YELLO: CLASSIC/DUD; SEARCH& DESTROY

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thought i`d give yello a go, having long been an admirer of vicious games and bostick..so i ordered and waited an age for their best of type package. and well i was rather disapponted; not much analogue stuff included and generally not very interesting. where`s the good stuff, did they even do any?

― nelly, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yello and Art Of Noise are often talked about in the same breath, as they both gradually embraced more and more banal brass arangements as they got older, have almost identical ratios of classics to duds.. namely for every classic, about 4 or 5 duds per records. And both had better ratios in their early days.

That said, "Oh Yeah" is certainly classic, enough such that they also included it on their 1987 record "One Second" in order to increase sales in the U.S. (It's originally from "Stella" from 1985, but it got popular in the states via the 1987 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" including it in the pinacle end credits). The song has dated surprisingly well.

"The Race" is alright, only that it completely appropriated Cozy Powell's "Man in Black" and was able to fuse it with an amusing porky sounding brass line.

Otherwise, yeah, "Bostich" and the Ralph years rule.

― Brian MacDonald, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yello tend to have that "sounds as if you can dance to it until you try" characteristic which is also true of Cabaret Voltaire. I still play their Flag album occasionally and I must say that I find it intriguing, especially the Latino feel to some of the tracks.

Slightly off topic, Dieter Meier makes a great interviewee and he peppers his answers with all kinds of oblique metaphors. He once said that Yello's sound is different because "rock n roll never really happened in continental Europe". Contentious that, a thread in itself maybe.....

― MarkH, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Which compilation did you buy? I love most of the older stuff (80- 85), so would like to find the track listing. Generally, though, I don't think they ever aimed to fit in with any synth-music ideal -- they seem rather to have wanted to make pop music that was big, cosmopolitan, eccentric and so-pastiche-it-becomes-AUTHENTIC at the same time. Or something. Using electronics was probably a means rather than an end, so to speak.

Dieter Meier: Classic classic classic. Son of a millionaire, one time member of the Swiss golfing national team, professional poker player, performance artist paying New York passers-by who said "yes" or "no" to him $1 each, in 1972 putting down a plaque at the railway station in Kassel (Germany) saying "On March 23 1994, from 3 to 4 pm, Dieter Meier will stand on this plaque" -- and honouring the promise, director of Alphaville's "Big in Japan" video. That's what happens when you don't have to work. Erm. To some. Well, to him.

― OleM, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Come to think of it, my favourite Yello song is actually "Of Course I'm Lying", epscially the spoken bit, "Of course I'm lying, but I think I love you", with the echoes.

― MarkH, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I've recently gone into another Yello-buying kick. Stella is really the shit, and if you have to buy one album I think it's the one...but not for "Oh Yeah" necessarily--I think the rest of that album actually tops that song. I actually like You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess just fine, too, with stuff like "The Swing" and "I Love You". (I know.) Also picked up the New Mix In One Go CD and remembered just how much I used to love the track "Base for Alec". It's ear-candy, sure, but it's really GOOD ear candy.

― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Which album is "Rubberband Man" on? There was a fantastic radio station in the vicinity of Scranton that was playing that song between Christmas and New Year's and it reminded me that I never properly explored them.

― Dan Perry, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That'd be the album Baby, one that I haven't really heard. They sort of scared me off with Flag.

― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

oh oh oh get "To the Sea"!! I know it's on the Danny Tenaglia "Back to Mine" comp. It's one of the most... wistful songs I've ever heard; well-sung; a scatter-gun ferocity to the drums. It's not exactly "analogue" but it's very very good.

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sean: I agree Stella is wonderful, although it's very often written off as some sort of disappointment. "Oh Yeah" is probably its low point for me as well (although it's fun if you've got the vinyl to play it on 45 and hear the vocals become almost ordinary); in general I like the variety of the album, and the relatively high percentage of tracks that are not in the Yello-by-numbers mould ("Koladi-Ola", "Angel No", ...).

― OleM, Saturday, 12 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

blazing saddles!! hello sailor - ooh! watch out for that cactus!

― bob snoom, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Classic of course even if some of their stuff now sounds dated (but hey what's wrong with being dated - nowt). Anyway Lost Again is one of the great missing James Bond themes more mystery,sex and loss than A-ha or Duran Duran could ever contemplate.

