List of Yes band members

The following list details musicians who have been and are members of the English progressive rock band Yes since its formation in 1968, though the band was split up between 1981 and 1983.

Yes
Yes in concert, 1977 Left to right: Steve Howe, Alan White, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman
Background information
Genres	Progressive rock
Years active	1968–1981, 1983–present
Members	Steve Howe Geoff Downes Billy Sherwood Jon Davison
Past members	Chris Squire Jon Anderson Bill Bruford Tony Kaye Peter Banks Tony O'Reilly Rick Wakeman Alan White Patrick Moraz Trevor Horn Trevor Rabin Eddie Jobson Igor Khoroshev Benoît David Oliver Wakeman

Members

Current members

Image	Name	Active	Instruments	Occasional instruments	Release contributions
	Steve Howe	1970–1981 1990–1992 1995–present	guitar backing vocals lap steel pedal steel guitar	lead vocals laud mandolin bass guitar sitar banjo	all Yes releases from The Yes Album (1971) to Yesshows (1980) Union (1991) Yes: Live – 1975 at Q.P.R. (1993) all Yes releases from Live in Philadelphia (1995) onward
	Geoff Downes	1980–1981 2011–present (one off show in 2004)^[1]	keyboards	vocoder programming	Drama (1980) The Word Is Live (2005) all new Yes releases from Fly from Here (2011) onward
	Billy Sherwood	1991 (session) 1994 (touring) 1997–2000 2015–present	bass guitar keyboards guitar backing vocals	lead vocals timpani harmonica	all Yes releases from Open Your Eyes (1997) to House of Yes: Live from House of Blues (2000) all new Yes releases from Topographic Drama – Live Across America (2017) onward
	Jon Davison	2012–present	lead vocals guitar percussion	keyboards	all new Yes releases from Heaven & Earth (2014) onward

Former members

Image	Name	Active	Instruments	Occasional instruments	Release contributions
	Jon Anderson	1968–1980 1983–1988 1990–2004 (one off show in 2017)^[2]	lead vocals guitar percussion harp	keyboards cuatro	all Yes releases from Yes (1969) to Tormato (1978) Yesshows (1980) all Yes releases from 90125 (1983) to The Lost Broadcasts (2009) Union Live (2011) Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (2015)
	Chris Squire	1968–1981 1982–2004 2008–2015 (his death)	bass guitar backing vocals	piano harmonica bass pedals timpani lead vocals	all Yes releases from Yes (1969) to Like It Is: Yes at the Mesa Arts Center (2015)
	Tony Kaye	1968–1971 1982–1983 1983–1995 (touring guest 2018–2019)	organ piano	moog backing vocals	all Yes releases from Yes (1969) to The Yes Album (1971) all Yes releases from 90125 (1983) to Talk (1994) Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (1997) The Word Is Live (2005) The Lost Broadcasts (2009) Union Live (2011) Yes 50 Live (2019)
	Bill Bruford	1968 1968–1972 1990–1992	drums percussion	vibraphone piano	all Yes releases from Yes (1969) to Yessongs (1973) Union (1991) Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (1997) The Word Is Live (2005) The Lost Broadcasts (2009) Union Live (2011)
	Peter Banks	1968–1970	guitar backing vocals	none	Yes (1969) Time and a Word (1970) Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (1997) The Word Is Live (2005) The Lost Broadcasts (2009)
	Tony O'Reilly	1968	drums		None
	Rick Wakeman	1971–1974 1976–1980 1990–1992 1995–1996 2002–2004 (one off show in 2017)^[2]	keyboards	percussion	all Yes releases from Fragile (1971) to Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) Going for the One (1977) Tormato (1978) Yesshows (1980) Union (1991) Keys to Ascension (1996) Keys to Ascension 2 (1997) The Word Is Live (2005) Live at Montreux 2003 (2007) Union Live (2011)^[3]^[4] Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (2015)
	Alan White	1972–1981 1982–2022 (his death)^[5]	drums percussion backing vocals	piano synthesizers	all new Yes releases from Yessongs (1973) onward except Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (1997) and The Lost Broadcasts (2009)
	Patrick Moraz	1974–1976 (touring guest 2018–2019)	keyboards	none	Relayer (1974) Yesshows (1980) Yes: Live – 1975 at Q.P.R. (1993) The Word Is Live (2005) Yes 50 Live (2019)
	Trevor Horn	1980–1981 2018	lead vocals	bass guitar percussion keyboards	Drama (1980) The Word Is Live (2005)
	Trevor Rabin	1982–1995 (one off shows in 2004^[1] and 2017)^[2]	guitar backing vocals keyboards	lead vocals programming	all Yes releases from 90125 (1983) to Talk (1994) The Word Is Live (2005) Union Live (2011)
	Eddie Jobson	1983	keyboards	none
	Igor Khoroshev	1997–2000	keyboards backing vocals	cowbell	The Ladder (1999) House of Yes: Live from House of Blues (2000) Magnification (live bonus tracks from 2004 reissue) (2001)
	Benoît David	2008–2012	lead vocals	acoustic guitar tambourine	Fly from Here (2011) In the Present – Live from Lyon (2011) From a Page (2019)
	Oliver Wakeman	2008–2011	keyboards	backing vocals	In the Present – Live from Lyon (2011) From a Page (2019)

