Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. Having featured 20 full-time musicians across their history, their most notable members include lead singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarists Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin, drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White, and keyboardists Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman, who represented Yes when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Widely regarded as progressive rock pioneers, the group have explored several musical styles and remain one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting acts in the genre. Their discography spans 25 studio albums, with 13.5 million Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified albums sold in the United States and more than 30 million worldwide.
Founded by Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Kaye, and guitarist Peter Banks, Yes began performing a mix of original songs and covers spanning rock, pop, blues, and jazz, as showcased on their first two albums, Yes (1969) and Time and a Word (1970). A change of direction in 1970 following the replacement of Banks with Howe led to a series of celebrated progressive rock albums, including four consecutive US platinum or multi-platinum sellers: The Yes Album (1971); Fragile (1971), which included the hit single "Roundabout"; Close to the Edge (1972); and the live album Yessongs (1973). Subsequent releases, including Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Going for the One (1977), and Tormato (1978), also achieved major commercial success. Yes earned a reputation for their elaborate stage sets, light displays, and iconic album covers designed by Roger Dean. Personnel shifted frequently during this era; following the 1980 departures of Anderson and Wakeman, Yes recruited keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Trevor Horn of the Buggles for the album Drama (1980) before the group dissolved the following year.
In 1983, Squire, White, Anderson, Kaye, and Rabin reformed Yes. Rabin's songwriting moved the group toward a mainstream pop-rock sound, resulting in their highest-selling album, 90125 (1983). This release featured the group's only US number-one single, "Owner of a Lonely Heart", and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the track "Cinema". The follow-up album, Big Generator (1987), was also successful. In 1989, the offshoot group Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe formed and released a self-titled album. At the suggestion of their record company, both factions merged into a short-lived eight-piece line-up for Union (1991) and its corresponding tour. Yes continued to tour regularly and release albums—including the symphonically backed Magnification (2001)—before entering a temporary hiatus in 2004.
Following the cancellation of a 2008 tour due to Anderson's health, Yes enlisted Benoît David as their new lead singer and resumed activity. Jon Davison replaced David in 2012. Squire died in 2015, leaving the band with no remaining original members. Three former members toured separately as Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman from 2016 to 2018. White, the longest-tenured member at the time, died in 2022. Since February 2023, the band's line-up has consisted of Howe, Downes, Davison, bassist Billy Sherwood, and drummer Jay Schellen. Their latest studio album, Aurora, was released in June 2026.
History 1968–1970: Formation, first album and Time and a Word
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. They played at the Marquee Club in Soho, London where Jack Barrie, owner of the nearby La Chasse club, saw them perform. He later recalled: "the musicianship was very good but it was obvious they weren't going anywhere". 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. During this time, the band rehearsed in the basement of The Lucky Horseshoe cafe on Shaftesbury Avenue between 10 June and 9 July 1968. In June 1968, Hagger was replaced by Bill Bruford, who had placed an advertisement in Melody Maker, while in July the classically trained organist and pianist Tony Kaye, of Johnny Taylor's Star Combo and the Federals, became the keyboardist. Meanwhile, Banks had left Mabel Greer's Toyshop to join Neat Change, but he was dismissed by this group on 14 July 1968 and was recalled by Squire, replacing Bayley as guitarist.
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.Yesspeak Live: The Director's Cut 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. Welch states that Squire suggested the name over a phone call to Banks, with Banks replying, "But that was my idea!" According to Banks, it was initially used as a temporary name, but "nobody has thought of anything better yet."
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. Early sets were formed of cover songs from artists such as the Beatles, The 5th Dimension and Traffic. 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. That month, Bruford decided to quit performing to study at the University of Leeds. 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. 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's farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 November.
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. They subsequently signed a deal with Atlantic Records, and, that August, released their debut album Yes. Compiled of mostly original material, the record includes renditions of "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". Melody Maker columnist Tony Wilson chose Yes and Led Zeppelin as the two bands "most likely to succeed".Liner notes on Yes (1969)
Following a tour of Scandinavia with 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. 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, 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. 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. Banks' replacement was Tomorrow guitarist Steve Howe, who appears in the photograph of the group on the American issue despite not having played on it.
1970–1974: The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge and Tales from Topographic Oceans The band retreated to a rented farmhouse in Devon to write and rehearse new songs for their following album. 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. Released in February 1971, The Yes Album peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 40 on the US Billboard 200 charts.
Yes embarked on a 28-day tour of Europe with Iron Butterfly in January 1971. The band purchased Iron Butterfly's entire public address system, which improved their on-stage performance and sound. Their first date in North America followed on 24 June in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, supporting Jethro Tull. Friction arose between Howe and Kaye on tour; this, along with Kaye's reported reluctance to play the Mellotron and the Minimoog synthesizer, preferring to stick exclusively to piano and Hammond organ, 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." 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, 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", which gave Yes the orchestral and choral textures that befitted their new material.
Released on 12 November 1971, the band's fourth 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 1971–1972 tour.Yessongs track listing. Atlantic Records 1973. Each member performed a solo track on the album, and it marked the start of their long collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who designed the group's logo, album art and stage sets. Fragile peaked at number 7 in the UK and number 4 in the US 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", was released as a single that peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In February 1972, Yes recorded a cover version of "America" by Simon & Garfunkel and released it in July. The single reached number 46 on the US singles chart. 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.