Plus double plus classic for giving a home to Billy MacKenzie and Shirley Bassey on the Rythm divine, now if anyone has an MP3 of Billy Mack's version....

― Billy Dods, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Goldrush (i think it was called) was the only one that i repeatedly played. haven't listened to them in years.

― Alan Trewartha, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Boris Blank also co-wrote and produced quite a bit of the late Billy Mackenzie material - Outernational album plus a couple of great B- sides. (which i don't think have been reissued)....

The first 3 Yello albums were great tho.....

― Baxter Wingnut, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two years pass...

The Eye is fantastic.

― I Wish You Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 02:11 (twenty-one years ago)

It's okay.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 02:19 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Having rummaged thru a lot of my old vinyl and pulled out the first 4 Yello albums, what can I say but utter classic. "You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess" is one of my favourite albums of all time.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 16 June 2005 09:02 (twenty years ago)

yes. that record is absolutely perfect.

― milton parker (Jon L), Thursday, 16 June 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

eight months pass...

HELLO REMASTERS!

I just need to get Solid Pleasure and I have the first six remasters on CD.. comes with lots of bonus tracks.

Oh yeah. (pun intended of course)

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 06:29 (twenty years ago)

If I really really love the campy darkness of "Bostich" and "Daily Disco," which album should I start with?

― telephone thing, Tuesday, 28 February 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

I'd imagine you'd enjoy the first three without any question. There are two versions of "Bostich" on the first remaster, Solid Pleasure... and "Daily Disco" begins the second album Claro Que Si... they also added the 1985 version of the same song as bonus. You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess is the third one. Many people consider Stella and onwards as the group's next phase, so to speak.. There's always been a latin element to the band, but the production values increase -- for better or worse -- from here on out, and some think Yello get better.. others think they get a little worse and cheesier.

But, yeah, start from the first one and you could get the next two and be happy for now... preview the following ones afterwards and see how you feel.

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 07:19 (twenty years ago)

^ otm.

third one's the masterpiece and I don't mean that lightly.

donut, is it the original mix of 'i love you' on the remaster or that weird inferior mix on the earlier issue of the CD?

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 18:23 (twenty years ago)

Depends on what you mean by inferior.

I never had the original CD, but I have the original vinyl and 12" single. That said, I remember putting "I Love You" on the 1983 CDR700MB Go!, and it was the one that began with the "I love you" sample, and was more percussive.. like it was an edit of the 12" version or something. This may have been the "single" version, maybe? Is this what you mean by the non-inferior version? The album version on this remaster CD is less percussive and has more synth parts in its place. But again, I never heard the original CD.

I honestly just listened to the 12" mix over and over again.

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 20:16 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, liner notes for the Claro Que Si and You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess remaster by Andy Gill, for what it's worth. (probably for Solid Pleasure as well, but I don't have that one yet.)

Note about the "I love you" sample...

"I did the female vocal part on that" recalls Boris. "I just said 'I love you', then put it two or three semi-tones up, so it sounded like a babe!'".

I always thought they just got a female friend of theirs to say it.

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 20:23 (twenty years ago)

by original I meant the version on the Elektra vinyl. the one on the 90's CD was less percussive, more synthy, put the sound effects lower in the mix. if you ysi your version I can ID it.

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 20:38 (twenty years ago)

Yello, "I Love You" from the remaster...

http://s6.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1Z1HGT7H69NZ832HRT8AW4CIKA

Sounds like, from your description, it's the inferior mix, still. Then again, if you have a wave file editing program, you can reconfigure the original Elektra/vinyl version using the 12" mix.. sorta. (and come to think of it, the original vinyl album mix is the one I used for the CDR700MB Go! 1983 thing)

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 20:59 (twenty years ago)

yeah, that's the later mix. makes it smoother, like something off of 'one second' or 'flag', less weird.

I notice the new reissue has the original 12" mix as one of the six extra tracks, so I will happily pick this up.

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 21:18 (twenty years ago)

and "Base For Alec"(!) (which I'm not sure was ever on the original CD) and what looks like an excerpt of the "live at the Roxy NYC Dec 1983"(!!)

― Da Na Not! (donut), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 21:21 (twenty years ago)

I think "Base for Alec" was only ever released digitally on one of the Output label compilations. Thanks for the recommendations; I'll try and pick up Claro Que Si first out of those three since I like the cover art.

