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Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius
I had an amazing time in London with new and old Yes friends on 21st June 2022. The concert was stunning and you’ll hear me banging on about it in this episode.
A magical evening of Yes music in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Close To The Edge which was performed perfectly to a full house at one of the most iconic of all venues.
It’s only the 10th time Yes have played at the RAH and it’s also 10 years since Jon Davison joined the band.
- What was the performance like?
- How did the setlist work?
- What was the experience like?
Take a listen to the episode and then let us know what you think below!









YMP Patrons:
Producers:
- Jeffrey Crecelius and
- Wayne Hall
Patrons:
Aaron Steelman | Dave Owen |
Mark James Lang | Paul Tomei |
Joost Maglev | David Heyden |
Martin Kjellberg | Paul Wilson |
Bob Martilotta | Lind |
Michael O’Connor | William Hayes |
Brian Sullivan | David Pannell |
Miguel Falcão | Lobate Scarp |
Chris Bandini | David Watkinson |
Neal Kaforey | Rachel Hadaway |
Craig Estenes | Dem |
Paul Hailes | Mark ‘Zarkol’ Baggs |
Doug Curran | Robert Nasir |
Fergus Cubbage | Scott Colombo |
Fred Barringer | Gary Betts |
Geoff Bailie | Simon Barrow |
Geoffrey Mason | Stephen Lambe |
Guy R DeRome | Steve Dill |
Henrik Antonsson | Steve Perry |
Hogne Bø Pettersen | Steve Rode |
IanNB | Steve Scott |
Jamie McQuinn | Steven Roehr |
Ken Fuller | Terence Sadler |
Michael Handerhan | Tim Stannard |
Jim | Todd Dudley |
John Cowan | Tony Handley |
John Holden | Joseph Cottrell |
John Parry | Keith Hoisington |
John Thomson | Barry Gorsky |
Alan Begg | Declan Logue |
Robert and David
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Theme music
The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes concerts. My theme music is not take from a live concert – I put it together from: archive.org
9 replies on “Yes Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2022 – 539”
Great podcast – Kevin, your enthusiasm was palpable. Sounds like the band have raised their game and I’m very happy to hear that. Fingers crossed that they come over to the US soon. Cheers
Glad to hear Kevin really enjoyed the RAH gig. It’s on my bucket list to see a show there. Regarding Billy, I’ve seen him on all but 1 US Yes tour he’s done. I think he really settled into his bass & vocals role on the Yes 50 tour in ’18. He was even more comfortable on the Royal Affair Tour in ’19, so his performance on this UK tour is not a surprise. He’s also really missed performing, understandably.
I’m glad to hear that my name still gets a reaction in the world, especially from my old friend Roger! As you noticed, his hearing & his memory aren’t what they used to be (1 ear is gone), so he has forgotten that while we were eating lunch on one of the cruises with his daughter & my wife, he asked me whether the YMP was legit & did I think he should agree to an interview. I said yes, of course! By the way, I’m still leaning on Rick to appear, hopefully this fall when his new album is released.
Hi everyone I have so many thoughts on the Yes shows and fun times around them but for now I’ll just update you with a little more detail on the special Alan White poster.
It was arranged by John Kuehne who is a Yes fan from America. The key points of the poster idea for the fan meetings is that it had the backing of the Alan White’s family as John had gone to lengths to arrange this to be special.
Just two made in the end, even though much wrong footing and issues along the way kicked in. John and I perceveired and I managed to get one into place at the Yes plaque resturant. I also tried to get it put up at the RAH but restrictions all over meant that this and the Yes Crystal Palace Bowl poster couldn’t be seen.
The wording was a link to some great times for Alan and fit so well, they came from the song Instant Karma. A side point to note is that Sean Lennon attended the show, I saw him talking to Roger Dean.
It was agreed by both John and I that at the end of the London Yes show, RAH, that it would be best served if Jay Schellen had the poster, so I made efforts when everyone had left the building and the roadies where taking the equipment down to make contact with management to do just that. I believe Jay has it now.
Beyond the Yes tour, I hope to show the other copy in an exhibition later this year at Trading Boundaries in England if all goes well.