Studio musicians

Session musicians

Image	Name	Instruments	Release contributions
	David Foster	backing vocals acoustic guitar	Time and a Word (1970)
	Colin Goldring	recorder	The Yes Album (1971)
	Deepak Khazanchi	sitar tampura	90125 (1983)
	Graham Preskett [fr]	violin
	Jimmy Zavala	harmonica horns	Big Generator (1987)
	Lee R. Thornburg	horns
	Nick Lane
	Greg Smith
	Jonathan Elias	piano synthesizers/programming backing vocals	Union (1991)
	Tony Levin	bass guitar Chapman Stick
	Jimmy Haun	electric guitar
	Allan Schwartzberg	acoustic percussion
	Gary Barlough	synthesiser
	Jim Crichton
	Sherman Foote
	Chris Fosdick
	Alex Lasarenko
	Brian Foraker	synthesiser programming
	Rory Kaplan
	Jerry Bennett	synthesiser synth percussion
	Gary Falcone	backing vocals
	Deborah Anderson
	Ian Lloyd
	Tommy Funderburk
	Michael Sherwood
	Danny Vaughn
	Steve Porcaro	synthesizer keyboards	Union (1991) Open Your Eyes (1997)
	Randy Raine-Reusch	tanbur guzheng ching cymbals bullroarer didjeridoo percussion	The Ladder (1999)
	Gerard Johnson	keyboards	Heaven & Earth (2014)

Studio group and conductor contributions

Name	Role	Release contributions
Tony Cox	arranger conductor	Time and a Word (1970)
Royal College of Music students	orchestra
Richard Williams Singers	choir	Going for the One (1977)
Ars Laeta of Lausanne
The Marguerita Horns Tom Keenlyside (piccolo, saxophone), Derry Burns (trumpet), Rod Murray (trombone), Tom Colclough (saxophone), Neil Nicholson (tuba)	horns	The Ladder (1999)
Larry Groupé	conductor	Magnification (2001)
FAMES Studio Orchestra	orchestra	The Quest (2021)
Paul K. Joyce	arranger
Oleg Kondratenko	conductor

Live musicians

Live musicians, conductors and groups

Image	Name	Active	Instruments	Release contributions/notes
	Ian Wallace	1968 (one show)^[6]	drums	Wallace covered for Bill Bruford in 1968, Wallace had previously played with Jon Anderson in The Warriors.
	Casey Young	1984–85	keyboards	9012Live: The Solos (1985) 9012Live (1985) The Word Is Live (2005) Young played with the band on their 90125 tour
	Tom Brislin	2001	keyboards backing vocals	Symphonic Live (2002) Keitel, Brislin and the European Festival Orchestra joined the band on their Symphonic tour, Brislin performed on behalf of Rick Wakeman who was busy with his own tour at the time.^[7] The European Festival Orchestra just played on the European leg of touring, with local orchestral players playing on North American dates.
	Wilhelm Keitel		conductor
	European Festival Orchestra		orchestra
	Jay Schellen	2016–2017 2018–present	drums percussion	Topographic Drama – Live Across America (2017) 50 Live (2019) "The Quest" (2021) (as session percussionist) Schellen covered for Alan White when the drummer couldn't tour due to heath issues in 2016 and stayed when the drummer made a recovery and performed alongside him.
	Dylan Howe	2017	drums	Steve Howe's son Dylan replaced Jay Schellen on additional drums duties in 2017

