In a new interview with Classic Rock, Yes guitarist Steve Howe opened up about the future of his band. Yes are currently on tour and are looking ahead to continue as long as they can. However, Howe might consider using avatars like KISS and ABBA did.
When asked if they would use holograms when there are no original members left, he answered:
“People seem to really like the ABBA avatar show, and if that’s true I can’t see what’s wrong with it. I believe that if you don’t keep up with technology then you fall behind.”
‘Yes Should Have Retired’
Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman thinks the band should have retired.
The band’s original bassist and founder Chris Squire passed away in 2015. After the incident, Steve Howe stuck to the band’s name while the rest of the members continued to tour as Yes Featuring ARW. In a 2019 interview, Wakeman criticized both approaches:
“I think when Chris passed away, the name should have been retired and put on a shelf.”
He clarified that it’s not the band members that should have retired, but the name ‘Yes’:
“Steve can carry on playing Yes music same as we did. We were just as guilty calling it Yes Featuring ARW, which I objected to vehemently. There’s no reason we can’t go out and play the music, but I really feel that the name should have been retired. I think it was disrespectful to Chris. There were all sorts of stories going around that ‘Oh, Chris wanted it to continue.’ I know for a fact people that spoke to Chris and that isn’t true.”
We might hear more about the possibility of holograms or avatar shows as time passes by. Read the rest of the interview here.