Steve Howe does not believe another Yes reunion is in the cards, even for a proper 50th anniversary celebration.
In a new conversation with Rolling Stone, the guitarist said he doesn't think "there is the stamina or the appetite for that kind of thing."
"I don't think [fans] should stay up late nights worrying about [a reunion]," he told the magazine's Andy Greene. "There's just too much space out there between people."
Howe and co-founding vocalist Jon Anderson resolved their differences enough to collaborate on Anderson's 1,000 Hands: Chapter One solo album last year. Anderson's latest band with former Yes members, Yes Featuring ARW, announced last summer that it would enter an indefinite hiatus following one more tour in 2020.
Despite Anderson's well-documented hopes for one more go-around with all the key members together, keyboardist Rick Wakeman revealed last year that he "vehemently" objected to his and Anderson's own use of the band name with ARW, and he believes that Yes died in 2015 with late-bassist and co-founder Chris Squire.
It seems that the musicians just can't all get on the same page.
"To be in a band together or even to do another tour like [1991's] Union is completely unthinkable," Howe added.
Howe has led one version of Yes featuring drummer Alan White since Squire passed away in 2015. Anderson split with that band in 2008 and went on to form ARW with Wakeman and former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin a few years later.
All parties involved reunited for the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction performance in 2017, briefly offering hope for a reunion. But Anderson announced shortly afterwards that as the band's only remaining co-founder, he had more of a right to use the Yes moniker than Howe. ARW rebranded as Yes Featuring ARW and strongly suggested that Howe's collective follow suit. It did not.
While there might not be much animosity remaining between the former band mates, Anderson may be the only one who actively wants a reunion. Howe says everyone else seems to have their reasons for pursuing other projects, and that doesn't bother him in the slightest.
"Yes is about people who love working together and can," he concluded. "That word 'can' carries the whole story. That means compatibility and the same awareness about what we want to do. And I think we passed that point a long time ago."
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