What did Jon Anderson Yes (band) do at 184 Shaftesbury Avenue?

The Story

# 184 Shaftesbury Avenue In the basement of the Lucky Horseshoe Café on this very stretch of Shaftesbury Avenue, five young musicians—Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Peter Banks, and two others whose contributions would echo through progressive rock history—first coalesced from individual ambitions into a unified force called Yes. During the late 1960s, while London's underground music scene bubbled with experimentation, this cramped basement became an unlikely crucible where complex harmonies were tested, ambitious arrangements were refined, and the blueprint for a revolutionary sound took shape beneath the floorboards of a working café. On August 3rd, 1968, they left this basement sanctuary to perform their first gig, carrying with them the chemistry they'd forged in this subterranean space—a chemistry that would eventually produce some of rock music's most intricate and ambitious compositions. Standing here today, you're at the birthplace of a band that would redefine what rock music could be, a reminder that transformative art often begins not in grand concert halls, but in humble, forgotten corners where hungry artists gather to create something entirely new.