Yes’ Alan White And Geoff Downes Talk About The Band’s Latest Live LP And Working On New Music During The Pandemic

For the popular British progressive rock group Yes, 2019 was a milestone year: it marked the 50th anniversary of the band’s self-titled debut album that kicked off a long and enduring career. Amid many records, shows and personnel changes in the last five decades, Yes—whose present lineup consists of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, vocalist Jon Davison, keyboardist Geoff Downes and bassist Billy Sherwood—still remain active. That is evident on their latest album The Royal Affair Tour (Live in Las Vegas)—which should satisfy fans for now as they wait to see Yes return to the stage in 2021 after their tour was postponed this year due to the pandemic.

“It’s a great representation of the band throughout the years playing great music,” says White about the new album, which was just released last Friday. “We’re very proud of it, and looking forward to getting back on the road again with all of this stuff that is going on behind us.”

The music on The Royal Affair Tour spans the first decade of Yes’ existence from 1970 to 1980. The tour from last year itself was notable for featuring special guests such as the Moody Blues’ John Lodge, Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, and Asia. “As this great tour progressed, we felt it was important to capture that show,” says Downes. “The Las Vegas show was one of the last on the tour when the band was really fine-tuned, and it was definitely a special night for all of us. The tour itself was also extra special, and we enjoyed the company of many rock legends such as Carl Palmer, John Lodge and Asia all working together. A Royal Affair indeed!”

In addition to the well-known Yes songs, the live album also features some deep cuts from the band’s catalog: from “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” (from 1970’s Time and a Word) through “Onward” (from 1978’s Tormato) to “Tempus Fugit” (from 1980’s Drama). “We have a huge repertoire,” White says about preparing the set list for a Yes show. “It’s really hard to choose sometimes what era you want to represent. Steve comes up with a skeleton framework of what he thinks might be good, and then we put all our heads together and decide what we want to do and how we want to do it.”

In addition to “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed,” a number of cover songs are on the album—among them Yes’ popular rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “America.” which has been performed on and off over the years. “Obviously we updated it slightly,” White says, “but it’s still the basic shape and form that it was back then. By the way, Steve had a conversation with Paul Simon [who wrote the song] and he loved it.” Also unique to this new record is a performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” featuring a duet with the Moody Blues’ Lodge. “Everybody in the band loved that song like most of the world, ” says White, who performed on the original 1971 “Imagine” recording. “I think it had more to do with the meaning of the lyrics applying themselves to what’s happening in the world today.”

Not surprisingly, every Yes show would not be complete without the inclusion of the classic epics “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper.” I can do them in my sleep basically,” says White. “I’m always excited to play those songs, especially with Yes. Everyone in the band is a talented musician, and it’s still a great challenge to play those songs onstage.”

The current Yes lineup has been intact for the last five years since the death of the band’s founding bassist Chris Squire. Even after his passing (Squire had the distinction of being on every Yes studio album up until 2014),  there was no doubt of the band calling it a day—with Billy Sherwood, a longtime associate of the band, filling the bass duties.

“One of Chris’ dying wishes, which he told me: ‘Whatever you do Alan, keep this going if I pass away,’” White remembers. “[Billy’s] really amazing. Chris was one of his mentors. He literally knows everything that Chris did, including his vocals. That was a blessing to have somebody tuned in on Chris’ talents to fill in his shoes.”

“Of course, we all miss Chris, who was such a pivotal figure throughout the evolution and 50 years of Yes,” Downes says. “It was great to work once again with the Drama line-up from 2011 onward. I believe the legacy of Yes should continue [as Chris did], and Billy and all the other guys have done a fantastic job in keeping that flame burning.”

After Squire, White is the longest-serving member of Yes, having been with the band for almost five decades. Before joining Yes, White had played with such artists as Lennon, George Harrison and Ginger Baker. “I heard them numerous times on the radio,” White says of Yes. “I went to see them live once—I think they were supporting Cream and thought they were a really great innovative band. When I joined, I was like ‘This is different to a lot of things than I’ve done so far. But they said, ‘Come on, join the band.’ I said, ‘Look, give me three months…and here I am 49 years later.”

Almost a decade later after White’s arrival, Downes and Trevor Horn of the Buggles, best known for their hit “Video Killed the Radio Star,” joined Yes after the departures of singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. That lineup resulted in the album Drama, released 40 years ago, which is one of the Yes’ most underrated works—a record that foreshadowed the sleek sound of their 1983 hit record 90125. In recent years, Drama was performed in full on tour with this current band configuration.

“Drama was an excellent album,” says White. “We really recorded that in very little time, actually. Songs like “Machine Messiah” and a lot of really classic stuff. People still love that album. It’s funny how that came out. [Geoff and Trevor] were rehearsing in the next studio where we were rehearsing, and they were both big fans of Yes. They kept walking past the door and popped their heads in and going: ‘That’s good stuff.’ And Trevor said: ‘We wrote a song for you guys if you want to hear it.’ They came in and played the song for us. Eventually their equipment came into the room and finally it was the new Yes.”

“I believe it does stand the test of time,” Downes says of Drama, “and it certainly helped to propel Yes into a new era and appeal to a new generation of fans – Yes in the ‘80s, showed that the band has the ability of re-inventing itself no matter what the current trends are.”

Next year, Yes are scheduled to embark on their new European tour in which they will perform their 1974 album Relayer in its entirety as well as the classics. “Relayer is not very easy to play onstage,” White admits, “especially songs like “Sound Chaser” and “The Gates of Delirium”—they’re pretty crazy pieces of music to play on stage. But you know, we always seem to pull it off.

Meanwhile, the group is also working on new music during the pandemic, which would follow Yes’ last studio album, 2014’s Heaven and Earth. “We’ve been exchanging a number of ideas for Yes during the lockdown,” says Downes, who is also the co-founder of the band Asia, “albeit in the virtual world. It’s a new way of working, but also interesting in that we are able to remain in close contact despite the geographical separation of the band members. At some point, I am hoping to complete some Asia material that I had begun with [singer] John [Wetton] before he sadly passed in January, 2017.

“We are in the process of it,” adds White about the new Yes material. “With the situation with COVID, it’s a slightly different way of everybody recording…and doing the album in that way.  It’s interesting, to say the least. It’s less personal, but at the same time, some of the results are great.”