The Yes Album Tour

The Yes Album Tour
World tour by Yes
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumThe Yes Album
Start date17 July 1970
End date31 July 1971
Legs3
No. of shows169 (183 scheduled)
Yes concert chronology

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,[1] the tour began at the Lyceum in London—Steve Howe's first performance with the band[2]—and ended at the Crystal Palace Bowl, also in London—Tony Kaye's last performance with the band before his 13-year absence.[3][4]

History

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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.[3] Many of the American shows were shared with Iron Butterfly. Phil Carson, then-European General Manager of Atlantic Records,[5] 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.[6]

Live releases

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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.[7]

Tour band

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The line-up for the tour unchanged throughout its duration, and was the fifth incarnation of Yes.[8] 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.[9]

Typical setlist

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On the 1970 shows, the set list consisted of:[10]

  1. "Astral Traveller" (Anderson)
  2. "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire)
  3. "Clap" (Including an excerpt of "Classical Gas") (Howe)
  4. "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford)
  5. "A Bass Odyssey" (Howe, Squire)
  6. "America" (Paul Simon) (originally by Simon & Garfunkel)

The 1971 shows had a typical setlist of:

  1. "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford)
  2. "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire)
  3. "Clap" (Including an excerpt of "Classical Gas") (Howe)
  4. "Perpetual Change" (Anderson, Squire)
  5. "Everydays" (Stephen Stills)
  6. "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

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On various dates of the tour, Yes were supported by Black Sabbath,[2] Uriah Heep,[2] Supertramp,[2] Deep Purple,[2] Wishbone Ash,[2] The Strawbs,[10] Iron Butterfly,[10] Queen,[11] and Jethro Tull.[11] At other performances, such as festivals, the band shared the bill with Pink Floyd[2] and Elton John.[4]

Beginning with the 1971 dates (when Yes began to be supported by Iron Butterfly), ticket prices were set at 10s[10]—approximately £10 ($16 USD) in 2012.

