The classic rock band Yes, which was forced to cancel their 40th anniversary tour this year due to the illness of its lead singer, has decided to relaunch the tour with an "understudy" — a Yes tribute band singer.

Benoit David, who sings in several Yes tribute bands in Montreal, will replace Jon Anderson on the "In the Present" tour, which kicks of Nov. 4 in Ontario, Canada, according to bassist Chris Squire.

"I think it's all going to work out fine," Squire told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Of course, realistically, there's an element of risk, but there always is."

Yes, which consists of Squire, Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White, scrapped their anniversary tour in June after Anderson suffered acute respiratory failure and was ordered by doctors to rest six months.

Squire found David on the Internet after a friend sent him a YouTube clip of David's tribute band, Close To The Edge. Squire liked what he saw and called David to offer an audition.

"The first thing he said to me was, 'Well, I'm looking around to see where the cameras are in case I'm being punked,'" Squire said.

Yes has taken a page from another classic rock group, Journey, who selected Arnel Pineda, a sound-a-like of old lead singer Steve Perry, to be their singer after the group discovered him singing Journey songs on YouTube. Pineda sang on the group's successful comeback album this year and has also been touring with them.

It's not the first time Yes has had a singer besides Anderson. Trevor Horn sang on the 1980 Yes album "Drama" when Anderson briefly left the band. Squire hopes to work songs from that album into the set for the upcoming tour, plus a few songs he said were not Anderson's favorites to perform live but the rest of the band likes.

"You can't ever really replace Jon Anderson, because he's been such a force in the music business," Squire said. "We look upon his replacement as more of an understudy."

Squire said he is hopeful Anderson will be well enough to do shows next year.

Cheers,

Rob

 

Revert to the name Cinema me thinks.

 

Bass player looked so much like Squire it was scary!

 

The vocalist was top notch.

 

I suggest you go and see them... By the way, they only play in the UK.

 

I know a lot of people around here think of Drama as a great Yesalbum, but Horn was never an Anderson and Drama is a OK disc for me, nothing more.

SQUIRE might hold the key of the YES corporation, but JON is imlho the heart and soul of the band!

Hopefully he'll be back next year ......would look more like real YES for me

 

BTW, does anyone have a date list for this tour? They weren't hitting Phoenix on the prior aborted tour and I want to see if they're at least coming close.

 

However, if they came to Poland I would go and see them, especially Oliver Wakeman.

 

I dont see the point in this at all.. It aint Yes!

 

Its becoming a tribute band..

 

They should have packed it in.

 

Hopefully they will not overcharge the fans on this as it wont be fair.

 

Now we know what the career path is for American Idol contestants who don't land a record contract...just replace the aging original. Create a cyborg.

Drama shows that YES doesn't necessarily need Jon Anderson to be good, just as Union showed that YES doesn't need YES to be bad. Figure that one out!

from   http://www.jonanderson.com/news.html - http://www.jonanderson.com/news.html

 

"Disappointed, and very Disrespected

Disappointed that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys have been in touch since my illness, just to find out how I am doing, and how we will foresee the future for YES. And disappointed that they were not willing to wait till 2009 when I’m fully recovered.

And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year creating songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean creating a stage design, also working with VH1 and Sirius and XM Radio to help promote the welfare of YES.

Getting sick was not "on my radar”, and I thank my own angel Janeee and my family for helping me through this difficult time, and the many well wishers, friends and fans alike, for understanding that ''things happen''.

Of course I wish the guys all the best in their 'solo' work, but I just wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. After all YES is a precious musical band.

This is not YES on tour...

I send best wishes to one and all, Jon"

 

 

 

Then they could do a few spinoff bands as well...like "Yes:  Deep Space Nine" with a black lead singer, and "Yes: Voyager" with a female lead singer.  And of course, "Yes: Enterprise" with Scott Bakula as lead singer. 

 

That's a joke, right? You think Andy White is the same guy as Alan White?

