in [[Mesa, Arizona|Mesa]], [[Arizona]] was released as ''[[Like It Is: Yes at the Mesa Arts Center]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2015/04/yes-and-toto-2015-north-american-summer-tour/|title=YES & Toto Summer 2015 Tour|publisher=Yesworld.com|date=23 April 2015|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Like--Yes-Live-Mesa-Center/dp/B00WN515N6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430429093&sr=8-2&keywords=yes+like+it+is |title=YES: Like It Is-Yes Live At The Mesa Arts Center [2 CD/DVD Combo&#93;: Music|website=Amazon.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>

In May 2015, news of Squire's diagnosis with [[acute erythroid leukaemia]] was made public. This resulted in former guitarist [[Billy Sherwood]] replacing him for their [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)#North American Summer Tour 2015|2015 summer North American tour]] with [[Toto (band)|Toto]] between August–September, and their third annual Cruise to the Edge voyage in November, while Squire was receiving treatment. His condition deteriorated soon after, and he died on 27 June at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. Downes first announced Squire's death on [[Twitter]].<ref name="Squire death Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321153658/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-squire-yes-bassist-and-co-founder-dead-at-67-20150628|archive-date=21 March 2016|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-squire-yes-bassist-and-co-founder-dead-at-67-20150628#ixzz3eOA0r7w8|title=Chris Squire, Yes Bassist and Co-Founder, Dead at 67|author=Daniel Kreps|date=28 June 2015|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Squire asked White and Sherwood to continue the legacy of the band,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/yes-moving-forward-chris-squire-death-interview-6640906/|title=Yes Continues On After Death of Bassist Chris Squire: 'Absolutely We're Moving Ahead'|magazine=Billboard|date=21 July 2015|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> which Sherwood recalled "was paramount in his mind ... so I'm happy to be doing that."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2015/08/askyes-qa-with-billy-sherwood-25-august-2015/|title=#askYES – Q&A with Billy Sherwood – 25 August 2015|date=27 August 2015|publisher=Yes|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Yes performed without Squire, for the first time in their 47-year history, on 7 August 2015 in Mashantucket, Connecticut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2015/05/chris-squire-to-undergo-treatment-for-leukemia/|title=Chris Squire to undergo treatment for Leukemia|date=19 May 2015|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="yes world North American Summer Tour 2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.yesworld.com/2015/04/yes-and-toto-2015-north-american-summer-tour/|title=YES & Toto 2015 North American Summer Tour|date=6 April 2015|website=Yesworld.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://yes.concerttournewshub.com/|title=Yes & Toto 2015 Co-Headlining North American Summer Tour Schedule|date=6 April 2015|access-date=22 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417034432/http://yes.concerttournewshub.com/|archive-date=17 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/06/yes-and-toto-teaming-up-for-tour/|title=Yes & Toto announce joint tour|date=6 April 2015|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> In November 2015, they completed their annual Cruise to the Edge voyage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Event ReviewCruise to the Edge – Miami to the Bahamas – November 15 -19, 2015 |url=https://v13.net/2015/11/cruise-to-the-edge-miami-to-the-bahamas-november-15-19-2015/ |website=V13|date=23 November 2015 }}</ref>

=== 2016–2023: 50th Anniversary, Hall of Fame induction, ''The Quest'', and White's death ===

[[File:Yesperformingwestbury20184.jpg|thumb|Yes performing at the [[NYCB Theatre at Westbury|Westbury Theatre]] in [[New York (state)|New York]] on 18 July 2018]]