Date City Country Venue
Europe
17 July 1970 London United Kingdom Lyceum Ballroom
18 July 1970 Birmingham Mothers Club
19 July 1970 Redcar Redcar Jazz Club
24 July 1970 London Brompton Hall
26 July 1970 Croydon The Greyhound
31 July 1970 Plymouth Van Dike Club
2 August 1970 Croydon The Greyhound
9 August 1970 Plumpton Plumpton Racetrack
14 August 1970 Leytonstone The Red Lion
16 August 1970 Barkisland Krumlin
18 August 1970 London Marquee Club
21 August 1970 Devon The Underground
22 August 1970 Dagenham Village Underground
29 August 1970 Lincoln Knickerbockers
31 August 1970 Redcar Redcar Jazz Club
5 September 1970 Huy Belgium Atelier Rock
6 September 1970 Dortmund West Germany Fantasio
10 September 1970 Swansea United Kingdom Brangwyn Hall
11 September 1970
12 September 1970 Colchester Corn Exchange
18 September 1970 Eltham Avery Hill College
19 September 1970 Bishop's Stortford Rhodes Center
20 September 1970 Nottingham Nottingham Boat Club
22 September 1970 Birmingham Mayfair Club
23 September 1970 Barry Barry Memorial Hall
26 September 1970 Margate Margate Hall
27 September 1970 Croydon The Greyhound
28 September 1970 Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University
1 October 1970 Scarborough Open Air Theater
2 October 1970 Leicester Loughborough University
3 October 1970 Watford Watford Technical College
8 October 1970 Manchester UMIST
9 October 1970 Stratford Cox's Yard
10 October 1970 London Queen Mary College
15 October 1970 Dundee Dundee University
16 October 1970 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
17 October 1970 Malvern Malvern Winter Gardens
23 October 1970 Leeds Leeds University
24 October 1970 Plymouth Royal Theater
26 October 1970 Romford King's Head
30 October 1970 Guildford University of Surrey
31 October 1970 London Queen Elizabeth Hall
2 November 1970 Dunstable Dunstable Civic Hall
3 November 1970
5 November 1970 Bern Switzerland National Theater
6 November 1970
7 November 1970 Zurich Rote Fabrik
10 November 1970 Munich West Germany Blow Up Club
13 November 1970 London United Kingdom Citypolyents
14 November 1970 Bradford University Of Bradford
20 November 1970 Lancaster Lancaster University
21 November 1970 Oxford Oxford Polytechnic
22 November 1970 Plymouth Van Dike Club
24 November 1970 Bradford University of Bradford
25 November 1970 Cambridge Cambridge Theater
27 November 1970 Southend-on-Sea Technical College
28 November 1970 Boston Boston Music Room
1 December 1970 London Marquee Club
2 December 1970 Manchester Manchester College of Art
4 December 1970 Lancaster Lancaster University
5 December 1970 Liverpool Liverpool Stadium
8 December 1970 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
9 December 1970 Hull Hull University
10 December 1970 Middlesbrough The Pavilion
11 December 1970 Warrington Thunderdome
13 December 1970 Bromley Highams Hill Farm
14 December 1970 Dunstable Queensway Hall
18 December 1970 London Lyceum Theater
19 December 1970 Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
20 December 1970 Cleethorpes Cleethorpes Winter Gardens
22 December 1970 Shrewsbury Shrewsbury Music Hall
26 December 1970 Brighton The Big Apple
3 January 1971 Croydon The Greyhound
8 January 1971 Eindhoven Netherlands Parktheater
9 January 1971 Amsterdam Het Concertgebouw
10 January 1971 Rotterdam De Doelen
13 January 1971 Glasgow United Kingdom Green's Playhouse
14 January 1971 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
15 January 1971 Lancaster Freedom Hall
16 January 1971 Southsea Portsmouth Polytechnic
17 January 1971 Bristol Colston Hall
18 January 1971 London Royal Albert Hall
19 January 1971 Birmingham Birmingham Town Hall
21 January 1971 Southampton Southampton Guildhall
23 January 1971 Aarhus Denmark Vejlby-Risskov Hall
24 January 1971 Gothenburg Sweden Gothenburg Concert Hall
25 January 1971 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Theater
29 January 1971 Lille France Église Saint-André
30 January 1971 Lyon Lyon Amphitheater
31 January 1971 Paris Palais des Sports
2 February 1971 Brussels Belgium Palais des Beaux-Arts
5 February 1971 Barnstaple United Kingdom Queens Hall
6 February 1971 Cardiff Llandaff Technical College
7 February 1971 Redcar Redcar Jazz Club
8 February 1971 Liège Belgium Conservatoire de Liège
12 February 1971 New Cross United Kingdom Goldsmiths College
13 February 1971 London London School of Economics
19 February 1971 Leeds Leeds University
20 February 1971 Kingston upon Thames Kingston Polytechnic
27 February 1971 Dagenham Dagenham Roundhouse
4 March 1971 Liverpool Liverpool Stadium
5 March 1971 Doncaster Top Rank Suite
6 March 1971 Brighton The Big Apple
7 March 1971 Redcar Redcar Jazz Club
9 March 1971 Birmingham Birmingham Town Hall
10 March 1971 Bournemouth Bournemouth Winter Gardens
12 March 1971 Cardiff Cardiff University
14 March 1971 Blackburn King George's Hall
15 March 1971 Guildford Guildford Civic Hall
16 March 1971 Nottingham Albert Hall
17 March 1971 Guildford Guildford Civic Hall
19 March 1971 Stirling Stirling University
20 March 1971 Aviemore Aviemore Sports Center
