Close to the Edge Tour

Eleven songs from the tour (with no information about recording dates or locations) were included on the band's 1973 live album, Yessongs—the excerpt from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, "Siberian Khatru", "Heart of the Sunrise", "And You and I", "Mood for a Day", excerpts from Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII, "Roundabout", "I've Seen All Good People", "Close to the Edge", "Yours Is No Disgrace", and "Starship Trooper".

Film footage of the 15–16 December 1972 shows at the London Rainbow Theatre was the source of the 1975 film Yessongs. Fans determined that "Close to the Edge" and "Starship Trooper" from the film were the same versions from the 1973 album.{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Steve |title=December 15, 1972 |url=//forgotten-yesterdays.com/dates.asp?ftype=1&qdec=1970&qdateid=281 |publisher=Forgotten Yesterdays |accessdate=2016-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817233307/http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/dates.asp?ftype=1&qdec=1970&qdateid=281 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |url-status=dead }} With the release in 2015 of the box set Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two containing concert recordings from between 31 October and 20 November 1972, in Canada and the United States, it became possible to identify the dates of most of the remaining performances from the album.

The line-up for the tour unchanged throughout its duration; the line-up was the seventh incarnation of Yes.{{cite book|last=Watkinson|first=David|title=Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes|year=2000|publisher=Plexus|location=London|isbn=0-85965-297-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/8 8]|url=https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/8}} Bill Bruford left the band on 19 July 1972, after the recording sessions for Close to the Edge had finished.{{cite book|last=Watkinson|first=David|title=Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes|year=2000|publisher=Plexus|location=London|isbn=0-85965-297-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/107 107]|url=https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/107}} Alan White joined the band by the end of the month, after a number of dates had been cancelled in the wake of Bruford's departure. As he played on the album but was replaced for the tour Bruford was contractually obliged to share album royalties with White, and claims that Yes manager Brian Lane enforced a compensation payment of $10,000 from Bruford.{{cite book|last=Welch|first=Chris|title=Close to the edge : the story of Yes|year=2000|publisher=Omnibus|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8041-1|page=126|edition=[Updated ed]}}

• Jon Anderson — lead vocals
• Steve Howe — guitars and backing vocals
• Chris Squire — bass and backing vocals
• Rick Wakeman — keyboards
• Alan White — drums

The tour saw the band play a total of 97 concerts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia over seven legs—three North American legs, two European legs, an Asian leg and an Australasian leg.{{cite web |last=Whipple |first=Peter |title=The Fragile Tour |url=http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=4&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030621160845/http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=4&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 June 2003 |publisher=Forgotten Yesterdays |accessdate=1 July 2012 }}

Support came from Eagles, Gentle Giant, Edgar Winter, Lindisfarne, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gary Wright, The J Geils Band, Wild Turkey, Badger,{{cite book|last=Watkinson|first=David|title=Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes|year=2000|publisher=Plexus|location=London|isbn=0-85965-297-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/108 108]|url=https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/108}} and Focus.{{cite book|last=Watkinson|first=David|title=Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes|year=2000|publisher=Plexus|location=London|isbn=0-85965-297-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/109 109]|url=https://archive.org/details/yesperpetualchan00watk/page/109}}

Setlist:{{cite web |url=http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=4&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030621160845/http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=4&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-06-21 |title=Close To The Edge Tour – Tour Dates |accessdate=2013-10-04 }}

• "Siberian Khatru" (Anderson, Howe, Wakeman)
• "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire)
• "Heart of the Sunrise" (Anderson, Squire, Bruford)
• "Clap/Mood for a Day" (Howe)
• "America" (Paul Simon) (Dropped after 2 August 1972)
• "And You and I" (Anderson, Howe, Bruford, Squire)
• "Close to the Edge" (Anderson, Howe) (Added starting on 2 September 1972)
• Keyboards solo (Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII) (Wakeman)
• "Roundabout" (Anderson, Howe)

Encore:

• "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Howe, Kaye, Bruford)
• "Starship Trooper" (Anderson, Squire, Howe) (Added starting on 15 December 1972)

Occasionally played:

• Keyboards solo (Excerpts from The Six Wives on Henry VIII) (Wakeman) (Played on 1 August 1972, 29 September 1972, 14, 15 November 1972, 16 December 1972)
• "South Side of the Sky" (Played on 8 April 1973)
• "Perpetual Change" (Played on 1 August 1972)
• "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Played on 1 August 1972, 22 September 1972)
• "Long Distance Runaround" (Played on 1 August 1972, 22 September 1972)
• "Can and Brahms" (Played on 19, 21, 23, 26, 27, March 1973)
• "Colours Of The Rainbow" (Jon Anderson a cappella song performed just before introducing the next song, "Close to the Edge")

Covers:

• "The Beautiful Land" (Played on 9 March 1973)
• "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" (Played on 19, 23, 26 March 1973)
• "Sakura Sakura" (Played on 10, 11, 12, 14 March 1973)
• "America" (Played on 30, 31 July 1972, 2, 20 August 1972)
• "Waltzing Matilda" (Played on 19 March 1973)

The tour's first four scheduled shows were cancelled in the wake of Bill Bruford's resignation from the band. When Alan White was confirmed as a member, the tour began at the fifth scheduled show on 30 July 1972.

A whole leg, covering South America, was cancelled. Dates and venues were never released, except for the scheduled performance at the Salle University in Acapulco on 1 May 1973.

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Category:1972 concert tours

Category:1973 concert tours

Category:Yes (band) concert tours