Yes

Yes is a British rock band, originally from London, United Kingdom. Formed in 1968, it is considered one of the pioneers of the progressive genre. Over its history of more than half a century, the band has had eighteen members in its various line-ups, half of whom have had multiple stints (no fewer than five for Rick Wakeman). Due to numerous changes in musicians, the band has the particularity of never having recorded more than two consecutive studio albums with the same line-up and, since 2015, of no longer having any original members, its longest-serving member being Steve Howe, who joined two years after its creation and has been a continuous member since 1995.

The band's first line-up included singer Jon Anderson, guitarist Peter Banks, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. They released two albums, Yes in 1969 and Time and a Word the following year, then, after Steve Howe joined on guitar, The Yes Album in 1971. With Rick Wakeman on keyboards, then Alan White on drums, Yes became one of the main representatives of progressive music with their albums Fragile (1971), Close to the Edge (1972), Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Relayer (1974, with Patrick Moraz on keyboards), Going for the One (1977), and Tormato (1978). After the album Drama, recorded with members of the duo The Buggles, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, replacing Anderson and Wakeman, Yes disbanded at the end of 1980.

The band was reborn three years later with the arrival of guitarist Trevor Rabin and the returns of Jon Anderson and Tony Kaye. Yes adopted a more pop rock sound. The album 90125 (1983) was an unprecedented commercial success for the band with the single Owner of a Lonely Heart becoming their first and only No. 1 in the United States, followed by the album Big Generator in 1987. In 1988, Jon Anderson formed the supergroup Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe with former members of Yes, before the latter rejoined the remaining members to record the album Union in 1991. However, this eight-member reunion did not last, and Yes then recorded a final album Talk (1994) with the musicians from the reformation, before Howe and Wakeman replaced Rabin and Kaye for the two volumes of Keys to Ascension (1996 and 1997). Wakeman once again left the band in 1997, only to rejoin in 2002, before a final departure in 2004. He was successively replaced by Billy Sherwood (album Open Your Eyes in 1997), Igor Koroshev (album The Ladder in 1999), and his son Oliver Wakeman. After the release of the album Magnification in 2001, recorded without a dedicated keyboardist, and a 35th-anniversary tour in 2004, the band took a break.

In 2008, Jon Anderson left Yes before once again reuniting with former members in ARW. The band then hired Benoît David, with whom and a returning Geoff Downes, they recorded the album Fly from Here in 2011, before the new singer was replaced by Jon Davison. This line-up released the album Heaven and Earth in 2014, the last with Chris Squire, who died in 2015. Billy Sherwood then took his vacant place as bassist. In 2017, Yes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the following year organised a tour for its fiftieth anniversary. The same year saw the release of the album Fly from Here Return Trip, a re-release of the 2011 album, but with Trevor Horn on vocals.