Following Squire's death, former Yes members Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman announced a new group, "Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman" (ARW) in January 2016<ref>{{cite episode|series=Rick's Place|first=Rick|last=Wakeman|station=[[Planet Rock (radio station)|Planet Rock]]|date=6 February 2010|time=10:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theqrocks.com/2016/02/24/ex-yes-members-jon-anderson-rick-wakeman-and-trevor-rabin-team-up-for-new-music/|title=Ex-Yes Members Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin Team Up for New Music|website=WHDQ}}</ref> and began writing new material.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/TheJonAnderson/posts/10153760509980435 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/72582375434/10153760509980435 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Jon Anderson – I think about writing everyday, so it's ...|publisher=Facebook|access-date=22 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> They toured as [[An Evening of Yes Music and More]] from 2016 to 2017, with drummer Lou Molino III and bassist Lee Pomeroy.<ref name="ARWLiveAlbum">{{cite web|url=http://yesfeaturingarw.com/yes-featuring-anderson-rabin-wakeman-announce-quintessential-yes-the-50th-anniversary-tour-tour-kicks-off-august-26th-with-special-whisky-a-go-go-concert/|title=LIVE CD & DVD|accessdate=13 April 2018}}</ref> Meanwhile, the main Yes group continued touring, performing ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' and ''[[Drama (Yes album)|Drama]]'' in their entirety as well as other songs on their [[List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)|2016 European tour]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/yes-plot-summer-tour-behind-drama-topographic-oceans-lps-20160411|title=Yes Plot Summer Tour Behind 'Drama,' 'Topographic Oceans' LPs|author=Ryan Reed|date=11 April 2016|access-date=22 September 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> White stopped touring to recover from back surgery, and was replaced by American drummer [[Jay Schellen]] for various periods of time until the following February.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/yes-drummer-alan-white-back-surgery-summer-tour/|title=Yes Drummer Alan White Bows Out of Summer Tour After Surgery, Will Rejoin 'In the Near Future'|author=Colin Stutz|date=18 July 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="yesworld.com">{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2016/09/yes-announce-japanese-tour-in-november-2016|title=YES announce Japanese Tour in November 2016|date=September 2016|website=yesworld.com|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/yestheband/photos/a.232253266786669.74071.223599747652021/1394185793926738/?type=3&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/223599747652021/1394185793926738 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Alan White rejoins YES for Japan Tour & Cruise To The Edge|date=14 October 2016|website=Facebook|access-date=22 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The 2016 tour was released as a live album, ''[[Topographic Drama – Live Across America]]'' in late 2017 and was Yes's first album not to feature Squire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/news/2017-09-28/yes-announce-new-live-album-topographic-drama|title=Yes announce new live album Topographic Drama|first=Scott|last=Munro|date=28 September 2017|publisher=Team Rock|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-topographic-drama/|title=Yes Announce 'Topographic Drama' Live Album|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=28 September 2017|access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref> Yes toured in February, August, and September 2017,<ref>{{cite web |title=Yes, Kansas, Steve Hackett, John Wetton for Cruise To The Edge 2017 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-kansas-steve-hackett-john-wetton-cruise-to-the-edge-2017 |website=Louder |date=12 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-2017-dates-yestival/|title=Yes Announce Summer 2017 'Yestival' Tour Dates|author=Jeff Giles|date=6 April 2017 |publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> but the touring was cut short following the unexpected death of Howe's son [[Virgil Howe|Virgil]].<ref name=VirgilDeath>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/yestheband/photos/a.232253266786669.74071.223599747652021/1859385384073441/?type=3&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/223599747652021/1859385384073441 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Due to the tragic, unexpected death of guitarist Steve Howe's beloved younger son, Virgil|work=Yes' official [[facebook]]|first=John|last=Walters|date=11 June 2018|access-date=6 July 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Having been eligible to be inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] since 1994, Yes were inducted into the 2017 class by [[Geddy Lee]] and [[Alex Lifeson]] of [[Rush (band)|Rush]] in a ceremony held in New York City on 7 April 2017. The musicians inducted were Anderson, Howe, Rabin, Squire, Wakeman, Kaye, Bruford, and White, the same line-up featured on ''[[Union (Yes album)|Union]]'' and its [[List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)#Union Tour|tour]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rick-wakeman-yes-hall-of-fame-out/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412175322/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rick-wakeman-yes-hall-of-fame-out/|archive-date=12 April 2019|title=Rick Wakeman Won't Be Attending Yes' Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|first=Nick|last=Deriso|date=1 January 2017|access-date=6 June 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref name="Greene">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/yes-steve-howe-on-rock-hall-honor-i-dont-regret-the-wait-2-190787/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018175540/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/yes-steve-howe-on-rock-hall-honor-i-dont-regret-the-wait-2-190787/|archive-date=18 October 2022|title=Yes' Steve Howe on Rock Hall Honor: 'I Don't Regret the Wait'|first=Andy|last=Greene|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=20 December 2016|access-date=18 October 2022|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/voting/2016-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-nominees-vote/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010204938/http://www.rockhall.com/voting/2016-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-nominees-vote|archive-date=10 October 2015|title=Voting Has Closed! 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee Fan Vote!|website=Rockhall.com|date=15 April 2013|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref> Having failed to pass the nomination stage twice previously, the announcement of their forthcoming induction was made on 20 December 2016. In the ceremony, Anderson, Howe, Rabin, Wakeman, and White performed "Roundabout" with Lee on bass, followed by "Owner of a Lonely Heart" with Howe on bass. Bruford attended the ceremony but did not perform, while Kaye did not attend.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2017/01/yes_and_rush_to_make_2017_roll.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018175541/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2017/01/yes_and_rush_to_make_2017_roll.html|archive-date=18 October 2022|title=Yes and Rush to turn 2017 Roll Hall Ceremony into prog-rock gala|date=27 January 2017|author=Troy L. Smith|publisher=Cleveland.com|access-date=18 October 2022|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |date=11 February 2021 |title=Tony Kaye on His Years With Yes, David Bowie, and Badfinger |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tony-kaye-interview-yes-david-bowie-1125288/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302150805/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tony-kaye-interview-yes-david-bowie-1125288/ |archive-date=2 March 2021 |access-date=3 March 2021 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> [[Dylan Howe]] (Steve's son) described how at the ceremony the two groups—Yes and ARW—were seated at adjacent tables but ignored each other.<ref name="Wilko Johnson 2021">{{cite podcast |last=Johnson |first=Wilko |title=Wilko Johnson Talks to... Dylan Howe |publisher=Wilko Johnson |date=17 February 2021 |time=31:20 |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dylan-howe/id1544228144?i=1000509483617 |access-date=6 April 2021}}</ref>

