With lineup shuffles, the past and present roster of Yes numbers 18 members in total, the latest addition being newly recruited lead vocalist Jon Davison. Founding bassist and vocalist Chris Squire chalks it up to the group being like any other family – things happen and people come and people go.

“People have left to go off to do various projects and solo projects over the years,” Chris tells Noise11. “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”.

As the one guy who has been present in Yes throughout every era, Squire reckons in a new interview with Classic Rock that “they probably all got fed up with me.” Acting in a custodial fashion, Squire “just stayed there and kept it together. Somebody’s got to,” he jokes.

He goes one step further though and reveals, in a very Gene Simmons-like way of thinking, that after over 40 years as a performing unit he believes that “Yes could evolve into an entity like the London Symphony Orchestra, with different players.”

“There could still be a band called Yes in 200 years’ time. But presumably, the band members will be different.”

For those hanging onto a shred of hope that Jon Anderson might come back, Squire shares that optimism with you, even though Anderson himself might say otherwise.

“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.”

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