 

That is interesting because I thought that I had read that they were doing this with Jon's blessing, but it appears that this is not the case from what has been posted today.  With Jon's blessing, I was sceptical but OK with it; without Jon's blessing, this is plain wrong.  But I like looking at carwrecks too, so if they come I will probably go, as long as the price is right.

 

"Forget about it!' If Jon & Rick were there maybe, but, not now!

 

I've just had the pleasure of hearing her version of 'Turn of the Century' from her album 'Live under Brazilian Skies'.

 

That really made me sit up and take notice. I find this version to be 10 times better than the original, she has a comparable voice to Jon Anderson on this song, plus the emotion that his voice lacks. 

 

 

According to the interview on NFTE, Oliver never bought that album and only knows "Soon".

 

Well, I hope that Jon comes up with a surprise. What about Anderson Bruford Moraz Rabin?

 

Mind you who said that all people in their 60's make rational decisions.....................

 

I saw it of all places in The Sun online UK

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk - www.thesun.co.uk

 

 

(at least NOT for a "full tour")

 

You sir, will be my recommendation when Yes comes to me and asks who they should get for their management.

 

But heck, they are actually coming near here.   This is probably as close as they have been since the Relayer tour. 

 

As Rick Wakeman said recently in one interview quoted in alt.yes.faq, maybe it could be a good idea to play with Anderson and him again in YES only "for a couple of very special gigs, no more long tours".

 

To celebrate Procol Harum`s 30th Anniversary of their first single in 1997, they played only one gig in England in 1997. Gary Brooker was joined on stage by almost all the former members of the band, playing the songs with different line-ups. This could be a very good idea for YES to do in 2009 to celebrate more than 40 years in the musical world: why not to play 4 or 5 nights in the Royal Albert Hall, for example, having Anderson and Wakeman there (both with health problems which prevent them to do long tours), inviting every musician that has been in the band, playing in different line-ups, recording one or more of the concerts for  CD / DVD releases, and simply finishing the career of YES with a reunion of old friends? I think that Squire, White and Howe are more put into action now by money that for anything else.

 

I read in the Internet that, after years of offers (very well paid in money)  to reform the band Cream, Eric Clapton finally agreed to play with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker when he learned that Baker has been  ill with arthritis and Bruce survived a battle  with cancer. He finally reformed Cream because he thought that playing with his friends again could not be possible if he waited more time to do it. They played 4 or 5 nights in the Royal Albert Hall in May 2005, and they released a live album on CD and DVD. YES could do the same but...long tours are better because they earn more money, of course.

 

I read Oliver Wakeman`s interview in "Notes from the Edge". He mentioned several songs considered to be played by "SHW of YES": not very interesting for me. More of the same: "Close to the Edge", "Siberian Khatru", "Soth Side of the Sky", etc. Some "new songs" in the setlist: "Machine Messiah", "Tempus Fugit" (both interesting because Anderson didn`t want to sing them), "A Venture" (composed by Anderson!, from "The YES Album" and never has been played live by YES). Oliver also said that he doesn`t have "Relayer" among his collection of YES albums (mainly because his father didn`t have it in his collection, as Oliver really listened to his father`s collections of records in his childhood). So, no "Relayer" songs in the setlist. Maybe "Starship Trooper" again, and of course, "Roundabout". As I have several live albums and DVDs with most of these songs sung by Anderson (except the "Drama" songs of course)  I don`t see a good reason to see  this "SHW of YES" line-up in concert.

 

Maybe an interesting set-list from "SHW from YES" could be:

 

"Harold Land" from their first album, never has been played in concert. It is one of the best songs in that album in my opinion. (Maybe Howe could say "No!" because he didn`t play in the original version).

 

"To Be Over" and "The Gates of Delirium" from "Relayer".

 

"In the Silent Wings of Freedom" from "Tormato".

 

"Machine Messiah" and others from "Drama".

 

And that 's all, because I don`t think that Howe could want to play songs from Trevor Rabin`s albums with YES.