― telephone thing, Tuesday, 28 February 2006 22:08 (twenty years ago)

http://homepage.mac.com/nutramike/.Public/music/YelloBostich.mpg

YOU'RE WELCOME

― R.I.P. Concrete Octopus ]-`: (ex machina), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 03:08 (twenty years ago)

Holy damn. Thanks!

bostichbostichbostichbosticheeeeeee

― telephone thing, Wednesday, 1 March 2006 05:19 (twenty years ago)

yello with carlos peron = wonderful
yello without carlos peron = patchy.

the rhythm divine verion 2 with billy on vox minus shirley is fantastic.
if only oh yeah and the race were never created . .

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 08:51 (twenty years ago)

I heart Yello, and I love their poppy stuff just as much as the more experimental tunes. Stella is my favourite LP of theirs because there's so much versatility on it. "Domingo" is probably my favourite track, that sublime synth wash combined with the vocals is heavenly. I think they were always playful but never ironic, i.e. you can really like them without any postmodern stance. And Boris Blanks bass sounds and percussion arrangements are something no other electronic musicians of that era managed to do. But what I like the most about them is that they've always done basically the same thing, but they've never fitted into a genre or created one. They don't really have any predecessors or followers.

This remix LP is a fun release for those who like both Yello and Germanic nineties techno. The Cosmic Baby and Westbam remixes are especially worthy.

Yello fans would probably appreciate this thread:

ILX Screenwriters Presents 'It was all Yello: The Coldwerk Sessions'

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 10:52 (twenty years ago)

techno tuomas

― R.I.P. Concrete Octopus ]-`: (ex machina), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 16:15 (twenty years ago)

i like how in the VICIOUS GAMES video
boris 'does' the dieter parts as he's the handsome one.

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 1 March 2006 19:17 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

Finally scared up the One Second reissue. And how much do I love "Goldrush"? Oh where to begin.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 7 July 2006 22:09 (nineteen years ago)

three months pass...

One Second might be my favourite one of theirs, it doesn't have the obvious appeal of the earlier LPs (too little Dieter, maybe?), but there's worlds within that one record.

i like how in the VICIOUS GAMES video
boris 'does' the dieter parts as he's the handsome one.

This actually happens in many of their videos, for example "Pinball Cha-Cha".

And thank god for Youtbe!

Watching this video, got me thinking, does anyone know who Rush Winters is/was? I tried look for some info about her, but found practically nothing. It seems like she emerged out of nowhere, did a few classic tunes with Yello, and then disappeared again.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, with that voice you'd assume she could've built a solo career of some sort.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone who love's her voice should look for the Cosmic Baby remix of "Dr. Van Steiner" which is on the Hands on Yello remix LP, it has some added vocals dug from Boris's vaults and generally improves upon the original.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:12 (nineteen years ago)

one word : classic

so much more than the well known oh yeah/the race tracks.

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

I've been digging into the newer Yello, just got Zebra via the mail. There's still a lot of the old synth pop stuff, but the impact of nineties electronic music has become more clearer. Lots of great moments there, "How How" features some superfunky horns, and "Tremendous Pain" has a wonderfully evocative synth riff.

Pocket Universe is already quite different, I guess Boris must've really taken in the new electronic styles, and working on that 1995 must've helped too. The album sounds like mid-nineties cosmic trance/ambient, but with added Yello touches (like Dieter doing Gregorian chants). It's not like two old fogeys trying to imitate what the youngsters are doing, they've really mastered the style and made it their own. And you gotta love an album which starts with the words: "The Big Bang... The ultimate hero of low frequency... The divine intergalactical bass drum..." If theres any downpoint, it's that Dieter doesn't sing much and there's a shortage of typical Yello humour (except for the rather ridiculous end monologue about the realtionship of science and magic), but I guess those elements would be harder to marry with music like this.

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

"on that 1995 remix album"

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

I guess one reason the newer sounds fit so well into the Yello formula is that a lot of them were pioneered by Yello themselves. The whole of Pocket Universe could been as a continuation of those more athmospheric 80's tracks like "Great Mission", "Desert Cry", "Domingo" or "L'Hotel".

