Fragile Tour
The Fragile Tour was a concert tour by progressive rock band Yes in promotion of their 1971 album, Fragile. Lasting from 24 September 1971 until 27 March 1972, and including 115 performances,[1] the tour began at the Queen's Hall in Barnstaple, Devon, and ended at the Aquarius Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts—Bill Bruford's last performance with the band before returning for 1991's Union.[2][3] The tour was Rick Wakeman's first with the band; sources differ as to whether his first live appearance with the band was on 24 September at the Queen's Hall in Barnstaple,[4] or on 30 September—the third tour date—at Leicester's De Montfort Hall.[5]
World tour by Yes | |
Location | Europe, North America |
---|---|
Associated album | Fragile |
Start date | 24 September 1971 |
End date | 27 March 1972 |
Legs | 4 |
No. of shows | 115 (118 scheduled) |
Yes concert chronology |
Recordings
Three songs from the tour (from unknown dates)—"Perpetual Change", "Long Distance Runaround", and "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)"—were included on the band's 1973 live album, Yessongs.[6]
The band's 3 October 1971 performance at the Hemel Hempstead Pavilion was recorded for television broadcast on BBC's Sounding Out.[4] The recording was broadcast on 10 January 1972, shortly before the commencement of the second European leg of the tour.[4]
Members
The line-up for the tour unchanged throughout its duration, though sources are contradictory as to whether Wakeman was present for the first two concerts.[4][5] The line-up was the sixth incarnation of Yes.[7] Rick Wakeman had joined the band the previous month, spending August and early September in recording sessions for Fragile at London's Advision Studios.[8][9][10]
- Jon Anderson—lead vocal
- Steve Howe—guitars
- Chris Squire—bass guitar and vocals
- Rick Wakeman—keyboards
- Bill Bruford—drums
Tour dates
The tour saw the band play a total of 111 concerts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Belgium over four legs—two European legs and two North American legs.[2][11]
Support came from Jonathan Swift, Ten Years After, Mary Wells,[8] Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The J. Geils Band, King Crimson, The Blues Project, and Shawn Phillips.
Setlist:[12]
- "Roundabout" (Anderson, Howe)
- "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire)
- "Mood for a Day" (Howe)
- "Clap" (Howe)
- "Heart of the Sunrise" (Anderson, Squire, Bruford)
- Wakeman solo (Rick Wakeman)
- "Long Distance Runaround" (Anderson)
- "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Squire)
- "Perpetual Change" (Anderson, Squire)
- "Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Squire, Howe, Kaye, Bruford)
- "South Side of the Sky" (only occasionally after 2 October 1971) (Anderson, Squire)
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Europe | |||
24 September 1971 | Barnstaple | United Kingdom | Queens Hall |
25 September 1971 | Devizes | Devizes Corn Exchange | |
30 September 1971 | Leicester | De Montfort Hall | |
1 October 1971 | Manchester | Free Trade Hall | |
2 October 1971 | Bradford | St. George's Hall | |
3 October 1971 | Hemel Hempstead | Hempstead Pavilion | |
4 October 1971 | Aberdeen | Aberdeen Music Hall | |
6 October 1971 | Glasgow | Green's Playhouse | |
8 October 1971 | London | Royal Festival Hall | |
10 October 1971 | Dundee | Caird Hall | |
11 October 1971 | Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton Civic Hall | |
12 October 1971 | Bristol | Colston Hall | |
13 October 1971 | Sheffield | Sheffield City Hall | |
15 October 1971 | Stockton-on-Tees | ABC Theater | |
16 October 1971 | Newcastle | Newcastle City Hall | |
17 October 1971 | Stoke | Trentham Gardens | |
18 October 1971 | Birmingham | Birmingham Town Hall | |
21 October 1971 | Warwick | University of Warwick | |
22 October 1971 | Leeds | Leeds University | |
23 October 1971 | Edinburgh | Empire Theater | |
25 October 1971 | Chatham | Central Hall | |
26 October 1971 | Liverpool | Liverpool Stadium | |
27 October 1971 | Southampton | Southampton Guildhall | |
28 October 1971 | |||
Rotterdam | Netherlands | Rotterdam Ahoy | |
31 October 1971 | Amsterdam | Het Concertgebouw | |
North America | |||
Oakland | United States | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | |
3 November 1971 | Los Angeles | Whisky a Go Go | |
4 November 1971 | |||
5 November 1971 | |||
6 November 1971 | |||
7 November 1971 | |||
8 November 1971 | San Francisco | Winterland | |
9 November 1971 | San Diego | San Diego Coliseum | |
10 November 1971 | Inglewood | Inglewood Forum | |
11 November 1971 | |||
12 November 1971 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City Civic Center | |
13 November 1971 | Philadelphia | The Spectrum | |
14 November 1971 | Chicago | Auditorium Theater | |
15 November 1971 | Detroit | Eastown Theater | |
16 November 1971 | |||
17 November 1971 | Elyria | Elyria Catholic High School | |
19 November 1971 | Richmond | William and Mary Hall | |
20 November 1971 | Durham | Duke Indoor Stadium | |
21 November 1971 | DeLand | Stetson University | |
22 November 1971 | Atlanta | Atlanta Municipal Auditorium | |
23 November 1971 | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center | |
24 November 1971 | New York City | Academy of Music | |
25 November 1971 | |||
27 November 1971 | Ritz Theater | ||
28 November 1971 | Stony Brook | Stony Brook University | |
30 November 1971 | New York City | Genesio College | |
1 December 1971 | Waterbury | Palace Theater | |
2 December 1971 | Cincinnati | Reflections | |
3 December 1971 | Akron | Akron Civic Theater | |
4 December 1971 | Gettysburg | Gettysburg College | |
5 December 1971 | Plattsburgh | SUNY Plattsburgh | |
8 December 1971 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | |
