Yes dedicate their 2022 tour to Alan White
Iconic progressive rock band YES are dedicating their forthcoming tour to the memory of their beloved friend and cherished bandmate, Alan White.
The timing is particularly bittersweet, as next month would have marked the 50th anniversary of Alan joining the band, following the unanticipated departure of Bill Bruford for pastures crimson on 19th July 1972.
Twice rescheduled, there’s a twist to this latest chapter of YES’s Album Series tour series. Following previous tours which showcased classic back catalogue albums, including: ‘Fragile’, ‘Drama’ and ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’, the original plan was for the 2020 shows to revisit 1974’s complex and dramatic ‘Relayer’ in its entirety. Yet, two years on, the band opted to shift focus to the earlier ‘Close to the Edge’, given that 2022 is the 50th anniversary of its release (13th September 1972).
This has a poignant relevance, given that White joined the band a matter of days before they kicked-off the ‘Close to the Edge’ world tour. in Dallas on 30th July 1972. He quickly won the admiration of fans and fellow musicians for his miraculously fast mastery of the band’s demanding repertoire, including as-yet-unreleased new tracks including ‘And you and I’ and ‘Siberian Khatru’. So well in fact, that the majority of what is perhaps the definitive live YES album, ‘Yessongs’, was recorded on the same tour, with Alan’s percussive power magisterial.
A number of health setbacks, since 2016, had restricted Alan’s time on stage with YES on recent tours with Jay Schellen (a longstanding collaborator with Billy Sherwood, including the renowned 90s AOR supergroup ‘World Trade’) deputising as required. Indeed, the band had announced that Alan would be sitting-out the 2022 tour all-together a few days before the sad news of his passing was confirmed.
In a twist of fate, YES mainstays, Steve Howe & Geoff Downes, spoke to Prog Magazine Editor Jerry Ewing a short time before Alan’s unexpected passing. Steve, in particular, reveals intriguing perspectives on the original recording and how they intend to perform the complete work in sequence for the first time in many years.
About the Tour
The Album Series Tour 2022 will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of YES’ iconic album ‘Close to the Edge’ and will feature the album, performed in full, along with other classic tracks from YES’ extensive catalogue.
The Close to the Edge show will comprise full production and high-definition video wall directed by Andy Clark and featuring the artwork of Roger Dean who will also be joining the tour with an exhibition of YES related art.
The tour line-up will feature Steve Howe (guitars and backing vocals), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Jon Davison (lead vocals), Billy Sherwood (bass guitar and backing vocals) with Jay Schellen (drums and percussion).
About YES
Formed in 1968 by Jon Anderson and the late, and much-missed, Chris Squire, YES have been one of the most innovative, influential and best-loved bands in rock music history. Their 1970s albums The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, Yessongs (a triple live album set), Tales From Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going For The One were ground-breaking in musical style and content. Their music also became synonymous with artist Roger Dean whose distinctive YES logo design and artwork adorned the lavish gatefold presentation sleeves of many YES albums.
With sales of over 50 million records, the Grammy-award winning YES were inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017 where they performed Roundabout from the album Fragile and the FM radio-friendly Owner Of A Lonely Heart from the 1985 album 90125. In 2021 YES released their 22nd Studio album, The Quest, produced by Steve Howe, which went to No.1 in the UK rock chart and entered the Official UK Album Chart at No. 20.
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