― Tuomas, Thursday, 22 February 2007 10:48 (nineteen years ago)

Fun in headphones in small doses. Lots of somewhat classic 80s material, and their mostly ignored (after "Baby") 90s stuff has its moments too (a lot more analog sounding than their largely sample-based 80s albums)

I guess the two first albums and "Baby" are the ones that hold up best as more than just test vehicles for headphones and stereo sets. All of their albums sound great though.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 23 February 2007 00:25 (nineteen years ago)

It's not like two old fogeys trying to imitate what the youngsters are doing, they've really mastered the style and made it their own.

Largely, I think this is what most people haven't been able to realise. They are mostly seen as copying the acts they once used to influence. Which is why their albums from "Pocket Universe" onwards have sold poorly when compared to earlier material.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 23 February 2007 00:26 (nineteen years ago)

Anyway Lost Again is one of the great missing James Bond themes more mystery,sex and loss than A-ha or Duran Duran could ever contemplate.

I thought that was "The Rhythm Divine". With Shirley Bassey singing lead vocals and all...

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 23 February 2007 00:28 (nineteen years ago)

Has anyone heard their latest LP (The Eye)? Is it any good?

― Tuomas, Friday, 23 February 2007 06:15 (nineteen years ago)

"The Eye" is very much like the two last one from the 90s, but maybe slightly more Yello-like. If you like the two others, you'll like "The Eye" too.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 23 February 2007 11:29 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

I tend to be prejudiced against 80s electro artists who keep on into the 90s and beyond, which is pig-headed of me, I guess. I am very familiar with their early work and unfamiliar with their 1990s+ work. Does any of it have that satisfying edge that the earlier stuff does? I wonder what does "Yello-like" mean, it seems they do a ludicrous variety of styles.

― US EEL (u s steel), Tuesday, 29 December 2009 19:14 (sixteen years ago)

12 albums on SPOTIFY!
.. check out One Second and Essential.

― piscesx, Wednesday, 30 December 2009 03:01 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

Touch Yello is in no way ground-breaking but really fantastic, in an '80s late-night American B-grade saxophones-and-stockings detective drama kind of way.

― boob oscillator (Schlafsack), Monday, 28 March 2011 00:20 (fourteen years ago)

An amazing interview if you haven't seen it:
3 part Yello Story from Snub tv circa 89/90.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_598zDn4DM

― piscesx, Monday, 28 March 2011 02:43 (fourteen years ago)

ooh brilliant, cheers, I'll get onto that.

― boob oscillator (Schlafsack), Monday, 28 March 2011 02:45 (fourteen years ago)

Dieter Meier has the same birthday as me! mind totally blown.

― piscesx, Monday, 28 March 2011 02:47 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

These guys had a car???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag_eUk97WNE

― Col. Pinkney Lugenbeel (Abbbottt), Sunday, 15 May 2011 02:13 (fourteen years ago)

five months pass...

oh oh oh get "To the Sea"!! I know it's on the Danny Tenaglia "Back to Mine" comp. It's one of the most... wistful songs I've ever heard; well-sung; a scatter-gun ferocity to the drums. It's not exactly "analogue" but it's very very good.
― Tracer Hand, Friday, January 11, 2002 11:00 AM (9 years ago)

yesss this song is lovely

― yuoowemeone, Sunday, 23 October 2011 04:56 (fourteen years ago)

four months pass...

Can't stop playing this from Trevor Jackson's Metal Dance comp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLyfq72rkCU

― phuturephase, Saturday, 10 March 2012 23:08 (thirteen years ago)

so unfairly ignored these guys. i mean, even on ilx; a C or D thread with barely 50 posts in 10 years!

― piscesx, Sunday, 11 March 2012 00:19 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5rNJjZq8Qo

A while I ago I acquired the "Rubberbandman" single, which has the ridiculously fun extended remix of the tune, as well as a Derrick May remix of "The Race". That one's well worth looking up.

― Tuomas, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:03 (thirteen years ago)

Oh shit, I found a hilarious Yello clip on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cKf9Tc2HM

Based on this, Boris Blank might've had a bright future ahead of him in physical comedy.

― Tuomas, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:31 (thirteen years ago)

Speaking of "Dr. Van Steiner", everyone should check out the Cosmic Baby remix of that tune (from the Hands on Yello remix comp that came out in 1995). It adds some extra narration by Dieter Meier that was cut from the original version, and in general makes a semi-forgettable album track into a dance pop gem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KdIoNrdoV0

― Tuomas, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:34 (thirteen years ago)

a semi-forgettable album track

!?! one of my fave yello tracks.

