In June 1979, the Yes line-up of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White completed their 1978–1979 tour in support of Tormato. The five reconvened in November 1979 to start work on a new … See more

Side one
According to Horn, "Machine Messiah" was written in one day. Music reporter and critic Chris Welch described Howe's opening guitar riff … See more

Drama was released in August 1980. It reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 18 in the US, the band's lowest charting studio release in the US since The Yes Album (1971), which … See more

Yes toured Drama with a concert tour of North America and the UK from August to December 1980. Horn and Downes had never performed live on such a large scale before, and learned … See more

Drama was recorded in approximately three months at Townhouse with each band member credited for its production and Hugh Padgham, Gary Langan, and Julian Mendelsohn as recording engineers. The sessions began with Eddy Offord, … See more

The album's sleeve was designed by Roger Dean, his first design for a Yes album since Relayer in 1974. When Dean was commissioned … See more

The Guardian reporter Robin Denselow wrote that the album's lyrics are tougher than Anderson's "distinctive ramblings on the mystic fringe", … See more