YES 50 - TONY KAYE full interview (2019)

The full interview with Tony Kaye from 2019's YES50: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow documentary. Tony talks about his career before co-founding YES, his work on their early albums, his return in the 80s and his guest appearances to mark the band's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Produced by Paul Gosling for Crooked Hand Productions
www.crookedhandproductions.com/ • YES 50 - TONY KAYE - f...
Available now: YES 50 LIVE!: bit.ly/YES50L
Highlighting YES' 50th Anniversary Tour, featuring founder member Tony Kaye on all shows, and Patrick Moraz in Philadelphia, where 10 current and former members were on stage together for the encore, Starship Trooper!

[@craigfazekas3923]

I prefer his work more than any other Yes keyboard player. His time with the band is my favorite era of Yes.

[@kitchen_dog]

Mine too

[@vbian88]

His contributions are underrated.

[@petemarr824]

bizarre.. he was the worst keyboard player Yes had. on the latter Yes albums it was Rabin who played keyboard not Kaye.

[@craigfazekas3923]

@@petemarr824 and the latter Yes albums were the worst Yes. Go check the first 3, which I was referring to. Rabin, lol. 🚬😎

[@WhoisVinnie]

@@petemarr824 Wakeman?

[@DpHsHd]

Tony was always a great accompanist and his Hammond playing set the tone for Yes. It’s not ironic that his style of playing was so important for 90125 onwards, notwithstanding the new tech that Tony ultimately embraced in his own style. Love Tony’s work, and he’s more important in the history of Yes than he’s ever been given credit for.

[@williambunter3311]

Tony's keyboard playing on 'Time and a Word' has never been rivalled. Even Keith Emerson and Rick Wright have to give place to him, not technically perhaps but for sheer beauty of ideas and a sense of spontanaeity.

[@andreklawa-tecladodescompl5975]

Tony Kaye its one of my favorite keyboardists ever! Great musician! Abraços do Brasil!

[@MarbleyeRecords]

Its quite rare to hear him in interview...I love what he brought to early Yes.

[@mikereiss4216]

I like what he brought to later Yes as well.

[@nelson3d867]

Tony Kaye has a very personal way of playing keyboard. He is concise and flourishes the music instead of stealing It. His aim is not to look like a virtuoso, but to play with inventivity, in a style that let us recognise him imediatly. Love his playing, specialy in the Rabin era, when his style was plently developed.

[@lukefender2394]

Love The Yes album

[@lukefender2394]

He was a Yes member inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, but why did he not attend the ceremony?

[@paulstibora1123]

@@lukefender2394 I think he might have had some health issues at the time

[@fredfox3851]

Big time props to Mr,Tony Kaye!!! I clicked right away, as I've never seen an interview with him. I love his tasteful, powerful, melodic, Hammond that helped write the book on what we now call "prog". : )

[@smabass2913]

Perpetual Change, fade-out piano riff along with Squire and Bruford- AWESOME!

[@scifiwriter98]

I love the last 3 minutes of Perpetual Change. Incredible guitar solos and vocals as well. But the vocal ah ah ah's had to be looped since no band could sing them for that long. In concert they had to be replicated with keyboard.

[@Libertarianne]

What a sweet guy. A class act and a consistently excellent keyboardist.

[@smartfart9003]

90125 and Big Generator...he got to be a part of the gargantuan pop breakthrough Yes had. What a time. I love prog Yes, but their pop was also among the best there was in the 80s. (Imo, "the" best).

[@bastidface]

Completely agree.

[@atlasking6110]

Love Tony Kaye. Man, he's lived in America so long his accent has faded.

[@leiferickson5069]

I’ve noticed that about Dave Mason too. Almost no trace of English accent when he speaks (Mason’s lived in the US since 1969)

[@dansmusic5749]

So glad this is posted. I am a very big fan of Tony. His work in Yes is some of the bands most important contributions to popular music.