Prior to Squire's death, the name "Yes", had been owned jointly by Squire, White, and Anderson.<ref name="No Problem">{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/two-yes-bands-jon-anderson/|title=Double the Yes? Jon Anderson Says No Problem!|date=20 February 2018|access-date=29 June 2018|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref> With the permission of Squire's wife, and following Yes's induction into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] on 7 April 2017, Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman renamed themselves [[Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman]].<ref name="No Problem"/> Both groups toured to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Yes in 2018, something that media outlets noted as creating some confusion among fans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yes, meet Yes! A year after Rock Hall of Fame induction, two bands embark on Yes 50th anniversary tours |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2018/06/23/yes-meet-yes-a-year-after-rock-hall-of-fame-induction-two-bands-embark-on-yes-50th-anniversary-tours/ |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=27 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="No Problem"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://therockrevival.com/classic-rock/yes50-celebrating-50-years-yes/|title=#YES50: Celebrating 50 Years of Yes|date=29 May 2018|publisher=The Rock Revival|first=Johnnie|last=Crow|access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://udo.jp/concert/Yes|title=YES／イエス – CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF YES|publisher=UDO Artists|access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> Schellen continued to play as a second drummer to support White, who had a bacterial infection in his joints from November 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2018/05/founding-member-tony-kaye-talks-50-years-yes-ahead-joining-band-summers-35-date-north-american-tour/|title=Tony Kaye Talks 50 Years Of YES and More|work=Yesworld.com|date=22 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=Schellen2018>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/yestheband/photos/a.232253266786669.74071.223599747652021/2059173634094614/?type=3&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/223599747652021/2059173634094614 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=MESSAGE FROM ALAN WHITE|work=Yes' official [[facebook]]|date=2 January 2018|access-date=2 January 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=Horn2018-2/><ref name=Horn2018/> Following the touring, Yes Featuring ARW disbanded after two years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museonmuse.jp/?p=10801 |title=Interview with Trevor Rabin / April 2020 |publisher=Museonmuse.jp |date= |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref>