Timelines

Official members

Touring members

Lineups

Years	Members	Albums/Videos
1968	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Tony Kaye – keyboards Peter Banks – guitar, backing vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion	no recordings, live performances only
1968	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Tony Kaye – keyboards Peter Banks – guitar, backing vocals Tony O'Reilly – drums
1968–1970	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Tony Kaye – keyboards Peter Banks – guitar, backing vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion	Yes (1969) Time and a Word (1970) Yesyears (1991) [8 tracks] Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (1997) The Word Is Live (2005) [2 tracks] The Lost Broadcasts (2009) [4 tracks]
1970–1971	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Tony Kaye – keyboards Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals	The Yes Album (1971) Yesyears (1991) [3 tracks] The Lost Broadcasts (2009) [4 tracks]
1971–1972	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards	Fragile (1971) Close to the Edge (1972) Yessongs (1973) [2 tracks] Yesyears (1991) [6 tracks] The Word Is Live (2005) [6 tracks]
1972–1974	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards Alan White – drums, percussion	Yessongs (1973) [11 tracks] Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) Yesyears (1991) [1 track] Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (2015)
1974–1976	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Patrick Moraz – keyboards	Relayer (1974) Yesshows (1980) [2 tracks] Yesyears (1991) [3 tracks] Yes: Live – 1975 at Q.P.R. (1993) The Word Is Live (2005) [4 tracks]
1976–1980	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards	Going for the One (1977) Tormato (1978) Yesshows (1980) [6 tracks] Yesyears (1991) [11 tracks] Live in Philadelphia (1995) The Word Is Live (2005) [7 tracks]
1980–1981	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Geoff Downes – keyboards Trevor Horn – lead vocals	Drama (1980) Yesyears (1991) [2 tracks] The Word Is Live (2005) [3 tracks]
1981–1983 disbanded
1983	Chris Squire – bass, backing & lead vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals, synthesizer Jon Anderson – lead vocals Tony Kaye – keyboards Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards	90125 (1983) Yesyears (1991) [2 tracks]
1983	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards Eddie Jobson – keyboards	no recordings, rehearsals only
1983–1988	Chris Squire – bass, backing & lead vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals, synthesizer Jon Anderson – lead vocals Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards Tony Kaye – keyboards with Casey Young – additional keyboards (offstage touring musician 1984–1985)	9012Live: The Solos (1985) 9012Live (1985) Big Generator (1987) Yesyears (1991) [6 tracks] The Word Is Live (2005) [4 tracks]
1988–1990	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards Tony Kaye – keyboards	none
1990–1992	Chris Squire – bass, backing & harmony vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards Tony Kaye – keyboards Jon Anderson – lead vocals Bill Bruford – drums Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards	Union (1991) Yesyears (1991) [1 track] Union Live (2011)
1992–1995	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead & backing vocals, keyboards Tony Kaye – keyboards Jon Anderson – lead vocals with Billy Sherwood – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (touring musician 1994)	Talk (1994)
1995–1997	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards	Keys to Ascension (1996) Keys to Ascension 2 (1997)
1997	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Billy Sherwood – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals	Open Your Eyes (1997)
1997–2000	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Billy Sherwood – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Igor Khoroshev – keyboards	The Ladder (1999) House of Yes: Live from House of Blues (2000)
2000	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Igor Khoroshev – keyboards	Magnification (2001) [live bonus tracks]
2000–2002	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals, keyboards Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals with Tom Brislin – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion (touring musician 2001)	Magnification (2001) Symphonic Live (2002)
2002–2004	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion backing vocals Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitar Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards	Yesspeak (2004) Yes Acoustic: Guaranteed No Hiss (2004) Songs from Tsongas (2005) Live at Montreux 2003 (2007)
The band were on hiatus between 2004 and 2008
2008–2011	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Benoît David – lead vocals Oliver Wakeman – keyboards, backing vocals	In the Present – Live from Lyon (2011) From a Page (2019)
2011–2012	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Benoît David – lead vocals Geoff Downes – keyboards	Fly from Here (2011)
2012–2015	Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Geoff Downes – keyboards Jon Davison – lead vocals, acoustic guitar	Heaven & Earth (2014) Like It Is: Yes at the Bristol Hippodrome (2014) Like It Is: Yes at the Mesa Arts Center (2015)
2015–2022^[5]	Alan White – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Geoff Downes – keyboards Jon Davison – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Billy Sherwood – bass, backing vocals with Jay Schellen – additional drums, percussion (touring musician 2016–2017, 2018–present) Dylan Howe – additional drums (touring musician 2017) Tony Kaye – additional keyboards (guest appearances at several shows 2018–2019) Patrick Moraz – additional keyboards (guest appearances at several shows 2018–2019)	Topographic Drama – Live Across America (2017) 50 Live (2019) The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas (2020) The Quest (2021)
2022–present	Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Geoff Downes – keyboards Jon Davison – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Billy Sherwood – bass, backing vocals with Jay Schellen – drums, percussion (touring musician)	None to date

