We Help You Hire, Book and Produce a Yes Performance
Hire YES For Your Event
Celebrity Direct Inc. will help you select, book and hire Yes to perform at your corporate event, non-profit event or private performance.
We are always uniquely positioned as your advocate throughout the hiring process and we won’t let you overpay.
Contact us for availability, price and other production details at:
212-521-4115 Tell Us About Your Event
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Yes Songs
- “Heart of Sunrise”
- “Roundabout”
- “Owner of a Lonely Heart”
- “Long Distance Runaround”
- “And You and I”
- “Starship Trooper”
- “And Your’s Is No Disgrace”
- “Love Will Find A Way”
- “The Gates of Delirium”
- “Leave It”
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Yes Bio
One of the most successful progressive-rock bands in history, Yes combined virtuosic musicianship, suitelike neoclassical structures, and three-part high vocal harmonies to form an elaborate whole that most critics called irrelevant highflown indulgence – and that audiences loved. After undergoing Byzantine personnel changes, they updated their sound in the mid-1980s and enjoyed greater commercial success than ever.
Yes was formed after Jon Anderson met Chris Squire at a London music-industry bar in 1968. Anderson had spent the previous 12 years in various bands; Squire, a self-taught bassist, had been in the Syn. With guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford, they formed Yes. One of the first engagements was opening for Cream’s London farewell concert in November 1968.
In 1971 Tony Kaye left to form Badger (he later joined Detective and then Badfinger). His replacement, Rick Wakeman, had garnered acclaim with the Strawbs. Fragile (#4, 1972) consolidated the band’s success. Highlighted by an edited “Roundabout” (#13, 1972), the album went gold. With Close to the Edge (#3, 1972), Yes’ ambition attained new heights. Consisting of three extended cuts, with a four-movement title suite, the album too went gold in short order. After recording it, Bruford left to join King Crimson (whose leader, Robert Fripp, had once been approached to replace Peter Banks). His replacement was sessionman Alan White, who had played in John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band.
The live Yessongs (#13, 1973) was followed by the critically derided Tales From Topographic Oceans (#6, 1974). The album sold well, however, and the band continued to be a top-drawing live act. But Tales brought to a head conflicts between Wakeman, an extroverted meat-eating beer drinker, and the other players, who were sober vegetarians. Wakeman, openly expressing his disillusionment, soon left.
After Yes had made a successful world tour with Moraz, Wakeman rejoined. Both Going for the One (#8, 1977) and Tomato (#10, 1978) returned to shorter, tighter song structures. But though Yes continued to sell albums and fill arenas, its days seemed numbered. Wakeman left again, followed by Anderson, who had written most of Yes’ lyrics. Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes of the new-wave band the Buggles (who had a hit with “Video Killed the Radio Star” [see entry]) debuted on Drama (#18, 1980). Shortly thereafter, Yes broke up.
By 1989 the band’s personnel squabbles reached new intensity; after a court battle over the group name, Squire, White, Rabin, and Kaye continued as the official Yes, while the warring faction of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and How toured and recorded using their surnames. The two camps reconciled on Union (#15, 1991), going on a world tour that, for all the logistical unwieldiness of its eight-played lineup, was a huge commercial success.
In 1993 Anderson, Bruford, and Howe joined the London Philharmonic in an album of symphonic versions of Yes songs. A year later, Yes – this time comprised of the members who’d released 90125 – announced plans to record again, and early 1994 saw the release of Talk (#33, 1994). In 1997 the band, with new guitarist Billy Sherwood and additional keyboardist Igor Khoroshev, released two albums in one month, the catchy pop of Open Your Eyes and the more typically ambitious Keys to Ascension, vol. 2. By this time, Rick Wakeman, while still pursuing a career in Christian music, was back in the Yes fold. The Ladder (1999) echoed the progressive-rock melodrama of the band’s early heyday.
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Contact Yes Manager or Agent | You May Ask?
How can I hire Yes for a corporate event, non-profit or charity event or private performance? How much does Yes cost for a performance, a song, an appearance at an event, party or convention ending gala? What kind of budget would I need for a Yes performance at our event? How can I find out if Yes is available for our event date? How do I contact Yes’s manager? How do I contact Yes’s agent?
We can answer all your questions.
Contact our National Booking Office at 212 521-4115 or send us your questions via email to hire Yes.
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Why Celebrity Direct Inc.
Direct Source for Celebrity Performers We are the industry leader in celebrity talent buying and production for corporate events. We work on your behalf to hire the best possible celebrity for your budget and we are uniquely positioned as your advocate in the booking process so you never overpay.
Corporate & Non-Profit Events and Private Performances We are dedicated to private performances, not publicly ticketed events, and we are the experts in this highly specialized entertainment market.
Complete Turn-Key Production Nationwide Event planners work with us in several ways, either choosing from a menu of our services or asking us to produce a show delivered completely turn-key at your event nationwide.
