Yes Guitarist Chris Squire Discusses Possible Jon Anderson Reunion

Four years after hiring Canadian vocalist Benoit David to fill the shoes of lead vocalist in seminal prog-rock band Yes, the group has announced that they are working with a new vocalist, Jon Davison, and even hinted at a possible future reunion with their most famous lead singer, Jon Anderson.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Yes member Chris Squire says that the decision to move forward with a new lead vocalist was brought upon the band after David did not appear to want the job anymore.

On a co-headlining tour with Styx last year, Squire says, “He [David] started to get a little wobbly onstage. I thought he was having a cold or had gotten sick on the road. That happens all the time, but in Benoît’s case it seemed to not be getting better. We toured Europe after that, and once again he started to go a little soft. But it was more than that. He just seemed to not want to carry on doing the job. I assumed that after the Christmas break he’d feel differently, but he didn’t. We figured it was time to change partners.”

New Yes vocalist Davison came to the attention of the band courtesy of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. “Taylor is my friend and he told me on numerous occasions that Jon Davison should have the gig,” says Squire. “We got together with him and realized that he would be a very good fit. Like Jon Anderson, he’s a tenor, but he has a different pitch to his voice. We just returned from our Pacific Rim tour and he did a fantastic job, so everything is happy again in the Yes realm.”

Asked about the possibility of reuniting with original Yes vocalist and founding member Jon Anderson, Squire believes that is an absolute possibility and may happen, of all places, on Broadway.

“The idea of ‘Yes on Broadway’ has come up. It would reflect the history of Yes. It requires the collaboration not only with Jon Anderson, but also other ex-members, including keyboard players like Patrick Moraz and obviously Rick [Wakeman] would be looked at as well. Of course, it would have to depend on if there’s any interest from that side as well. It’s something that’s brewing, but it’s very much on the backburner.”

Yes will be kicking off a 26-date run through North America on July 13 in Atlantic City.