The Yes Album Tour was a concert tour by progressive rock band Yes. Though it began more than six months before its release, the tour was named after the band's third studio album. Lasting from 17 July 1970 until 31 July 1971, and including 170 performances, the tour began at the Lyceum in London—Steve Howe's first performance with the band—and ended at the Crystal Palace Bowl, also in London—Tony Kaye's last performance with the band before his 13-year absence.
History The tour saw the band play concerts in the United Kingdom, Belgium, West Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy, Canada, and the United States over three legs—a European leg, a North American leg and a single-show return to the United Kingdom. Many of the American shows were shared with Iron Butterfly. Phil Carson, then-European General Manager of Atlantic Records, decided that as Iron Butterfly could attract enough of an audience to fill the venues on their tour, it would be good exposure for Yes as he was trying to break them into the American market at the time.
Live releases Live material from this tour has appeared on the following releases:
Steve Howe's performance of "Clap" at the London Lyceum on 17 July 1970 was recorded and included on The Yes Album as the second track.
Tour band The line-up for the tour unchanged throughout its duration, and was the fifth incarnation of Yes. Steve Howe joined the band two months previously: all concerts during May and June were cancelled while the band found a replacement for original guitarist Peter Banks, and Tony Kaye was replaced by Rick Wakeman shortly after the tour ended in time for rehearsal sessions for Fragile.
Jon Anderson — vocals, harmonium, Dewtron Mister Bassman Bass Pedals Steve Howe — Gibson ES-175, Martin 00-18 acoustic guitar, vachalia, vocals Chris Squire — Rickenbacker 4001S, Fender Telecaster bass, vocals Tony Kaye — Hammond organ Bill Bruford — Ludwig drums, Paiste and Zildjian cymbals
Typical setlist On the 1970 shows, the set list consisted of:
"Astral Traveller" (Anderson) "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire) "Clap" (Including an excerpt of "Classical Gas") (Howe) "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford) "A Bass Odyssey" (Howe, Squire) "America" (Paul Simon) (originally by Simon & Garfunkel) The 1971 shows had a typical setlist of: "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford) "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire) "Clap" (Including an excerpt of "Classical Gas") (Howe) "Perpetual Change" (Anderson, Squire) "Everydays" (Stephen Stills) "America" (Paul Simon) (originally by Simon & Garfunkel) (Replaced by "It's Love" from 24 June 1971 on)
Other songs played: "Then" (Anderson) (23, 29, 30 January 1971) "Mood For A Day" (Howe) (5, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 July 1971)
Tour dates On various dates of the tour, Yes were supported by Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Supertramp, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, The Strawbs, Iron Butterfly, Queen, and Jethro Tull. At other performances, such as festivals, the band shared the bill with Pink Floyd and Elton John.
Beginning with the 1971 dates (when Yes began to be supported by Iron Butterfly), ticket prices were set at 10s—approximately £10 ($16 USD) in 2012.