[i def prefer the orig to this remix .. ]

and yes, following this bump i think its time i picked up the remastered editions as this is indeed a band that never failed to impress me back in the day.

― mark e, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:15 (thirteen years ago)

Maybe "semi-forgettable" is a bad term, but what I meant is that the album version tries its best to make a potentially awesome tune lesser than it is by burying Rush Winters' vocals too deep in the mix, repeating the chorus only a couple of times, adding a pointless guitar bit, etc. The remix corrects all that, emphasizes the evocative beauty of the vocals in the tune, plus adds that cool cut narration by Meier.

― Tuomas, Monday, 12 March 2012 06:58 (thirteen years ago)

Anyway, the Hand on Yello comp is well worth checking out for other good Yello remixes too, including ones by The Grid, Carl Graig, and Westbam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igIvnRt4gtw

The Orb also has a pretty epic remix of "You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess"/"Great Mission" on it that uses little from the original, except for an elephant cry.

― Tuomas, Monday, 12 March 2012 12:46 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TVfokLE15A

The full length 13 minute version of the race blew my 14 year old mind when it came out in '88, and still doesn't sound dated to my ears.

― phuturephase, Monday, 12 March 2012 17:29 (thirteen years ago)

three years pass...

the double whammy of 'great mission'/'you gotta say yes to another excess' is pure perfection.

never did get any of the remasters.

may have to check the racks over the next few weeks as my vinyl copy of 'stella' has seen better days, and i would love to hear it in full quality.

did anyone pick up the boris blank 2cd set of his solo material ?

― mark e, Thursday, 12 November 2015 09:27 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

full 6 cd set of the remasters : £20.

yes please.

have not seen many shops with the full set in stock for a long long time, so wasn't going to miss the opportunity.

― mark e, Thursday, 3 December 2015 13:09 (ten years ago)

bloody hell i am enjoying these.
thought i had never heard the bands first two albums, yet its clear i know them well.
suspect i borrowed them from a local library and recorded them onto a cassette.
what a bastard i was.

in other news : yello + insanely OTT guitars = perfection.
'si senor the hairy grill' : as insane as anything by ministry.

best £20 i have spent in a long long time.

― mark e, Thursday, 3 December 2015 20:36 (ten years ago)

are these the remasters from 10(?) years back?

― piscesx, Thursday, 3 December 2015 21:07 (ten years ago)

yup. all remastered by boris.
all numbered.
hence the OCD collector groove kicked in.
no way could i buy 1/3/6 !!
was always a case of all or nothing.
hence the happy groove, as i have not seen a complete set since their original release.
guess vertigo/mercury have repressed them and so there is a new spate of them on the racks.
i care not.
just well chuffed to have the complete set as they confirm my opinion that YELLO were absolutely brilliant.

― mark e, Thursday, 3 December 2015 21:14 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

ok, i have resisted the urge to splurge on this thread over the holiday season, but the fact is YELLO is clearly one of the best electronic pop bands ever.

so many hidden classics before they hit their commercial groove.

eg. 'ballet mecanique' : yes, there is a cheesy filled reggae fill in, but this is brilliantly counteracted with the psycho vocal that hits after a few loops.

this is what i love about yello : while using the sonic limitations of the day, they still embraced the elusive spanner of the works that rarely got love.

summary : they were clearly fucking nuts, and i love that.

― mark e, Wednesday, 30 December 2015 22:42 (ten years ago)

six months pass...

and they are back.
all the berlin shows are sold out.
and i am unable to get the new vevo hosted video, limbo, (any connection to their brilliant track, bimbo, i wonder !) to play.
ahh.

― mark e, Thursday, 21 July 2016 18:10 (nine years ago)

pr re new album, TOY :

Like all great Yello records, Toy is playful, super-sharp and ultra-modern; something akin to a set of vivid snapshots of a utopian futurist Europe rendered in glorious techno-colour. Taking in joyous liquid electronics (on first single Limbo, Tool Of Love), continental torch songs (Starlight Scene, Dark Side), glimmering Balearic sunset music (Blue Biscuit) and myriad points in between, Toy is the unmistakable sound of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank gleefully working at the top of their game after nearly four decades making music together.