[@felixmartinez5792]

His hammond had the coolest growl...like on Idle,Starship lands. First 3 albums are jem. nostalgic.

[@CHENZKING]

Felix Martinez. I loved his overdriven Hammond sound!

[@goldentigeredward]

The growl is the essence of early Yes. I was so sad when he left the band, but those who came after were just fine. But I'll always have a love for Tony's playing and sound. Amazing!

[@kevinlewis1017]

The Prophet On time and a word Best Hammond sound ever

[@felixmartinez5792]

@@kevinlewis1017 YeS . U know it ! . another one is UK. Danger Money . Eddie Jobson

[@kevinlewis1017]

Yes danger money also Emerson and the nice pathetique symphony on Hammond is great growling sound . The nice elegy album.

[@mwmann]

I'm a Yes fan who can find no wrong in any Yes music or any Yes members or any Yes fans. I say right on to Tony and all my fellow Yes fans in the comment section. I wish us all the best !!!!

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

Same. I love it all.

[@torridscene]

Tony Kaye is one of the coolest keyboard players ever. Watch him on any of the vids from the David Bowie Station to Station tour - including the rehearsals - he's just magnificent.

[@drewbacsi]

Tony, thanks so much for your fabulous playing on those early albums!

[@astrosjer822]

Tony was great and a huge part of early Yes and the amazing 80’s and early 90’s Yes! A big talent!

[@Sirrom5]

I've always appreciated Tony Kaye job on Yes albums he joined.

[@TheScunion]

I don’t know how any true Yes fan couldn’t love Tony’s work with Yes!

[@donutcookiepie]

TK is a living legend!

[@trilingual]

Thanks for this! There don't seem to be many available Tony Kaye interviews, but this is great!

[@jimdartouzos2127]

Tony Kaye is an Amazing Musician

[@yes_head]

Something about Tony's Hammond playing is deeply rooted in the DNA of early Yes music. I don't care what other keyboard player is covering the things he recorded but they never capture what he created with the band. That's why for many of us his watered down contributions to later albums like Talk were such a disappointment. Let Tony Be Tony!

[@DarrinSnider]

But that IS Tony. He's the great gentleman of rock; only playing what the song requires that nobody else thought of or could sonically contribute with their instrument. He doesn't show off or step on anybody, but kills a solo when his time comes. It's masterful arrangement.

[@BluesLicks101]

He's a hero!

[@OceanTopographic]

Thank you very much Tony and producers, for this kind of timeless and personal insight. Forever joy my dear Tony!

[@chrislenox1812]

One of my favorite things to happen in Yes history was Tony coming back in the 80’s. Solid move. Tony always plays the right thing, in my book.

[@JoseRuiz-rt6fp]

Boy! Are we getting old.😭 Joe Ruiz Bx NY

[@tonycharmz5056]

I saw him at the Madison Square Garden and he was fantastic.

[@simonbrenner1258]

Really enjoyed this interview! I do think his hammond playing style is very identifiable. Besides his work with Yes, his performances with Circa (Billy Sherwood) are very much worth listening too

[@zoomzoom3950]

Tony's Hammond work on the first three Yes albums is great, and gets better with time IMO.

[@cardo1111]

A great musician and interview. Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman are outstanding musicians. My personal Yes favorite and I am not the fan I once was, is Soon excerpt from Gates of Delirium on Relayer, I believe it was performed by Patrick Moraz.

[@cardo1111]

wnc817 Yes the great Steve Howe on slide guitar 👍🏽

[@shawnmcvey7789]

Yeah that's Moraz. By 1980 they'd had Tony Kaye, Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, and Geoff Downes on keyboards. All of them were very different players, but it always sounded like Yes.

[@smilanesi98]

Soon is fantastic. Anderson said it actually played better live than in the studio. And I agree.

[@angeloconversi1975]

Great Tony! My favourite musician!

[@davidzitzman6511]

Mr.Underrated! Tony Kaye is DA MAN.Best of health to you and yours!

