Yes

A bar job at a Soho club led to Jon Anderson meeting bassist Chris Squire. Sharing a love of Simon & Garfunkel and harmony singing, they wrote 'Sweetness' that very evening, and the group forming around them began mixing originals with covers of rock, pop, blues and jazz.

Guitarist Steve Howe's arrival in 1970 changed direction. Songs were assembled from small sections pieced together, then Rick Wakeman's Mellotron and Moog brought orchestral, choral textures. Fragile, home of 'Roundabout', borrowed structures from classical music, while the title track of Close to the Edge ran 19 minutes. Tales from Topographic Oceans, inspired by Shastric scriptures, divided listeners.

Trevor Rabin's writing later steered Yes toward a mainstream sound on 90125 and its hit 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'. Squire died in 2015, leaving no founders aboard, yet Howe and vocalist Jon Davison carried on to Aurora, released in June 2026.