Yes continued touring between 2018 and 2020. Yes's 50th anniversary tour dates in London coincided with the release of ''[[Fly from Here#Fly from Here – Return Trip|Fly from Here – Return Trip]]'', a new version of the album with new lead vocals and mixes by Horn.<ref name=50thtournews>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/news/2017-09-05/yes-announce-50th-anniversary-uk-and-european-tour|title=Yes announce 50th anniversary UK and European tour|author=Scott Munro|date=5 September 2017|publisher=Team Rock|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=teamrock20171207>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/news/2017-12-07/yes-announce-weekend-of-london-events-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary|title=Yes announce weekend of London events to celebrate 50th anniversary|date=7 December 2017|first=Scott|last=Munro|publisher=Team Rock|access-date=8 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=Horn2018-2>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-trevor-horn-50th-anniversary-tour/|title=TREVOR HORN TO REJOIN YES FOR THREE ANNIVERSARY SHOWS|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=12 March 2018 |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> The tour included guests [[Dylan Howe]] (Steve's son), [[Trevor Horn]], [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]], [[Tom Brislin]], and [[Patrick Moraz]], who had last performed with Yes in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guitarmag.com/news/2016/04/trevor-horn-to-join-yes-on-stage-at-royal-albert-hall/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405041902/https://www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com/news/2016/04/trevor-horn-to-join-yes-on-stage-at-royal-albert-hall/ |archive-date=5 April 2019 |url-status=dead |title=Trevor Horn to join Yes on stage at Royal Albert Hall |work=Interactive Guitar Magazine |date=27 April 2016 |access-date=24 June 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/yes-50th-anniversary-tour-to-feature-tony-kaye-as-special-guest/|title=YES: 50th-Anniversary Tour To Feature TONY KAYE As 'Special Guest'|website=Blabbermouth.net|date=2 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=Horn2018>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2018/03/yes50-tour-commences-tuesday-13th-march/|title=#YES50 TOUR commences Tuesday 13th March |work=Yesworld.com |date=9 March 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://bravewords.com/news/yes-drummer-alan-white-welcomes-dylan-howe-to-join-rhythm-section-for-north-american-yestival-tour|title=YES Drummer Alan White Welcomes Dylan Howe To Join Rhythm Section For North American Yestival Tour|publisher=Bravewords|date=26 July 2017|access-date=22 September 2017}}</ref>
The live album ''[[Yes 50 Live]]'' was released in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 May 2019 |title=YES: 50 LIVE - New Live Album Highlights The Legendary Band's 50th Anniversary Tour |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/yes-50-live-new-live-album-highlights-the-legendary-bands-50th-anniversary-tour |access-date=24 June 2025|website=Rhino}}</ref> Yes also headlined the Royal Affair Tour in 2019 with artists [[Asia (band)|Asia]], [[John Lodge (musician)|John Lodge]], [[Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy]], and [[Arthur Brown (musician)|Arthur Brown]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2019/04/yes-announces-the-royal-affair-tour-launching-june-12-in-bethlehem-pa/|title=YES Announces "The Royal Affair Tour" Launching June 12 In Bethlehem, Pa|last=yesadmin|date=2 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/yes-announce-royal-affair-tour-with-asia-john-lodge-carl-palmer-816530/ |title=Yes Announce 'Royal Affair Tour' With Asia, John Lodge, Carl Palmer |date=2 April 2019 |first=Andy |last=Greene |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=3 April 2019}}</ref> and was released as ''[[The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas]]''. This was followed by the previously unreleased music release ''[[From a Page]]'', mostly written by Oliver Wakeman.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/yes-reveals-four-previously-unreleased-2010-recordings-on-the-new-from-a-page-mini-box-set/|title=YES Reveals Four Previously Unreleased 2010 Recordings On The New 'From A Page' Mini-Box Set|date=25 October 2019|website=Blabbermouth.net}}</ref> Further planned 2020 tours were postponed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2020/03/yes-postpone-forthcoming-u-s-dates-and-cancel-appearances-on-cruise-to-the-edge/|title=YES Cancel Forthcoming U.S. Dates And Will Not Be Performing On This Year's "Cruise To The Edge"|website=Yesworld.com|date=11 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://yesworld.com/2020/03/yes-postpones-album-series-2020-tour/|title=YES Postpone UK & European Album Series 2020 Tour Dates|website=Yesworld.com|date=20 March 2020}}</ref> Later in 2020, Davison and Sherwood formed Arc of Life, a new group featuring Schellen and keyboardist [[Dave Kerzner]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ewing |first1=Jerry |title=Yes alumni announce new band Arc Of Life and release video for You Make It Real |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-alumni-announce-new-band-arc-of-life-and-release-video-for-you-make-it-real |work=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]] |date=9 December 2020}}</ref>

