------------------------------------------------------- JANUARY 14, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Express & Star Contributed by Tom O'Toole Experimental band are back with an edge By Peter Carroll In 1977 punk rock revolutionised the music scene in Britain – unless you happened to be in a prog rock supergroup like Yes. “We were playing mega-gigs in the States at the time so we didn’t notice it till about the 80s – a few years after it came about,” says the band’s ever-present bassist Chris Squire. The fact that the band never even noticed punk says a lot about Yes. Grandiose, self-indulgent and pretentious – the band were the epitome of everything that punk despised. But despite all the vilification they have endured since then, Yes are still going today and are well into their fourth decade as one of the country’s best selling bands, with worldwide sales in excess of 30 million. They have a new album out called The Ladder and kick off their latest UK tour with two dates at Birmingham Symphony Hall next month. Squire accepts that punk never made much impression on Yes but argues that the band have taken on board a wide range of influences ranging from classical to Afro-Caribbean music. “The great thing about Yes is that we have always tried to be a bit different. “We’ve gone through a few metamorphoses of what the band actually is – but when new people have come in they have brought their ideas and the whole thing has subtly changed shape from album to album. It’s certainly kept it interesting for me, having been there the whole time, that there have been different players and emphases.” The band started in 1968 when Jon Anderson and Chris Squire hooked up at a Soho club with the idea of forming a band which would get out of the R&B rut and had the ability to play like an orchestra. At the time the band used to play at the late Frank Freeman’s dance club in Kidderminster regularly and had built up a fanatical following in the town. “It’s a little foggy in the memory but I do remember playing the town many times. It must have been a big prog rock area,” says Squire. Their first albums, Yes and Time And A Word, had more of a hard rock feel, but with the recruitment of the technically-gifted guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman the band’s sound became increasingly more elaborate. Their best known albums from the early days are the groundbreaking The Yes Album and 1972’s Close To The Edge, but it was not long before the band unleashed the infamous double concept album Tales From Topographic Oceans which, with its overblown arrangements and ridiculous vocals, unwittingly encapsulated all the flaws of progressive rock. The record was panned by many critics and Squire accepts that ‘there is no smoke without fire’. But he defends the band for having the guts to experiment and take risks. “We did take chances, some of which maybe didn’t come off, but which contributed to the longevity of the band.” The current line up features Yes regulars Squire, Anderson, Howe and drummer Alan White, along with Russian keyboardist Igor Khoroshev and additional guitarist and vocalist Billy Sherwood. “We’re really enjoying playing with Igor now and he is well capable of reproducing anything that the other Yes keyboard players did. “And we have Billy Sherwood on guitars and backing vocals and that another dimension to the early stuff.” Yes play Birmingham Symphony Hall on February 7/8 Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com