Question for British fans

[RowanMorrison]

Hi everyone, I'm new here (duh!). It's cool to see so many British fans of Yes on this forum. Is the band popular in Britain? I had the impression that Yes was more embraced in America than in their homeland.

Sorry if that is an ignorant question -- I've only recently started to get *very* into Yes; I have a lot to learn still :)

[Yes.2]

Yes is big everywhere! I pray you get to experiance an actual Yes show!

[Silent_wings]

Hi Welcome to Yesfans

Rowan is my daughter's name
Cool!

Hopefully one of the Brits will come along soon and answer your question
and there is no such thing as an ignorant question

[Altres]

Yes, they are still big in the UK I think. :D

Brian

[fovman]

Drama was more welcomed (or less dispareged) in America than the UK.

[prem895]

Yes are just an ok bar band at best....I'm a liar

[Scottie]

Hi Welcome to Yesfans

Rowan is my daughter's name
Cool!

Hopefully one of the Brits will come along soon and answer your question
and there is no such thing as an ignorant question
Kath?!
I ask dumb questions all the time!

RowanMorrison yours however is not.

Welcome to the site!

[pedro skychaser]

gday rowan from downunder---i was surprised when jon did his solo tour in the UK, last time, that he was not interviewed or featured on BBC radio,as i listen on the internet...he seems a forgotten prophet there...people like paul weller,elvis costello are embraced for soldOnSong sessions+as for YES,they too have a dwindling,dedicated fanbase...same everywhere i suspect,they are in the second division behind floyd,theWho,rollingStones...alongside tull,moodyBlues+KC...its an acquired taste...enjoy the site...

[flep]

Yes have a solid fan base here, but don't get the airplay any more.

Every tour sells out. There are a lot of yesfans from the UK on this site.

You'll probably get to know us.

Welcome Rowan and post often.

Phil

[Hex]

What Flep and Pedro said.

30 years ago it was a very different story, of course.

Hello Rowan, by the way! Beautiful name (and my favourite tree!)

Welcome to the site!


Tony

[plodder]

Most people that I talk to have a soft spot for YES. They may not be fans, but they aren't overly critical of them either (Unlike ELP or Rush).

Let's be fair, they've never really courted the British music press have they?

They have a solid fan base and I think that suits them fine.

Welcome to the site and enjoy your stay.

[Simon B]

Hhhm, is the band popular in Britain?

A deeper question tha we Yesfans are probably capable of answering?

Yes, the shows sell out - but I go to most of them when Yes tour the UK - and see my beautiful Yesfan bretheren also at every show.

BUT...I also see sons and Grandsons with Tales T shirts and the headbanging and the raising of the arms during Awaken and the smiles as wide as my beer gut!

Yes are no longer what might be called 'cutting edge' - but as portrayed in 'School of Rock' the young need to know where Yes fit in the history of Rock.

Welcome Rowan - post well, post often!

TM

[brotherofmine]

Yes were a massive band here early 70's....they used to trounce the other prog. and rock bands in the music paper polls...evn Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd...they were at this point more popular than in the USA. By the time they started playing football stadiums in the uK this was virtually unknown here at least for just one band.
But there is no doubt they lost a lot in the years since. Bands such as The Who and Floyd were a bit more easy listening to the mainstream. Yes never got much airplay on the radio but that went to zero (Until 90125 of course!)
'Tales' did a lot of damage popularity wise as well as the music press crucified it. Many fans left at this point and some of those have returned. However there are some intelligent young music fans around into 'serious' music and they are beginning to discover the joys of Yes.
It is interesting that most of the young fans discovering Yes are musicians themselves.
But to answer the question, No, Yes are not as popular as Yes in the USA (we have a quarter of the population for a start), there are a wider range of radio stations and exposure in the US, but also with Internet Radio...this may well get the exposure again.

[inner flame]

Hi everyone, I'm new here (duh!). It's cool to see so many British fans of Yes on this forum. Is the band popular in Britain? I had the impression that Yes was more embraced in America than in their homeland.