DateCityCountryVenueEurope 17 July 1970 LondonUnited KingdomLyceum Ballroom18 July 1970BirminghamMothers Club 19 July 1970 RedcarRedcar Jazz Club 24 July 1970 LondonBrompton Hall 26 July 1970 CroydonThe Greyhound 31 July 1970 PlymouthVan Dike Club 2 August 1970 CroydonThe Greyhound 9 August 1970 PlumptonPlumpton Racetrack 14 August 1970 LeytonstoneThe Red Lion 16 August 1970 BarkislandKrumlin 18 August 1970 LondonMarquee Club 21 August 1970 DevonThe Underground 22 August 1970 DagenhamVillage Underground 29 August 1970 LincolnKnickerbockers 31 August 1970 RedcarRedcar Jazz Club 5 September 1970 Huy BelgiumAtelier Rock 6 September 1970 Dortmund West GermanyFantasio 10 September 1970SwanseaUnited KingdomBrangwyn Hall 11 September 1970 12 September 1970 ColchesterCorn Exchange 18 September 1970 ElthamAvery Hill College 19 September 1970 Bishop's StortfordRhodes Center 20 September 1970 NottinghamNottingham Boat Club 22 September 1970 BirminghamMayfair Club 23 September 1970 BarryBarry Memorial Hall 26 September 1970 MargateMargate Hall 27 September 1970 CroydonThe Greyhound 28 September 1970 AberystwythAberystwyth University 1 October 1970 ScarboroughOpen Air Theater 2 October 1970 LeicesterLoughborough University 3 October 1970 WatfordWatford Technical College8 October 1970ManchesterUMIST 9 October 1970 StratfordCox's Yard 10 October 1970 LondonQueen Mary College 15 October 1970 DundeeDundee University 16 October 1970 NewcastleNewcastle City Hall 17 October 1970 MalvernMalvern Winter Gardens 23 October 1970 LeedsLeeds University 24 October 1970 PlymouthRoyal Theater 26 October 1970 RomfordKing's Head 30 October 1970 GuildfordUniversity of Surrey 31 October 1970 LondonQueen Elizabeth Hall2 November 1970DunstableDunstable Civic Hall3 November 1970 5 November 1970BernSwitzerlandNational Theater 6 November 19707 November 1970ZurichRote Fabrik 10 November 1970 MunichWest GermanyBlow Up Club 13 November 1970 LondonUnited KingdomCitypolyents 14 November 1970 BradfordUniversity Of Bradford 20 November 1970 LancasterLancaster University 21 November 1970 OxfordOxford Polytechnic 22 November 1970 PlymouthVan Dike Club24 November 1970BradfordUniversity of Bradford 25 November 1970 CambridgeCambridge Theater 27 November 1970 Southend-on-SeaTechnical College 28 November 1970 BostonBoston Music Room1 December 1970LondonMarquee Club2 December 1970ManchesterManchester College of Art4 December 1970LancasterLancaster University5 December 1970LiverpoolLiverpool Stadium 8 December 1970 NewcastleNewcastle City Hall 9 December 1970 HullHull University 10 December 1970 MiddlesbroughThe Pavilion 11 December 1970 WarringtonThunderdome 13 December 1970 BromleyHighams Hill Farm 14 December 1970 DunstableQueensway Hall 18 December 1970 LondonLyceum Theater 19 December 1970 FolkestoneLeas Cliff Hall 20 December 1970 CleethorpesCleethorpes Winter Gardens 22 December 1970 ShrewsburyShrewsbury Music Hall26 December 1970BrightonThe Big Apple 3 January 1971 CroydonThe Greyhound 8 January 1971 EindhovenNetherlandsParktheater 9 January 1971 AmsterdamHet Concertgebouw 10 January 1971 RotterdamDe Doelen 13 January 1971 GlasgowUnited KingdomGreen's Playhouse 14 January 1971 NewcastleNewcastle City Hall 15 January 1971 LancasterFreedom Hall 16 January 1971 SouthseaPortsmouth Polytechnic 17 January 1971 BristolColston Hall 18 January 1971 LondonRoyal Albert Hall 19 January 1971 BirminghamBirmingham Town Hall 21 January 1971 SouthamptonSouthampton Guildhall 23 January 1971 Aarhus Denmark Vejlby-Risskov Hall 24 January 1971 Gothenburg SwedenGothenburg Concert Hall 25 January 1971 Copenhagen DenmarkFalkoner Theater29 January 1971LilleFranceÉglise Saint-André30 January 1971LyonLyon Amphitheater 31 January 1971 ParisPalais des Sports2 February 1971BrusselsBelgiumPalais des Beaux-Arts5 February 1971BarnstapleUnited KingdomQueens Hall6 February 1971CardiffLlandaff Technical College7 February 1971RedcarRedcar Jazz Club8 February 1971LiègeBelgiumConservatoire de Liège 12 February 1971 New CrossUnited KingdomGoldsmiths College 13 February 1971 LondonLondon School of Economics 19 February 1971 LeedsLeeds University 20 February 1971 Kingston upon ThamesKingston Polytechnic 27 February 1971 DagenhamDagenham Roundhouse 4 March 1971 LiverpoolLiverpool Stadium 5 March 1971 DoncasterTop Rank Suite 6 March 1971 BrightonThe Big Apple 7 March 1971 RedcarRedcar Jazz Club 9 March 1971 BirminghamBirmingham Town Hall 