[@andrel4626]

Fantastic Hammond man.

[@supermantra3437]

I truly need your signature on my Yes lps.

[@luvyesmusici4886]

I love Tony. My favorite YESman. I got to hang out with him, Bobby Kimball and Malcolm Birkett for a couple hours after a CIRCA: show. Joked around with him a few times as well. Music history, this guy lived it.

[@misterghee1]

The Genesis of YES Love it, 👍🎶👍

[@drytool]

Master of the Hammond!! Miss that crucial part of Yes' early sound.

[@DarrinSnider]

I REALLY need to interview Tony (as a keyboard player). I never hear anyone ask him about his arranging approach in a band where the keyboards WERE the rhythm section, because you had a drum and bass player that did absolutely everything BUT sit back and play rhythm. I love the other keyboard players in Yes, but I feel like Tony was the only one who wrote to the song before the "flash" ... no pun intended.

[@donutcookiepie]

much agreed!

[@TweedSuit]

He was awesome with Bowie on the 1976 tour.

[@gustinian]

I have admired all Yes's keyboard players and Tony in particular. Would have been ideal for both Moraz and Downes to have had the opportunity to be on more than one album as even Wakeman had his weaknesses.

[@newforestpixie5297]

I was totally chuffed to see his name on the cover of 90125. Tony must’ve been extremely dignified in not slating Jon & Co having basically been kicked out for a flashier player. I don’t yet know his side but it’s surety a rare example of someone being a nice guy and it paying off. Considering the success of 90125 it certainly paid off. Am I weird in putting my least favourite albums as Close to the Edge ,Drama , 90125 ,Big Generator & Heaven & Earth ? Thanks for this 🏴❤️

[@papunAlicea]

GENIOUS...

[@kevinwilson598]

Looking well tony

[@wilsonquick23]

He got the Hammond to growl like no other. Love his work on the first three Yes albums!

[@tommyd5238]

The first time I saw Yes at the Marquee they did some great versions of 5th Dimension Songs like Carpet Man and Paper Cup and Every little thing and Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, its just a shame that Pete Banks missed out on the fame and fortune.

[@ajones957]

I always enjoyed his playing. I certainly like Wakeman's playing on Fragile and CTTE, but really enjoyed Tony's playing on The Yes Album and his later contributions in the "Big Generator" era of Yes.

[@richardyarwood2747]

Loved Tony's playing, especially on Yes' first two albums. Check out this live performance featuring Tony from those days... kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6KcqoZ6ad2CoZY

[@scifiwriter98]

The Yes Album is still my favorite. Kaye gave the songs a beefy foundation with his solid B3 playing and gave Howe room to shine. Wakeman was a virtuoso but his synth playing was often distracting. He ruined the Wurm section of Starship Trooper with his cheesy synth solo. On record with Kaye and Squire building thetension Wurm is mesmerizing. I'm glad he got to rejoin the group when they were popular so he could cash in.

[@smilanesi98]

Wakeman liked to be the center of attention quite often. But his talent is undeniable.

[@edwardgallagher4509]

Cheesy Synth Solo? There’s not a moment on that album that sounds cheesy to this fan, but it’s 50 year old music so I can imagine what sounded great to my 16 year old ears might not have aged well for all listeners.

[@sirbobloblaws]

@@edwardgallagher4509 I think he meant Wakeman sounded cheesy when he played 'Starship Trooper' live.

[@U2WB]

Great to finally “meet” Tony ! I wish the makeup artist hadn’t applied lipstick on him, though...

[@donutcookiepie]

no make up, whatsoever, for these vids, believe it or not.

[@briangallagher2236]

Give this man a Hammond and a cranked up Leslie and he’ll give you magic.

[@leonardoledesma708]

"The Gentleman of Rock", as his peers call him. Tony was always a great keyboard player and Adam Wakeman (Rick's song) is one of his greatest fans. In 1993 I interviewed Rick Wakeman and, referring to the Union tour, he said that Tony was a very nice guy and very talented but that, in his opinion, Kaye was "keyboard shy" to do or show all he was capable of, and being also a shy person it didn't help him to get many of his ideas approved by the rest of the band.