Yes worked on new material for their twenty-second studio album ''[[The Quest (Yes album)|The Quest]]'', from late 2019 through 2021. The lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in members recording their parts in separate studios and sending them to Howe and engineer Curtis Schwartz in England. In 2021, Howe, Davison and Downes got together and completed the album.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-edfdt-e462f3 |title=Jon Davison – Interview Sessions With The Singer For Legendary Prog/Rock Band – Yes |number=6|via=PodBean |website=Rock Music Alliance: Channel 1 |host=Cole Coleman |date=25 July 2020 |access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55WfMco8UO4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/55WfMco8UO4|publisher=SOAL Night Live- The Musical Talk Show| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=Levin, Torn, White- (Tony Levin, David Torn & Alan White)|date=19 January 2021 |website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://biffbampop.com/2021/02/27/exclusive-interview-geoff-downes-discusses-the-new-downes-braide-association-album-halcyon-hymns/|title=Exclusive Interview: Geoff Downes Discusses The New Downes Braide Association Album, Halcyon Hymns|date=27 February 2021|first=Andy|last=Burns|website=Biff Bam Pop!}}</ref> ''The Quest'' was released on 1 October 2021, and the opening two tracks, "The Ice Bridge" and "Dare to Know", were released as digital singles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-release-first-new-music-for-seven-yeas|title=Yes release first new music in seven years with new single The Ice Bridge|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=26 July 2021|website=Prog|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-release-video-for-new-single-dare-to-know|title=Yes release video for new single Dare To Know|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=1 September 2021|website=Prog|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref> The album reached No. 20 in the UK.<ref name=officialchartsuk/> Yes discussed plans regarding a follow-up album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anchor.fm/yesshift/episodes/Ep-44---Billy-Sherwood-Interview-e1ioon9|title=Ep 44 – Billy Sherwood Interview|work=Yesshift Podcast|date=19 May 2022|access-date=1 June 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Yes - 18.06.2022 - Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.jpg|thumb|Yes performing at the [[Nottingham Royal Concert Hall]] in 2022]]
Yes announced that White would step down from touring due to health issues on 22 May 2022. White died four days later on 26 May.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Jerry |title=Yes drummer Alan White dead at 72 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-drummer-alan-white-dead-at-72 |website=Prog|access-date=26 May 2022 |date=26 May 2022}}</ref> A tribute concert for White was held in Seattle on 2 October, featuring special guests and former Yes guitarist [[Trevor Rabin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stgpresents.org/calendar/13566/alan-white-celebrating-his-life-and-music|title=Alan White – Celebrating His Life and Music|work=Seattle Theatre Group|access-date=22 September 2022|archive-date=5 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205003545/https://www.stgpresents.org/calendar/13566/alan-white-celebrating-his-life-and-music|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2023, [[Warner Music Group]] acquired the recorded music rights and associated income streams relating to 12 studio albums from 1969 to 1987, and several live and compilation releases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/yes-catalog-acquired-warner-music-1235498598/|title=Yes Catalog Acquired by Warner Music Group|first=Jem|last=Aswad|date=23 January 2023|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=24 January 2023}}</ref> In February, Schellen (who had officially replaced White on drums) joined the band as a permanent member.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ewing |first=Jerry |date=14 February 2023 |title=Drummer Jay Schellen joins Yes on a permanent basis |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/drummer-jay-schellen-joins-yes-on-a-permanent-basis |access-date=14 February 2023|website=Prog}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jay Schellen Joins YES as a Permanent Member |url=https://www.yesworld.com/2023/02/jay-schellen-joins-yes-as-a-permanent-member/ |access-date=17 February 2023 |work=YesWorld}}</ref>

=== 2023–present: ''Mirror to the Sky'' and Continued Touring===

[[File:Yes live at The Cliffs Pavillion, Westcliff-on-Sea (53757475222) (band crop).jpg|left|thumb|Yes at the [[Cliffs Pavilion]] in 2024. From left to right: [[Steve Howe]], [[Geoff Downes]], [[Jon Davison]], [[Jay Schellen]] and [[Billy Sherwood]].]]

The band's 2022 tour was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ''Close to the Edge'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-announce-theyll-celebrate-50-years-of-close-to-the-edge-this-june|title=Yes announce they'll celebrate 50 years of Close To The Edge this June|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=8 March 2022|website=Prog|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref> but after White's death, European dates for the tour were rescheduled for 2023 and the program changed.<ref name="Relayer 2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-reschedule-relayer-live-european-dates-for-2023|title=Yes reschedule Relayer live European dates for 2023|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=21 April 2022|website=Prog|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-announce-relayer-tour-dates-for-june-2023|title=Yes announce Relayer tour dates for June 2023|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=12 October 2022|website=Prog|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref> The tour was again delayed again to 2024 due to insurance incentives related to COVID-19 and [[casus belli]] coverage;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/yes-postpone-relayer-tour-yet-again|title=Yes postpone Relayer tour yet again|first=Jerry|last=Ewing|date=17 March 2023|publisher=Loudersound|access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref> some dates were rescheduled and became The Classic Tales of Yes Tour 2024.<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=yesofficial|number=1655860285838614528|title=THE CLASSIC TALES OF YES TOUR 2024 Find Tickets now at http://yesworld.com/live YES announce UK dates for the Classic Tales of YES Tour 2024. The 9 UK dates include a visit to London's Royal Albert Hall and the Bristol Beacon together with 7 dates rescheduled from the cancelled 2023 tour, for which all tickets remain valid.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520154524/https://twitter.com/yesofficial/status/1655860285838614528|archive-date=20 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

Anderson toured North America in Spring 2023, Spring/Summer 2024, and Spring/Summer 2025 under the title "Yes Epics and Classics" with a setlist primarily devoted to early 70s Yes material backed by [[The Band Geeks]] and expressed "In my mind… I'm still in Yes." While Anderson has stated a desire for a reunion multiple times since the band re-formed without him in 2008, following the 2024 release of ''[[True (Jon Anderson album)|True]]'' said "I’ve got the Yes that I wanted" and described these activities in their ''Live - Perpetual Change'' album liner notes as "keeping the true Yes flag flying."<ref name="jonyesepic">{{cite web |url=https://richiecastellano.com/jonyesepic/ |title=YES Legend Jon Anderson To Tour With The Band Geeks Spring 2023! |date=May 2023 |website=richiecastellano.com |accessdate=4 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Yes Refuses To Reunite With Singer Jon Anderson. He's OK With That |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jon-anderson-seventies-yes-throwback-tour-1234698321/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=24 May 2023 |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524160136/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jon-anderson-seventies-yes-throwback-tour-1234698321/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Louder Sound"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks - Live - Perpetual Change |url=https://backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/JonAndersonAndTheBandGeeksLivePerpetualChange.html |website=Background Magazine |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