9 December 1971 | Gaithersburg | Montgomery Country Fairgrounds | |
10 December 1971 | Carlisle | Dickinson College | |
11 December 1971 | Garden City | Nassau Community College | |
12 December 1971 | Newark | Newark Symphony Hall | |
14 December 1971 | Boston | Orpheum Theater | |
15 December 1971 | Cleveland | Allen Theater | |
16 December 1971 | Pittsburgh | Syria Mosque | |
18 December 1971 | New Orleans | The Warehouse | |
Europe | |||
14 January 1972 | London | United Kingdom | Rainbow Theater |
15 January 1972 | |||
19 January 1972 | Leuven | Belgium | University of Leuven |
20 January 1972 | Antwerp | Cinema Roma | |
21 January 1972 | Brussels | Auditorium Q | |
22 January 1972 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Het Concertgebouw |
23 January 1972 | Rotterdam | De Doelen | |
24 January 1972 | Breda | Het Turfship | |
28 January 1972 | Bristol | United Kingdom | Top Rank Suite |
29 January 1972 | Boston | Starlight Room | |
30 January 1972 | Bristol | Colston Hall | |
31 January 1972 | Manchester | Free Trade Hall | |
North America | |||
18 February 1972 | Bethany | United States | Bethany College |
19 February 1972 | New York City | Academy of Music | |
21 February 1972 | Asbury Park | Sunshine Inn | |
22 February 1972 | Princeton | McCarter Theater | |
23 February 1972 | New York City | Academy of Music | |
24 February 1972 | Burlington | Patrick Gymnasium | |
25 February 1972 | Smithfield | Meehan Auditorium | |
26 February 1972 | Passaic | Capitol Theater | |
27 February 1972 | Waterbury | Palace Theater | |
28 February 1972 | Buffalo | Kleinhans Music Hall | |
29 February 1972 | New York City | Ritz Theater | |
1 March 1972 | Rochester | Auditorium Theater | |
2 March 1972 | Syracuse | Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium | |
Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | ||
4 March 1972 | Salem | Roanoke Valley Civic Center | |
5 March 1972 | Virginia Beach | Virginia Beach Civic Center | |
6 March 1972 | Wilmington | University of North Carolina Wilmington | |
7 March 1972 | Kutztown | Schaeffer Auditorium | |
8 March 1972 | Shippensburg | Shippensburg University | |
10 March 1972 | San Francisco | Winterland Arena | |
11 March 1972 | |||
13 March 1972 | Denver | Denver Coliseum | |
14 March 1972 | Spokane | Spokane Coliseum | |
15 March 1972 | Los Angeles | Inglewood Forum | |
16 March 1972 | Tucson | Tucson Community Center | |
17 March 1972 | San Bernardino | Swing Auditorium | |
18 March 1972 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | |
19 March 1972 | Las Vegas | Las Vegas Convention Center | |
21 March 1972 | Chicago | Arie Crown Theater | |
22 March 1972 | Detroit | Cobo Hall | |
23 March 1972 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati Music Hall | |
24 March 1972 | South Bend | Morris Civic Auditorium | |
25 March 1972 | Columbus | Capital University | |
26 March 1972 | Mentor | Lakeland Community College | |
27 March 1972 | Boston | Aquarius Theater |
Cancelled shows
Wilkinson (2003) lists only three shows from the tour as being cancelled. The first, on 9 October 1971 at the Edinburgh Empire Theatre, was cancelled after the PA system failed to arrive at the venue.[8] A newspaper story at the time reported that the equipment van, travelling to Scotland from the Royal Festival Hall from the previous evening's concert, broke down in Birmingham.[8] Similarly, two replacement vans also broke down.[8] The band rescheduled the date for 23 October, with original tickets still valid. The band offered free posters to fans attending the 23 October show.[8]
The second appearance to be cancelled was on 2 November at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California—the first show of the tour's North American leg.[8] The concert was cancelled as the band's PA system was stolen.[8]
Other sources state that it was the 8 November show at the San Francisco Winterland Ballroom that was cancelled due to the stolen PA system, implying that the band appeared that night at the Oakland Coliseum (with a rented sound system) instead.[4] The concert in Richmond VA on 3 March 1972, was also cancelled, and supposedly the band played at the TownshipAuditorium in Columbia S Carolina instead. Additionally, reports exist of a show on 29 October in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that was also cancelled.[4]
Date | City | Country |
---|---|---|
9 October 1971 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom |
2 November 1971 | Oakland | United States |
References
- Whipple, Peter. "Index". Forgotten Yesterdays. Archived from the original on 4 November 2001. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- Whipple, Peter. "The Fragile Tour". Forgotten Yesterdays. Archived from the original on 21 June 2003. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 107. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
- "Yesgigs 1966–1980". Sullivan. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- Wooding, Dan (1979). Rick Wakeman : the caped crusader. London: Panther. p. 73. ISBN 9780586048535.
- Yessongs liner notes, New York: Atlantic Recording Corporation, 1973
- Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 8. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
- Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 105. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
- Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 114. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
- Welch, Chris (2000). Close to the edge : the story of Yes ([Updated ed] ed.). London: Omnibus. p. 115. ISBN 0-7119-8041-1.
- Watkinson, David (2000). Yes : perpetual change : thirty years of Yes. London: Plexus. p. 106. ISBN 0-85-965-297-1.
- "Fragile Tour – Tour Dates". 21 August 2007. Archived from the original on 21 June 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2013.