Anyone unfamiliar with the history of Yes might think that a situation where the band were going out on tour with, not their original line-up but their most famous/successful line-up, except for the keyboard player being replaced by his son and the singer replaced by a tribute player was complicated.  Of course we know that this is par for the course and positively straightforward compared to the Union tour, but there is another twist…

It turns out that nobody consulted Jon Anderson about it all!  On his official website there is a statement that says:

Disappointed, and very Disrespected

Disappointed that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys have been in touch since my illness, just to find out how I am doing, and how we will foresee the future for YES. And disappointed that they were not willing to wait till 2009 when I’m fully recovered.

And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year creating songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean creating a stage design, also working with VH1 and Sirius and XM Radio to help promote the welfare of YES.

Of course I wish the guys all the best in their ‘solo’ work, but I just wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. After all YES is a precious musical band.

This is not YES on tour…

I send best wishes to one and all

Well… that’s telling them.