Yes released their new studio album, ''[[Mirror to the Sky]]'', on 19 May 2023, releasing the opening track, "Cut from the Stars" and "All Connected" as a digital singles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ramzine.co.uk/interviews/jon-davison-of-yes-continuing-with-the-quest/|title=Jon Davison of Yes ... Continuing with The Quest !!|first=Laurence|last=Todd|date=30 January 2023|website=RAMzine|access-date=15 February 2023}}</ref><ref>''Prog'', March 2023 issue</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Deaux |first1=Jon |title=YES announce new studio album 'Mirror To The Sky' for release 19th May 2023; launch first single 'Cut From The Stars' |url=https://allabouttherock.co.uk/yes-announce-new-studio-album-mirror-to-the-sky-for-release-19th-may-2023-launch-first-single-cut-from-the-stars/ |website=All About the Rock |date=10 March 2023 |access-date=10 March 2023 |archive-date=12 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312055225/https://allabouttherock.co.uk/yes-announce-new-studio-album-mirror-to-the-sky-for-release-19th-may-2023-launch-first-single-cut-from-the-stars/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The album continued the creative process from ''The Quest''.<ref>{{cite web |title=YES announce new studio album 'Mirror To The Sky' for release 19th May 2023 |url=https://www.yesworld.com/ |website=YesWorld |publisher=YesWorld.com |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> The band began working on a follow-up album and continued touring under the "Album Series" banner, this time focusing on ''Fragile'' – material which Howe describes as representative of a period when Yes was "at the height of our creativity, determined for success."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=This Prog-Rock Wizard Has Kept Yes Alive for the Past 30 Years |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/yes-prog-rock-billy-sherwood-1234939989/?fbclid=IwAR3iFW_Fhpda7h6KVhe9dicGDx-ckm9eeUhWpm_lI0GUfN_YDt4VZ_-czzI |magazine=Rolling Stone | date=14 January 2024 | publisher=Rollingstone.com | access-date=27 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=YES Announce ‘The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series' |url=https://rockandbluesmuse.com/2025/06/10/yes-announce-the-fragile-tour-2025-the-album-series/ |website=Rock and Blues Muse |access-date=27 August 2025}}</ref>

== Musical style and influences ==
Music critics [[Jim DeRogatis]] and [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] cite Yes as the "definitive English [[progressive rock]] band," and as "epitomizing" the genre. Erlewine credited the band with bringing the genre to [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|mainstream]] audiences. He described the band's early sound as an amalgamation of "pastoral [[Folk music|folk]]", "[[Baroque music|Baroque]] classical" and "muscular [[Rock and roll|rock & roll]]". He also noted that the band's compositions utilised odd [[time signature]]s, and were "structured like mini-suites." He described some of the band's later output as "steely, shiny [...] [[album-oriented rock]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647#biography |access-date=19 December 2024 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Chris Roberts of ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' said Yes "pioneered 70s progressive and [[symphonic rock]], and dominated 80s stadium pop-rock."<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2020 |first=Chris |last=Roberts |title=How Yes ruled the 1970s |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-yes-helped-shape-the-1970s |access-date=24 June 2025 |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]}}</ref> Yes have also been described as an [[art rock]] group.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pete Prown|last2=HP Newquist|title=Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists|quote= ... British art rock groups such as the Nice, Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, the Moody Blues, and Procol Harum ...|year=1997|page=78|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0793540426|author1-link=Pete Prown|author2-link=HP Newquist}}</ref> According to Nick Spacek of ''[[The Pitch (newspaper)|The Pitch]]'', "the band has changed its sound and its lineups, but the emphasis on forward-thinking [[Musical composition|composition]] has remained strong." According to DeRogatis, the band "rocked harder than many of its peers, maintaining a vital pulse and delivering memorable riffs in between the showy solos."<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |title=Turn On Your Mind |publisher=Hal Leonard |year=2003 |pages=184}}</ref> Chris Dahlen of [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] wrote that albums such as ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' and ''[[Close to the Edge]]'' balanced extended instrumental passages with clear compositional direction, while later works such as ''[[Tales from Topographic Oceans]]'' were marked by what he described as excessive length and abstraction. In his review he highlighted the prominence of Chris Squire's bass lines, Bill Bruford's precise drumming and Rick Wakeman's keyboard textures as central to the group's sound and appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dahlen |first=Chris |title=Yes: The Yes Album / Fragile / Close to the Edge / Tales from Topographic Oceans / Relayer / Going for the One / Tormato / Drama / 90125 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11869-the-yes-album-fragile-close-to-the-edge-tales-from-topographic-oceans-relayer-going-for-the-one-tormato-drama-90125/ |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Jon Anderson]], who served as the original lead vocalist and co-founder of Yes, said that the band incorporated elements of [[progressive music]], [[Orchestra|symphonic music]], [[jazz]], [[Jazz fusion|fusion]], and [[world music]] into their material. He mentioned that the classical composition structure inspired him to craft longer pieces of music and cited the works of Russian composer [[Igor Stravinsky]], Finnish composer [[Jean Sibelius]] and English composer [[Gustav Holst]] (namely "[[The Planets]]") as some of the band's influences.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spacek |first=Nick |date=1 September 2017|title=Yes co-founder Jon Anderson on the band's history and influences |url=https://www.thepitchkc.com/yes-cofounder-jon-anderson-on-the-bands-history-and-influences/ |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=The Pitch |language=en-US}}</ref> Anderson has also cited [[The Beatles]], [[Frank Zappa]] and [[The Beach Boys]] as influences.<ref name=":0"/> Sean Murphy of ''[[PopMatters]]'' wrote, "While rightly castigated for bringing inane lyrics to an almost holy level, listening to Yes is like listening to [[opera]]: the words are, or may as well be, in a different language. It’s all about the ''sounds'': that voice, those instruments, that composition."<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2023 |title=The 25 Best Classic Era Progressive Rock Albums |url=https://www.popmatters.com/best-classic-progressive-rock-albums/3 |access-date=24 March 2025 |website=www.popmatters.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Band members ==
{{Main|List of Yes band members}}
{{for|closely related groups|Cinema (band)|Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe|Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman}}