Bands closely related to Yes

There have been two occasions when a line-up of former Yes members has competed with the official line-up of Yes. These bands included former Yes members, performed/perform Yes music and presented/present themselves within the context of Yes' history.

Band/Years	Members	Albums/Videos
Cinema: 1982–1983	Chris Squire – bass, backing and lead vocals Tony Kaye – hammond organ, piano Alan White – drums, percussion Trevor Rabin – guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals	Yesyears (1991) [2 tracks]
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: 1988–1990	Jon Anderson – lead vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Rick Wakeman – keyboards Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals with Tony Levin – bass, backing vocals (live shows, 1 studio album) Jeff Berlin – bass, backing vocals (some live shows, 1 live album) Milton McDonald – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (live shows, 1 studio album, 1 live album) Julian Colbeck – keyboards, backing vocals (live shows, 1 live album) Matt Clifford – keyboards, backing vocals (1 studio album)	Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) An Evening of Yes Music Plus (1993) Live at the NEC – Oct 24th 1989 (2012)
Bill Bruford and Steve Howe: 1992	Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Steve Howe – guitar, lead vocals with Tim Harries – bass, Backing vocals	no recordings, television performance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee only^[8]
Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes: 2008	Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals Alan White – drums, percussion with Benoît David – lead vocals Oliver Wakeman – keyboards	no recordings, live performances only
Yes feat. Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin & Rick Wakeman: 2010–2018^[9]	Jon Anderson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Trevor Rabin – guitar, lead and backing vocals Rick Wakeman – keyboards with Lee Pomeroy – bass, backing vocals Lou Molino III – drums, backing vocals Iain Hornal – bass, backing vocals (2017 Japanese tour, 2018 European tour)	Live at the Apollo (2018)

References

1. Yes- Trevor Horn Concert 2004 (HQ), retrieved 12 June 2022
2. Yes perform "Owner of a Lonely Heart" at the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, retrieved 12 June 2022
3. "Home". yesfeaturingarw.com.
4. "ARW Change Name to 'Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman'".
5. Ewingpublished, Jerry (26 May 2022). "Yes drummer Alan White dead at 72". loudersound. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
6. "Ian Wallace • Obituary (Pierre Perrone in 'The Independent', 28 February 2007)". Procolharum.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
7. "What Was it Like Playing Keyboards for Yes? A Conversation with Tom Brislin". reverb.com. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
8. Ewingpublished, Jerry (10 August 2022). "Revisiting the car-crash moment Yes inadvertently performed as a power trio on live TV". loudersound.
9. "Ticket Image". Retrieved 26 August 2019 – via Ebay.