Sorry if that is an ignorant question -- I've only recently started to get *very* into Yes; I have a lot to learn still :)

i think quality is more important than quantity -welcome aboard

[relayer4u]

i think quality is more important than quantity -welcome aboard


Welcome to you on becoming an active poster!

Since your lurking days seem to have come to an end, why not start a new thread and introduce yourself.

You may be pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome you receive....



:wavey:

[prem895]

Wicker Man

[Simon B]

Wicker Man

Great film - Brit Ekland - Edward woodwardward - Christopher Lee, isn't it - BRIT EKLAND :rcking:

[Dr Yes]

gday rowan from downunder---i was surprised when jon did his solo tour in the UK, last time, that he was not interviewed or featured on BBC radio,as i listen on the internet...he seems a forgotten prophet there...people like paul weller,elvis costello are embraced for soldOnSong sessions+as for YES,they too have a dwindling,dedicated fanbase...same everywhere i suspect,they are in the second division behind floyd,theWho,rollingStones...alongside tull,moodyBlues+KC...its an acquired taste...enjoy the site...

Blame Punk!

When McLaren launched his boy band the Sex Pistols in '76 (possibly as a marketing ploy to improve clothes sales for his joint venture with Vivian Westwood who was selling her outrageously naff designs from their shop on the King's Road) it sounded a death knell for Yes - if only among the media press.

When the NME hired Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill in 1977 (?) the pair suddenly became champions of the Punk scene (the NME had previously sneered at Punk) and created a new tone for the paper. Later hirelings included the impossibly pompous Charles Shaar Murray (who seems to get wheeled out to denegrate prog at every opportunity), the annoyingly banal Paul Morley (known for his trite comments on any show with a title starting The Top 100 . . . on TV Ever) and then in the 1980s, the tiresome and tedious legend in his own mind Morrissey, who managed to get the NME to pretty much become its official propaganda machine.

Even though Yes was doing sellout tours and shipping a lot of units the long-term damage was assured. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

Of course the irony is that a load of the punks who supposedly despised Yes and their ilk back then have since emerged, blinking into the sunlight of a 21st Century reappraisal of prog to confess their love of the genre!!

[Martin Riley]

ditto that, well said, Dr Yes

[prem895]

Yes have always been the band critics love to hate

[Lizzie]

Hhhm, is the band popular in Britain?

A deeper question tha we Yesfans are probably capable of answering?

Yes, the shows sell out - but I go to most of them when Yes tour the UK - and see my beautiful Yesfan bretheren also at every show.

BUT...I also see sons and Grandsons with Tales T shirts and the headbanging and the raising of the arms during Awaken and the smiles as wide as my beer gut!

Yes are no longer what might be called 'cutting edge' - but as portrayed in 'School of Rock' the young need to know where Yes fit in the history of Rock.

Welcome Rowan - post well, post often!

TM

Hi Rowan,

What Total Mass said.

If you've not yet had the opportunity to see Yes live, then you must grasp the chance just as soon as they tour again. It isn't just the music, it's about being part of the Yesfans community...meeting with and getting to know such lovely and warm people.

We take Mini Mass to Yes (and other) concerts. It is always a joy to see young children enjoying music as much as he does.

Rowan, welcome to the site. Hope you enjoy, and keep posting. We all look forward to hearing from you.

Mrs Mass

[Dr Yes]

ditto that, well said, Dr Yes

Thanks Martin. It was one of my more lucid moments . . .

[RowanMorrison]

Of course the irony is that a load of the punks who supposedly despised Yes and their ilk back then have since emerged, blinking into the sunlight of a 21st Century reappraisal of prog to confess their love of the genre!!

That is very true. I hope Yes' music gets the critical reassessment that for example Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin have gotten. Those bands used to be considered terminally unhip as well, but now lots of musicians cite them as an influence.

I really feel that Jon Anderson's songwriting in particular is criminally underrated. He's still writing great songs, ex. "Summerlight" from his upcoming solo album.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! And yes, I chose my username from a character in the Wicker Man film. Well spotted :)