=== Current ===
* [[Steve Howe]]&nbsp;– guitars, backing vocals {{Small|(1970–1981, 1990–1992, 1995–2004, 2009–present)}}
* [[Geoff Downes]]&nbsp;– keyboards {{Small|(1980–1981, 2011–present)}}
* [[Billy Sherwood]]&nbsp;– bass, backing vocals, guitars, keyboards {{Small|(1997–2000, 2015–present; ''session 1989, touring 1994'')}}
* [[Jon Davison]]&nbsp;– lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, occasional keyboards {{Small|(2012–present)}}
* [[Jay Schellen]]&nbsp;– drums, percussion {{Small|(2023–present; ''session 2020–2021, touring 2016–2017, 2018–2023'')}}

=== Former ===
* [[Chris Squire]]&nbsp;– bass, backing and lead vocals {{Small|(1968–1981, 1983–2004, 2009–2015; ''his death'')}}
* [[Peter Banks]]&nbsp;– guitars, backing vocals {{Small|(1968–1970; ''died 2013'')}}
* [[Jon Anderson]]&nbsp;– lead and backing vocals, guitars, percussion, occasional keyboards {{Small|(1968–1980, 1983–1988, 1990–2004; ''guest 2017'')}}
* [[Bill Bruford]]&nbsp;– drums, percussion {{Small|(1968–1972, 1990–1992)}}
* [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]]&nbsp;– organ, piano, keyboards {{Small|(1968–1971, 1983–1995; ''touring guest 2018–2019'')}}
* [[The Koobas|Tony O'Reilly]]&nbsp;– drums {{Small|(1968)}}
* [[Rick Wakeman]]&nbsp;– keyboards {{Small|(1971–1974, 1976–1980, 1990–1992, 1995–1997, 2002–2004)}}
* [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]]&nbsp;– drums, percussion, piano, backing vocals {{Small|(1972–1981, 1983–2004, 2009–2022; ''his death'')}}
* [[Patrick Moraz]]&nbsp;– keyboards {{Small|(1974–1976; ''guest 2018'')}}
* [[Trevor Horn]]&nbsp;– lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar {{Small|(1980–1981, 2016, 2017, 2018; ''guest 2016, 2018'')}}
* [[Trevor Rabin]]&nbsp;– guitars, lead and backing vocals, keyboards {{Small|(1983–1995; ''guest 2017, 2022'')}}
* [[Eddie Jobson]]&nbsp;– keyboards {{Small|(1983)}}
* [[Igor Khoroshev]]&nbsp;– keyboards, backing vocals {{Small|(1997–2000)}}
* [[Benoît David]]&nbsp;– lead vocals, acoustic guitar {{Small|(2009–2012)}}
* [[Oliver Wakeman]]&nbsp;– keyboards {{Small|(2009–2011)}}

=== Timeline ===
{{Transcluded section|source=List of Yes band members}}
{{#section-h::List of Yes band members|Official members}}