[@srpskihayk]

What is the intro music?

[@cbast2]

The intro music comes from the intro and end of "The More We Live - Let Go" from the "Union" album. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2LZkH6thqt3epI

[@worldnotworld]

Interesting to learn that the band worked on much of The Yes Album playing outside. I always thought the music was like a "blowing-apart" of the weird, claustrophobic, utterly unnatural scene set by the album cover, which is not even just a photograph but an un-cropped slide: a picture _of_ a photograph; That weird mannequin head, too: the whole thing is like a joke, a picture of everything the music is _not_ about.

[@ILSRWY4]

technically not true.... Jon Anderson and Chris Squire were the founding members.... Tony was just brought on, in the beginning, as one of the first members. @5:32 he says "YES existed then" he later would meet them.

[@thomasrudy6132]

What is he talkng about? "Steve was there from the beginning." I thought Peter Banks was.

[@benmeltzer]

I think he means the beginning of the more prog rock direction.

[@vbian88]

I smiled when he stayed so positive. Truth is without Anderson and Squire theyre not Yes. He's too much of a gentlemen to speak the truth.

[@igrowhigher]

"Keith and Brian"? Maybe I'm missing the obvious answer, but I can't think of any significant keyboardist named Brian or Bryan who played keyboards as a "lead instrument". There's Brian Eno, but he's not a lead keyboardist the way Keith Emerson is, and there's Bryan Ferry, again not usually thought of as a keyboardist, although he does a fine job on tunes like My Only Love. There's Brian from Jon Anderson's pre-Yes band, The Warriors, but I don't think that's the one either. Who is Tony Kaye referring to?

[@kennethlanglands]

Brian Auger

[@igrowhigher]

Smack my head. Yes, of course, how could I have forgotten?

[@bernardjharmsen304]

11:05 Graham Bond

[@stevenhaywood1195]

I always thought it a shame that yes did not have him back after Rick Wakeman left after the key studio album. At least he had his time with Yoso and Circa after that. cttgaegoaktd 😛😛😛😛

[@scottburns2600]

I didn't know Emperor Palpatine played in yes!

[@FishGalleon]

I was thinking “Grampa” Munster BTW…Huge YES fan of all the eras; all incarnations.

[@santiagoochoa4337]

Wow, any word about Peter Banks?

[@misterghee1]

Hy bro remembering yr pics when we were young I got me that Hammond no training just attacked that almost synth 2 me hi5 Sir

[@mullhollandmace7271]

Rick Wakeman was my favorite keyboardist.

[@hothe65]

Great to see TK but why no mention of Jon Anderson. It makes me uncomfortable when he’s not given credit.

[@vbassone]

and why no mention or respect to rick wakeman by him? hmmmmmm.....

[@seanpop2886]

In the first 7:20 I heard Jon's name twice...

[@vbassone]

@@seanpop2886 RICK's name, RICKKKKKKK, NOT JON........

[@seanpop2886]

@@vbassone I was replying to the original post, not your's... Wasn't Wakeman mentioned when TK was talking about a get together in the first 7 minutes as well?

[@vbassone]

@@seanpop2886 MAYBE, BUT HE CERTAINLY BARELY MENTIONS THE NAME OF RICK WAKEMAN, AND CERTAINLY DOESN'T CLEARLY PRAISE WAKEMAN'S WORK SPECIFICALLY THE WAY IT DESERVES.

[@alejandropalmapastrana8527]

Big Generator ❤ 90125 ❤🎉🎉😊😊

[@Eriberto195]

Like

[@frepi]

Doc Brown....

[@mirkoalexanderrussomanno8298]

Does he live in states now?what an accent

[@genericusername1365]

He's lived in the United States for a long time, since 1974. Alan White has also lived in the U.S. for a long time, and in fact has U.S. citizenship now.

