Quick Facts
Biography
Benoît Gérard Guy David (French pronunciation: [bənwa ʒeʁaʁ gi david]; born 19 April 1966) is a Canadian singer. He was the lead singer of the band Mystery from 1999 to 2013 but is best known as the lead vocalist in the English progressive rock band Yes from 2008 to 2012, replacing long-time vocalist and founding member Jon Anderson. David had to leave Yes due to ill health. Before joining Yes, David was also the lead vocalist of a Yes tribute band called Close to the Edge.
Yes
In early September 2008, David was announced as the lead singer of a line-up headed by Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes for a tour later that year. David came to the attention of Squire through YouTube videos of his work with Close to the Edge. David stood in for Jon Anderson, who was unable to tour because of ill health following acute respiratory failure earlier in the year. The tour was cut short when Squire became ill and David returned to work with Mystery and Close to the Edge.
However, David also remained with Yes, touring with the band in 2009 and 2010. In October 2009, it was announced that David had formally joined Yes. Early in 2011, the band finished their next album, titled Fly From Here, with David on lead vocals.
David continued for a time as a member of Close to the Edge after joining Yes, but the band went into hiatus after live dates in 2009 given David's commitments to Yes. David and guitarist Phil Charmettant have since left Close to the Edge and new replacements have been brought in.
In an interview with Noise 11 magazine in January 2012, Chris Squire confirmed that David had officially left Yes, due to a respiratory illness. He had been suffering from respiratory failure and could not continue on for the Australia tour in April 2012. In a press release, David revealed he found out only from a band member's interview that he "had officially left Yes and that [his] departure was permanent", being replaced by new lead singer Jon Davison. In another interview, David explained the reaction when he explained he would be unable to commit to April 2012 dates because of health problems: "At first everybody was a bit surprised thinking there was enough time for me to get back in shape, but since the issue was unsure, I suggested somebody take over [...] They said, well fine if you can't do it and you're okay with it, we'll look around. It's not like they asked me to step aside at all." He also says: "The guys [in Yes] aren't getting any younger. They've waited years at a time for their singers to get better or finish other projects, and I don't think they can spare that time any more. They're in great shape, and playing well, and it felt terrible to be the one to stop Yes from moving forward. Can you imagine if they waited for a year and [...] I still wasn't better? If I can't sing those songs then what's my relevance in that band? Not knowing how long it's going to take me to get better, I feel much better there's somebody doing the shows and taking the music to the fans."
Mystery
David joined Mystery, a band led by Michel St-Père, as the lead singer in 1999. He appears on 2007's Beneath the Veil of Winter's Face, 2010's One Among the Living and 2012's The World is a Game. While the former was entirely written by St-Père, the latter two feature David's first songwriting efforts as he co-wrote lyrics for some pieces with St-Père (music by St-Père). In 2013, David left the band to take a break from music.
Discography
Yes
- Fly from Here (2011)
- In the Present – Live from Lyon (2011)
Mystery
- Beneath the Veil of Winter's Face (2007)
- One Among the Living (2010)
- The World is a Game (2012)
- Tales from the Netherlands (2014)
Appearances
With Hamadryad:
- Safe in Conformity (2005) - on "Omnipresent Umbra"
- Intrusion (2010) - on "In My Country"
With Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman:
- Ravens & Lullabies (2013) - on "From the Turn of a Card"