10 March 1971 BournemouthBournemouth Winter Gardens 12 March 1971 CardiffCardiff University 14 March 1971 BlackburnKing George's Hall 15 March 1971 GuildfordGuildford Civic Hall 16 March 1971 NottinghamAlbert Hall 17 March 1971 GuildfordGuildford Civic Hall 19 March 1971 StirlingStirling University 20 March 1971 AviemoreAviemore Sports Center 21 March 1971 DunfermlineDumfermline Cinema 22 March 1971 GlasgowGlasgow City Center 23 March 1971 NorwichNorwich Lads Club 25 March 1971 HarrogateRoyal Hall 27 March 1971West BerlinWest GermanyDeutschlandhalle 28 March 1971 30 March 1971 WolverhamptonUnited KingdomWolverhampton Civic Hall 4 April 1971 Hemel HempsteadHempstead Pavilion 6 April 1971 ManchesterFree Trade Hall 8 April 1971 LeedsLeeds Town Hall 10 April 1971 SurbitonShoreditch Town Hall 12 April 1971 LondonBBC Television Centre 15 April 1971 FrankfurtWest GermanyVolksbildungsheim 16 April 1971 BöblingenSporthalle 17 April 1971 SaarbrückenSaarland Hall 18 April 1971 HamburgHamburg Music Hall 24 April 1971 NelsonUnited KingdomImperial 25 April 1971 LondonThe Roundhouse 30 April 1971 LutonLuton Recreation Center 1 May 1971 BarkingBarking Polytechnic 2 May 1971 Stoke-on-TrentTrentham Gardens 6 May 1971 ChathamCentral Hall 7 May 1971 OxfordOxford Town Hall 9 May 1971 RomeItalyTeatro Brancaccio 10 May 1971 MilanTeatro Lirico 11 May 1971 ArezzoTeatro Tenda 14 May 1971 BirminghamUnited KingdomBirmingham University 15 May 1971 NorwichNorwich Lads Club 16 May 1971 LeicesterDe Montfort Hall 21 May 1971 LiverpoolLiverpool University 22 May 1971 ManchesterManchester University 23 May 1971 HarrogateRoyal Hall29 May 1971ExeterExeter University4 June 1971ClactonPrincess Theater 5 June 1971 West Berlin West GermanySportpalast18 June 1971SouthportUnited KingdomFloral HallNorth America 24 June 1971 EdmontonCanadaEdmonton Gardens 25 June 1971 VancouverPNE Coliseum 26 June 1971 SeattleUnited StatesSeattle Center Coliseum 27 June 1971 SacramentoSacramento Memorial Auditorium 28 June 1971Los AngelesWhisky A Go Go 29 June 1971 30 June 1971 Oklahoma CityOklahoma City Music Hall 1 July 1971 San AntonioSan Antonio Municipal Auditorium 2 July 1971 DallasDallas Memorial Auditorium 3 July 1971 HoustonHofheinz Pavilion 4 July 1971 New OrleansThe Warehouse 5 July 1971 IndianapolisNational Guard Armory 6 July 1971 DeLandStetson University 7 July 1971 OrlandoOrlando Sports Center 8 July 1971 HamptonHampton Beach Ballroom 9 July 1971 WildwoodWildwood Convention Center 10 July 1971 Asbury ParkAsbury Park Convention Hall 11 July 1971 AlexandriaAlexandria Roller Rink 14 July 1971Port ChesterCapitol Theater 15 July 1971 16 July 1971DetroitEastown Theater 17 July 1971 18 July 1971 TorontoCanadaYork Stadium 19 July 1971 OttawaOttawa Civic Center 20 July 1971 ClevelandUnited StatesAllen Theater 23 July 1971 New York CityGaelic Park 24 July 1971 New HavenYale BowlFinal show 31 July 1971 London United KingdomCrystal Palace Bowl
Cancelled shows DateCityCountry 18 May 1970 Geleen Netherlands (first Pinkpop Festival) 2 November 1970 Dunstable United Kingdom 3 November 1970 24 November 1970 Bradford 1 December 1970 London 2 December 1970 Manchester 4 December 1970 Lancaster 5 December 1970 Liverpool 26 December 1970 Brighton 28 January 1971 Bremen West Germany 29 January 1971 Lille France 30 January 1971 Lyon 31 January 1971 Brussels Belgium 1 February 1971 Paris France 2 February 1971 6 February 1971 Cardiff United Kingdom 7 February 1971 Redcar 8 February 1971 Liėge Belgium 9 February 1971 Brussels 29 May 1971 Exeter United Kingdom 4 June 1971 Clacton 5 June 1971 West Berlin West Germany 18 June 1971 Southport United Kingdom 26 June 1971 Sheffield 31 June 1971 Boston United States
The February 1971 shows in Paris were cancelled due to rioting. After leaving France, the band had to cancel some UK shows after their van was involved in a road collision.
Reception