Yes have a new lead singer. Benoit David is out. Jon Davison is in.
Chris Squire with Yes
“Jon Davison is coming in because of Benoit’s departure. I always hope that when there is a member change in the band that it will be a permanent thing. Only time will tell really”, founding member Chris Squire told Noise11.com this morning.
“I don’t know if I’m meant to be telling you this yet, so I guess you’ve got a scoop,”
Like Benoit David, Jon Davison was discovered fronting a Yes covers band. Benoit had joined Yes after the departure of original singer Jon Anderson. He has been suffering from respiratory failure this year and could not continue on for the Australia tour in April. However, his departure is permanent.
“Yes, he has officially left Yes,” Chris says.
Benoit David joined Yes in 2008. He sings lead on the latest yes album ‘Fly From Here’.
“People have left to go off to do various projects and solo projects over the years,” Chris says. “Some like Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman have left and come back. In Rick’s case, four times. It’s always been a fairly flexible in and out door for some members of the band. At the last count, including Jon Davison, he is the 18th member of the band. It has never been personal problems. It’s just things that happen at certain times”.
Chris says he is still friends with Jon Anderson and in regular communication. “We email each other. We have a cordial relationship,” he says. “He is out there at the moment doing some solo shows. He is a lot healthier now than he was a few years ago when he was suffering from his breathing problems. He is getting back into it. I have never closed the door on working with Jon again. He has left the band before and come back and left it again and come back. It is an unusual situation. We will work together in the future but right now we are promoting the Fly From Here album which is our first studio album in 10 years”.
UPDATE: Jon Anderson reacts to Chris Squire quote above
The Australian setlist will feature the new album plus Yes classics. “We will be doing the new material from the Fly From Here album. It will pretty much the same as the Europe setlist around Christmas time,’ Chris says.
“There are songs from a couple of different eras. The 70s of course, ‘Roundabout’, ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’ are very popular songs as was ‘Starship Trooper’ from ‘The Yes Album’. From ‘Fragile’ there is ‘Heart of the Sunrise’ and sometimes we do ‘Long Distance Runaround’. Then there is the ‘90125’ must which we don’t do that much as we’d probably like to because that was a different guitar player in there, Trevor Rabin. Steve Howe is back in the band. We do a little bit of music from that era, the mid 80s”.
Noise11.com and Chugg Entertainment are presenting Yes live in Australia in April, 2012.
Dates are:
April 5, 2012, Perth, Riverside Theatre
April 11, 2012, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
April 13, 2012, Sydney, State Theatre
Yes will also perform a Bluesfest of April 9.