Recorded at Yello Studio, Zurich, Toy features guests Fifi Rong (vocals on Kiss the Cloud, Dark Side) Malia (vocals on Cold Flame, Starlight Scene, Give You The World) Heidi Happy (vocals on Dialectical Kid), Jeremy Baer (all guitars).

Yello are Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. Their first LP - Solid Pleasure - was released in 1980. Since then, they have forged a unique career that’s influenced everything from techno culture and hip hop to the Simpsons. Yello recently announced their first ever full live shows in their thirty-seven year career. They will play songs from Toy and ‘reloaded classics’ over four nights in a decommissioned German power station – KraftwerkBerlin – between October 26th and 30th. Each of the four gigs sold out within two days of going on sale.

Tracklisting: Frautonium Intro / Limbo / 30,000 Days / Cold Flame / Kiss The Cloud / Pacific AM / Starlight Scene / Give You The World / Tool of Love / Dialectical Kid / Dark Side / Blue Biscuit / Magma / Frautonium

― mark e, Thursday, 21 July 2016 18:12 (nine years ago)

two months pass...

Toy is the unmistakable sound of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank gleefully working at the top of their game after nearly four decades making music together.

it's basically the last three albums all over again, so yes

― Autumn Almanac, Tuesday, 4 October 2016 02:10 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA-wKK3azN4

looks excellent.

― piscesx, Thursday, 24 November 2016 15:39 (nine years ago)

yes, this looks fantastic.
there was a very positive review of the show in the new mojo, according to which, this was the encore.
should have been the full 12+ version.

― mark e, Thursday, 24 November 2016 19:36 (nine years ago)

that is the best i've ever seen a 'pop video' look, on a backdrop at a gig. coincidentally we were bellyaching on some thread or other, about how bad promos of the 80s and 90s look now on YouTube and how they never seem to come out in HD or Blu-Ray but somehow theirs look amazing up there.

― piscesx, Thursday, 24 November 2016 19:46 (nine years ago)

i suspect thats down to boris.
he is all about the visual representation these days with his love of movie scores etc.
even in the early days, these guys had access to serious tech toys.

― mark e, Thursday, 24 November 2016 20:06 (nine years ago)

Boris? Dieter was a visual artist before he became a vocalist and he's directed all of Yello's videos (and famously worked for years on a stage musical based on their music that was never properly finished), so presumably he's the one who puts more effort into the stage visuals too?

― Tuomas, Monday, 28 November 2016 12:37 (nine years ago)

The Dieter-directed "Virtual Concert" DVD that came with Touch Yello is pretty great too, if you don't mind the cheap looking CGI effects. (Which I'm willing to forgive because the budget must've been fairly small.) The bit where they place those white cutout instruments seen in the album art is fab!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTJmYEhn8PU

― Tuomas, Monday, 28 November 2016 12:45 (nine years ago)

eight months pass...

normally when i listen to 'stella' i skip 'oh yeah' cos, well, you know.
but tonight i let it play out.
it really is a mad weird track to have ever become a signature track.

one of the weirdest pop hits ever ?

― mark e, Friday, 18 August 2017 20:48 (eight years ago)

three years pass...

13 minutes of 'the race'.
still brilliant.

― mark e, Thursday, 4 February 2021 21:15 (five years ago)

always!

i went to the Berlin gig mentioned above (4 years ago). Some of it was excellent but overall it was a bit underwhelming sadly.

― stirmonster, Thursday, 4 February 2021 22:54 (five years ago)

did anyone bother with the album they put out last year?

― would a nit be nice? (NickB), Thursday, 4 February 2021 22:56 (five years ago)

joe muggs said it was one of the best sounding albums of the year.
just a shame re the crap cover art.
and yes, i am that shallow.

― mark e, Thursday, 4 February 2021 23:09 (five years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2F0rg8LE_c

― xzanfar, Friday, 5 February 2021 00:56 (five years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YybmWiEzrs

― xzanfar, Friday, 5 February 2021 00:57 (five years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rECR4wVCMQ

― xzanfar, Friday, 5 February 2021 00:59 (five years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRo1cHlgIqk

― xzanfar, Friday, 5 February 2021 01:00 (five years ago)

four years pass...

Very entertaining mini-documentary on ‘Oh Yeah’ and its legacy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07MeoZiLSek

― Dan Worsley, Monday, 1 December 2025 23:41 (three months ago)

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