21 March 1971 Dunfermline Dumfermline Cinema
22 March 1971 Glasgow Glasgow City Center
23 March 1971 Norwich Norwich Lads Club
25 March 1971 Harrogate Royal Hall
27 March 1971 West Berlin West Germany Deutschlandhalle
28 March 1971
30 March 1971 Wolverhampton United Kingdom Wolverhampton Civic Hall
4 April 1971 Hemel Hempstead Hempstead Pavilion
6 April 1971 Manchester Free Trade Hall
8 April 1971 Leeds Leeds Town Hall
10 April 1971 Surbiton Shoreditch Town Hall
12 April 1971 London BBC Television Centre
15 April 1971 Frankfurt West Germany Volksbildungsheim
16 April 1971 Böblingen Sporthalle
17 April 1971 Saarbrücken Saarland Hall
18 April 1971 Hamburg Hamburg Music Hall
24 April 1971 Nelson United Kingdom Imperial
25 April 1971 London The Roundhouse
30 April 1971 Luton Luton Recreation Center
1 May 1971 Barking Barking Polytechnic
2 May 1971 Stoke-on-Trent Trentham Gardens
6 May 1971 Chatham Central Hall
7 May 1971 Oxford Oxford Town Hall
9 May 1971 Rome Italy Teatro Brancaccio
10 May 1971 Milan Teatro Lirico
11 May 1971 Arezzo Teatro Tenda
14 May 1971 Birmingham United Kingdom Birmingham University
15 May 1971 Norwich Norwich Lads Club
16 May 1971 Leicester De Montfort Hall
21 May 1971 Liverpool Liverpool University
22 May 1971 Manchester Manchester University
23 May 1971 Harrogate Royal Hall
29 May 1971 Exeter Exeter University
4 June 1971 Clacton Princess Theater
5 June 1971 West Berlin West Germany Sportpalast
18 June 1971 Southport United Kingdom Floral Hall
North America
24 June 1971 Edmonton Canada Edmonton Gardens
25 June 1971 Vancouver PNE Coliseum
26 June 1971 Seattle United States Seattle Center Coliseum
27 June 1971 Sacramento Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
28 June 1971 Los Angeles Whisky A Go Go
29 June 1971
30 June 1971 Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Music Hall
1 July 1971 San Antonio San Antonio Municipal Auditorium
2 July 1971 Dallas Dallas Memorial Auditorium
3 July 1971 Houston Hofheinz Pavilion
4 July 1971 New Orleans The Warehouse
5 July 1971 Indianapolis National Guard Armory
6 July 1971 DeLand Stetson University
7 July 1971 Orlando Orlando Sports Center
8 July 1971 Hampton Hampton Beach Ballroom
9 July 1971 Wildwood Wildwood Convention Center
10 July 1971 Asbury Park Asbury Park Convention Hall
11 July 1971 Alexandria Alexandria Roller Rink
14 July 1971 Port Chester Capitol Theater
15 July 1971
16 July 1971 Detroit Eastown Theater
17 July 1971
18 July 1971 Toronto Canada York Stadium
19 July 1971 Ottawa Ottawa Civic Center
20 July 1971 Cleveland United States Allen Theater
23 July 1971 New York City Gaelic Park
24 July 1971 New Haven Yale Bowl
Final show
31 July 1971 London United Kingdom Crystal Palace Bowl

Cancelled shows

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Date City Country
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.[12] After leaving France, the band had to cancel some UK shows after their van was involved in a road collision.[12][13]

Reception

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Writing in Melody Maker in review of the group's shows[nb 1] on 31 October 1970 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Chris Welch described Howe as "stealing the show", Bruford as a "proverbial tower of strength", and Anderson as "simple but emotive".[14]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ On this date, Yes played two shows at the same venue—one in the afternoon, followed later by an evening performance

References

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  1. ^ Whipple, Peter. "Index". Forgotten Yesterdays. Archived from the original on 4 November 2001. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 101. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  3. ^ a b Whipple, Peter. "The Yes Album Tour". Forgotten Yesterdays. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. ^ a b Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 105. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  5. ^ "Phil Carson". Led-Zeppelin.org. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 99. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
  7. ^ Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 97. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
  8. ^ Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 8. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  9. ^ Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 113. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
  10. ^ a b c d Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 102. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  11. ^ a b Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 104. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  12. ^ a b Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 103. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
  13. ^ Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 100. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
  14. ^ Welch, Chris (7 November 1970). "Caught in the Act: Oh, Yes...". Melody Maker: 22.