YESSHOWS

The Original Opening Music Albums and a Guide to Pre and Post YESshow Music

by David Watkinson

Final Thoughts

Although the intro tape to a rock show is not a rare thing in the music business, having been around since the beginning of Rock and Roll used by all kinds of artists, I am left wondering though, if YES, who are now one of the longest running groups to have done so, have YES been the band that has used the most diverse music for it? On the whole, YES the band, and their fans have always wanted creativity, progression and surprise in YES music, so what we have found out here with research, is that YES as a creative force didn’t hold that just for their album music, but holds it for everything they do around a YESshow. It would have been easier to provide no pre or post show music as many bands do, or just leave it to chance with some run-of-the-mill chart music and not think the whole thing through.

YES are different. YES have thought about the impact it has on the whole concert experience, bringing you classical themes, electronics, dance mixes, own compositions and even cartoons as they move through the decades. Putting on a great show has been in the YES DNA from the very early days, that ethos has never gone away, and the exciting unknown experience of the live show and a tour is what YES are about. YES live, is the pinnacle of the YES music experiences.

If you ask a YESfan what music opens a YESshow, then Stravinsky would be the first answer to that question. But as you now see, the obvious answer was not always the case. YES still strive to give their fans the complete show experience from the moment you walk into the venue to after you leave on a high. This professionalism throughout the YES team pays dividends all round, they continue to create a wonderful YESshow for their audiences on every tour, they always have done and will continue to do so.

Looking ahead then, we will have to wait and see what both comforting and surprising the opening, mid-way and closing music YES decide on. I for one can’t wait.



Acknowledgements
QEDG Management, Mike Tait, Jim and Jan Halley, Roy Clair. Jon Kirkman, Steve Sullivan and Peter Whipple’s “Forgotten Yesterdays
yessongs.nl, Kevin Curry, RABD Music station, Melody Maker, Sounds, Deidre Nelson, BBC online, Roger Dean.
All images from the David Watkinson Collection or otherwise stated.

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