== Discography ==
<!-- The discography section is for studio albums, initial releases only and not live, remixed, covers, or compilation albums. Since there is a separate Yes discography article, only the main items should appear on this page. -->

{{main|Yes discography}}
{{for|Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe discography|Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe}}

'''Studio albums'''
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''[[Yes (Yes album)|Yes]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Time and a Word]]'' (1970)
* ''[[The Yes Album]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Close to the Edge]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Tales from Topographic Oceans]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Relayer]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Going for the One]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Tormato]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Drama (Yes album)|Drama]]'' (1980)
* ''[[90125]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Big Generator]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Union (Yes album)|Union]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Talk (Yes album)|Talk]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Keys to Ascension]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Keys to Ascension 2]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Open Your Eyes (Yes album)|Open Your Eyes]]'' (1997)
* ''[[The Ladder (Yes album)|The Ladder]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Magnification (album)|Magnification]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Fly from Here]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Heaven & Earth (Yes album)|Heaven & Earth]]'' (2014)
* ''[[The Quest (Yes album)|The Quest]]'' (2021)
* ''[[Mirror to the Sky]]'' (2023)
{{div col end}}

== Tours ==
{{Main|List of Yes concert tours (1960s–70s)|List of Yes concert tours (1980s–90s)|List of Yes concert tours (2000s–10s)|List of Yes concert tours (2020s)}}

== See also ==
* [[List of progressive rock artists]]

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last=Bruford |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_7VsmxN0sYC |title=Bill Bruford: The Autobiography : Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks, and More |date=2009 |publisher=Jawbone Press |isbn=978-1-906002-23-7 |language=en}}
* {{cite book|last=Chambers|first=Stuart|title=Yes: An Endless Dream of '70s, '80s and '90s Rock Music: An Unauthorized Interpretative History in Three Phases|year=2002|publisher=General Store Publishing House|isbn=978-1-894-26347-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Howe|first=Steve|title=All My Yesterdays|year=2021|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=9781785581793}}
* {{Cite book|last=Morse|first=Tim|title=Yesstories: "Yes" in Their Own Words|year=1996|publisher=St Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-14453-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Welch|first=Chris|title=Close to the Edge – The Story of Yes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4-gFYI9W2DoC|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84772-132-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Wooding|first=Dan|title=Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader|publisher=Granada Publishing Limited|isbn=978-0-7091-6487-6|year=1978}}

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
* ''Yes: The Authorized Biography'', Dan Hedges, London, Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, 1981
* ''Yes: But What Does It Mean?'', Thomas Mosbø, Milton, a Wyndstar Book, 1994
* ''Music of Yes: Structure and Vision in Progressive Rock'', Bill Martin, Chicago e La Salle, Open Court, 1 November 1996
* ''Beyond and Before: The Formative Years of Yes'', Peter Banks & Billy James, Bentonville, Golden Treasure Publishing, 2001
* ''Yes: Perpetual Change'', David Watkinson and Rick Wakeman, Plexus Publishing, 1 November 2001
* ''Yes: An Endless Dream Of '70s, '80s And '90s Rock Music'', Stuart Chambers, Burnstown, General Store Publishing House, 2002
* ''Yes Tales: An Unauthorized Biography of Rock's Most Cosmic Band'', Scott Robinson, in Limerick Form, Lincoln, Writers Club Press, iUniverse Inc., 2002
* ''The Extraordinary World of Yes'', Alan Farley, Paperback, 2004
* ''Mountains Come Out of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock'', Will Romano, 1 November 2010
* ''Yes in Australia,'' Brian Draper, Centennial, Sydney, 2010
* ''Close To The Edge – How Yes's Masterpiece Defined Prog Rock'', Will Romano, 2017
* ''Yes'', Aymeric Leroy, Le Mot et le Reste, 2017
* ''Solid Mental Grace: Listening to the Music of Yes'', Simon Barrow, Cultured Llama Publishing, 2018

== Songbooks ==
* ''Yes Complete Vol. One'' − 1976 Warner Bros. Publications Inc.
* ''Yes Complete Vol. Two'' – 1977 Warner Bros. Publications Inc.
* ''Yes Complete – Deluxe Edition'', 1 October 1981
* ''Yes: Back from the Edge'', Mike Mettler, Guitar School 3, no. 5, September 1991
* ''Classic Yes – Selections from Yesyears'', April 1993

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Yes_(band).ogg|date=16 April 2011}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{YouTube channel|yesofficial|text=YouTube channel}}
* [http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/ Forgotten Yesterdays – A Comprehensive Guide To Yes Shows]

{{Yes (band)|state=expanded}}
{{2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:English musical quintets]]
[[Category:English progressive rock groups]]
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