The English progressive rock band Yes has toured for five decades.
The band played live from its creation in summer 1968. Their first overseas shows were in Belgium and the Netherlands in June 1969. They played regularly through December 1980, with the band splitting up early the next year. The band reformed in 1983, and regular tours resumed in 1984 and continued over the next few decades. The longest break in touring came from late 2004 through late 2008. Touring has tended to focus on the UK and the rest of Europe, North America and Japan, but the band have also played other parts of the world, notably Australia.
Band:
Songs played in this period:[1]
Guitarist Peter Banks was fired from the band after the gig at Luton College on 18 April 1970.[3] The last shows were cancelled due to lack of a guitarist.
On various dates of the tour, Yes were supported by Black Sabbath,[4] Uriah Heep,[4] Supertramp,[4] Deep Purple,[4] Wishbone Ash,[4] The Strawbs,[5] Iron Butterfly,[5] Queen,[6] and Jethro Tull.[6] At other performances, such as festivals, the band shared the bill with Pink Floyd[4] and Elton John.[7]
Beginning with the 1971 dates (when Yes began to be supported by Iron Butterfly), ticket prices were set at 10s[5]—approximately £10 ($16 USD) in 2012.
The February 1971 shows in Paris were cancelled due to rioting.[8] After leaving France, the band had to cancel some UK shows after their van was involved in a road collision.[8][9]
The tour saw the band play a total of 111 concerts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Belgium over four legs—two European legs and two North American legs.[10][11]
Support came from Jonathan Swift, Ten Years After, Mary Wells,[7] Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The J. Geils Band, King Crimson, The Blues Project, and Shawn Phillips. At a 16 March 1972 concert in Tucson, Arizona, the band supported Black Sabbath.
Setlist:[12]
Wilkinson (2003) lists only three shows from the tour as being cancelled. The first, on 9 October 1971 at the Edinburgh Empire Theatre, was cancelled after the PA system failed to arrive at the venue.[7] A newspaper story at the time reported that the equipment van, travelling to Scotland from the Royal Festival Hall from the previous evening's concert, broke down in Birmingham.[7] Similarly, two replacement vans also broke down.[7] The band rescheduled the date for 23 October, with original tickets still valid. The band offered free posters to fans attending the 23 October show.[7]
The second appearance to be cancelled was on 2 November at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California—the first show of the tour's North American leg.[7] The concert was cancelled as the band's PA system was stolen.[7]
Other sources state that it was the 8 November show at the San Francisco Winterland Ballroom that was cancelled due to the stolen PA system, implying that the band appeared that night at the Oakland Coliseum (with a rented sound system) instead.[13] The concert in Richmond VA on 3 March 1972, was also cancelled, and supposedly the band played at the TownshipAuditorium in Columbia S Carolina instead. Additionally, reports exist of a show on 29 October in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that was also cancelled.[13]
The tour saw the band play a total of 97 concerts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia over seven legs—three North American legs, two European legs, an Asian leg and an Australasian leg.[14]
Support came from Eagles, Gentle Giant, Edgar Winter, Lindisfarne, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gary Wright, The J Geils Band, Wild Turkey, Badger,[15] and Focus.[16]
Setlist:[17]
Encore:
Occasionally played:
Covers:
The tour's first four scheduled shows were cancelled in the wake of Bill Bruford's resignation from the band. When Alan White was confirmed as a member, the tour began at the fifth scheduled show on 30 July 1972.[15] A whole leg, covering South America, was cancelled.[16] Dates and venues were never released, except for the scheduled performance at the Salle University in Acapulco on 1 May 1973.[16]
Setlist:[18]
Also occasionally played was:
Setlist:[20]
Other songs played a few times were:
Setlist:[21]
Also played occasionally were:
Setlist:[23]
Setlist:[25]
Other songs occasionally played were: