The summer camp in East Mersea that gave the world Yes in 1968
Yes played its first concert at East Mersea Youth Camp on the Essex coast in 1968, before becoming one of progressive rock’s defining bands in the 1970s. The occasion matters because the group began not with its later elaborate original compositions, but as a newly renamed band relying on inventive cover versions to fulfil an already-booked engagement.
The founding line-up comprised former Syn members Peter Banks and Chris Squire alongside Jon Anderson, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford, following their time as Mabel Greer’s Toyshop. With little original material prepared, they performed 1960s pop and rock songs, an approach Banks said involved enthusiastically reinterpreting rather than simply rearranging them; covers of The Beatles’ ‘Every Little Thing’ and The Byrds’ ‘I See You’ later appeared on Yes’s 1969 debut.
- Yes’s first show was at East Mersea Youth Camp in 1968.
- The fledgling band initially performed cover versions.
- Its original line-up later became prog rock pioneers.
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Yes formed in London in 1968 from musicians who had played in several earlier groups. Singer Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire became its most recognisable early members, joined by guitarist Peter Banks, keyboard player Tony Kaye and drummer Bill Bruford.
The band would become associated with progressive rock, a style that often combined rock music with longer songs, complex arrangements and influences from classical, jazz and folk music. During the 1970s, albums such as The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge helped make Yes one of the best-known bands in that field.
In its earliest months, however, Yes had not yet developed the sound for which it became known. Playing existing songs in their own style gave the group material for live shows while they began writing and recording original music.