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

Jon is here in the U.S. Chris was here. I think Steve and Rick are still in England.

[@seanpop2886]

How he got mixed up with Badfinger is one crazy thing. Too bad one of them "lost" Tony's gear and pocketed the money... 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@laurentiudragomir1091]

...and Rafa Nadal fan😀

[@donutcookiepie]

yep. he's a massive fan and player, himself.

[@tonyrome3119]

Tony smoked the hammond

[@fernandoloisso2468]

The best lineup was with Tony Kate and Tony Banks and Bill Bruford. It was the time with excellent melodies. Then with Howe and Wakeman the professionalism of the band was enhanced. But it lost that mystical essence. Listening to his Hammond keyboard and Squire's backing vocals with Banks are excellent. YES has been an exquisite band until the end of the 70's.

[@briangallagher2236]

Tony Banks was Genesis. Peter Banks was Yes.

[@DavidLee-wj9sp]

I like him more than wakeman. Rhythm of love was the last masterpiece

[@nelson3d867]

Me too. I wish i could see him playing Si from 90125 Live.

[@DpHsHd]

David Lee Rick was great, though prone to excess. I admire Tony’s restraint. So often exactly what was needed.

[@nonrepublicrat]

wakeman is 1,000 times more talented.

[@steverodgers8425]

Its so political being in a band.

[@gurgisjones1120]

Certainly with the Yes folks, but not a lot of bands.

[@steverodgers8425]

@@gurgisjones1120 I disagree. Unless a band has a dominant esteemed frontman personality in control I can guarantee all the aggregates concerning creativity, direction and logistics is up for negotiation.

[@rogeriomendes880]

Tony Kaye. A impressão que ficou foi a de ter sido boicotado por Jon Anderson, Chris Squire e o urubú Steve Howe.

[@gurgisjones1120]

He's got more class than the entire Steve Howe band parading the stages of the world.

[@drewbacsi]

Those has-beens should hang it up! Beating a dead horse.

[@alphaskill4155]

bully

[@chriswakefield9538]

How so?

[@alanpartridge4681]

I too am curious! Tell me more...

[@mitchkahle314]

"Talk" is NOT a Yes record.

[@mejsmith1]

You're like one of those guys who say "Drama" is not a Yes record.

[@nelson3d867]

@@mejsmith1 great answer. I think It was writen in disc three letters: Y, E and S. And Steve, Chris and Alan were there, in Drama. And Jon, Kaye, Chris and Alan were in the other CD.

[@designerlarry]

Mitch Kahle oh Yes it is!

[@designerlarry]

Nelson 3D chris was on Talk. They were all Yes- but your opinion is your opinion.

[@nelson3d867]

@@designerlarry i think that's exactly what i said above. Read It again. Drama and Talk are great Yes albums.

[@leonardoledesma708]

"The Gentleman of Rock", as his peers call him. Tony was always a great keyboard player and Adam Wakeman (Rick's song) is one of his greatest fans. In 1993 I interviewed Rick Wakeman and, referring to the Union tour, he said that Tony was a very nice guy and very talented but that, in his opinion, Kaye was "keyboard shy" to do or show all he was capable of, and being also a shy person it didn't help him to get many of his ideas approved by the rest of the band.

[@smilanesi98]

Very true. Even Peter Banks said if you were not vociferous enough you could be out. And that is what happened to Banks, Kaye, and Patrick Moraz.

[@leonardoledesma708]

"The Gentleman of Rock", as his peers call him. Tony was always a great keyboard player and Adam Wakeman (Rick's song) is one of his greatest fans. In 1993 I interviewed Rick Wakeman and, referring to the Union tour, he said that Tony was a very nice guy and very talented but that, in his opinion, Kaye was "keyboard shy" to do or show all he was capable of, and being also a shy person it didn't help him to get many of his ideas approved by the rest of the band.