Interview with jon Davidson Of Yes
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jon Davison current lead singer for Yes about their upcoming UK Tour, Here's what he had to say.
Jws Hello Jon, firstly I wanted to say how sorry I was when I heard about the sudden death of your father in law, John Lodge.
I interviewed him around the time of his rerecorded version of Days Of Future Past and thoroughly enjoyed talking with him a fellow Brummie, we lived in the same area for many years and knew a lot of the same haunts and places.
JD I Remember that interview he was really impressed with you and he often commented about that particular conversation I think you must have made a real connection with him I know he appreciated that you knew about his history and enjoyed his music.
Jws So you tour the UK very soon are you excited about that? Also what is different this time around?
JD Yes I am excited for this, it’s been a few years since we last toured here. This time we have reconvened the Classic Albums format that will see us perform Fragile in full, including a solo spot for everyone. Also rather than have Roundabout as an encore at the end we have moved it to become the opening number of the Fragile set, where we feel that it increases the energy level for that section of the show. The first part will be a carefully chosen selection of classic Yes tracks from most sections of our career. I think fans will emjoy this enjoy this a lot, I certainly hope they do. The tour commences in Glasgow, we have opened previous tours in Glasgow and 5hose fans are certainly very knowledgeable about Yes and we always get a favourable reception from the audience there. In fact that is a cohort of fans who seem to follow the tour around the country, which is very satisfying for the band. Last time we toured there I took Emily ( Jon's wife and John Lodge's daughter) out for a curry, boy they like their curries hot in Glasgow! Might not do that this time Im still not over that particular evening!
Also we have Roger Dean with us again. He will be showing some of his wonderful art works again, in a designated space for his work where he will be happy to talk with fans about his work and long association with Yes. Which of course began with Fragile, which was itself a landmark album for Yes being the first Roger Dean cover and also the first introduction of Rick Wakeman and his wonderful electronic keyboard sounds and textures.
Jws I've heard that there is new Yes music on the way what can you tell me about that please Jon?
JD Well yes it's true, iin fact the album is complete, has been mixed and handed over to the record company (Sony) already with a proposed release date of late June or July, I can’t divulge the title but will say that it is the third part of the trifecta of The Quest and Mirror To The Sky and this new album. That has allowed for more improvisation than the previous albums.
Jws Also this Fragile Tour will presumably open the way for a tour of the Topographic Oceans album and thereafter the holy grail of Yes albums the mighty Relayer?
JD I know that Steve Howe would like to look at revisiting Topographic Oceans album as he feels that large sections of that album are unfairly overlooked namely part 2 The Remembering and part 3 The Ancients. Maybe the new Super deluxe release will help address that issue.we did of course previously perform a Medley of Topographic Oceans on the Topographic Dranma tour and subsequent live album (Topographic Drama across America in 2017).
Jws I had Roger Dean autograph my cover of Topographic Oceans album last time, I'll bring my Relayer album this time and get that signed too. I believe that you can match up the 2 covers as there is a connection ( It is actuallv when you match the front cover of Topographic Oceans and the rear cover of Relayer where the rocks meet).
JD I wasn't aware of that I'll have to have a look at the for myself!
Jws Another question for you, any opportunity for resuming Arc Of life Activities soon?
JD Well the door is certainly not closed on that but I'm otherwise occupied for the foreseeable future but potentially yes there could be more movement on that particular area at some stage. It was of course a project that came about in a downtime period for Yes when certain members were keen to do something Yes like and new. It was an interesting time and the 2 albums we made (Arc Of Life and Don’t Look Down) were generally positively received thankfully. So I'd say watch this space!
JWS Anyway Jon my time has gone so I would just like to say thank you for taking the time to talk with me today I appreciate it and hope to see you in Manchester soon.
JD Thank You John I appreciate that too, been great talking with you today. Best wishes to you.
Monday 8th February 2026
Author John Wenlock-Smith