Enjoy the tour everyone.
A massive thank you to John Kuehne.
Alan White, thank you for a lifetime of music, you truly will be missed.
Thanks for sharing that story behind the poster , and a big round of applause for you and John kuehne for making it happen and that’s a nice touch it is with the current drummer JS. In fact John was streaming live from the RAH the other night so I was able to catch some of the show live here in Toronto
Sounds like from all the reviews of people actually at the shows that the band are playing very well , YouTube clips can easily be misleading and hoping that Yes will be coming across the pond in the big two distant future.
Thanks Fergus. Jay loved it, John did a good job, spent a lot of money and I helped with the complex logistics.
To the fans making a call from not sat infront of a big speaker system or feeling the bass pedals then as for videos on YouTube then for people to make a decision based on a phone speaker or TV, of course that cannot be correct. The band spends tens of thousands on equipment and sound systems, tailer them to the venue and have a sound check. On top of that it’s Yes. Does anyone think Yes would put it’s time effort money and reputation on the line on a tour by doing it badly.
To anyone out there not going to see them based on a YouTube video, It’s frankly preposterous to make a judgement call based on inferior equipment.
They are playing strong up to speed and everyone is delighted to be playing live again. Fans are loving it…the ones who paid and sat there that is.
Go and see them everyone, you will enjoy it I am sure. It’s like any even it’s 100 times better when you are there.
Wonderful episode, thank you guys 🙂
Silent Wings was a good choice to open, but was lost in the awful sound mix. Yes, the 2 Quest songs should probably have been separated, but they certainly ‘lived well’ among the others. It took until ‘Heart’ for the sound to get anywhere near what it ought to be, which was a shame as the band were great. CTTE was brilliant. Agree with comments about the lighting. Steve might be the de facto leader of the band, but Billy (whose performance at the RAH was magnificent) is now its beating heart.
Thoroughly agree about changing songs. Some can be given a rest.
Ken has beaten me to the word “palpable”. Yes, I have never heard Kevin so energised on-mic. And rightly, so – I think this is an exciting tour and repertoire. I saw the first “proper” night in Glasgow and managed to avoid looking at setlist.fm for the two days beforehand (although they guys sitting in front of me were actually looking at it, presumably for the Tavistock setlist, on their phones before the show!
Not knowing meant I got glorious surprise after glorious surprise, a return to Roger Waters’ “thrill of confusion, that space cadet glow” that I felt in the old days.
I love what are now called deep cuts. I found the “new line-up, but same older songs” period of touring from 1980 to about 1989 very testing. After that, whenever Steve has been in the hand, they have revitalised songs I’d never dreamed of hearing, to my delight. So, this year, I got “Silent Wings”, “No Opportunity”, “Ice Bridge”, and “Dare” for the first time live and thought they were all thrilling in their own ways. And it’s great to hear “Yours Is No Disgrace” planted back in the sophomore slot where it worked so well on the “Drama” and “90125” tours. It’s such a reassuring warhorse that it feels better played second after something risky beforehand. Majesty and relief, all in one opening declaration.
I’ll be seeing them again in Newcastle on Sunday and hope to catch up with some YMPers there. I’ll be sitting on the front row just in front of Steve and look forward to witnessing more of his vigorous directions to other band (and audience) members, especially his highly-assertive cut-throat gesture!
Great to hear all the comments about the RAH show – I’m quite sad I missed all the festivities as I was sunning myself in Italy. Sounds like I missed a classic!
I did just about make it back in time for the Birmingham show, though having got home at 5 am that morning, I wasn’t at my sociable best so it was a bit of a flying visit…
I enjoyed it, though the sound wasn’t the best where I was sitting (which wasn’t so far from the mixing desk) – though I thought the visuals were first rate. I am afraid I am in the ‘They’ve butchered On The Silent Wings of Freedom’ camp, and I thought it was a mistake to play both new songs together late in the first set, as – as Kevin says – there was a definite drop in energy. I’d have played The Ice Bridge earlier and I’d loved to see them have a go at A Living Island, but that’s just me. Love that song.
I have a couple of left-field observations that I’ll leave in a voice note!
But great to see the band back and playing so well.
Cheers
Stephen