Yello

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Not to be confused with yellow.
Yello
Origin Zurich, Switzerland
Genres Electronic, synthpop, new wave, dance, jazz
Years active 1979–present
Labels Polydor, Mercury, Vertigo, 4th & B'way, Smash, Elektra, Ralph, Stiff
Associated acts The Residents
Website Yello.com
Members Dieter Meier
Boris Blank
Past members Carlos Perón

Yello is a Swiss electronic band consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. They are most famous for their 1985 single "Oh Yeah" which featured in the films Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Secret of My Success and K-9. And for The Race which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

Band history

Dieter Meier
Boris Blank
Carlos Perón

The band was formed by Boris Blank (keyboards, sampling, percussion, backing vocals) and Carlos Perón (tapes) in the late 1970s. Dieter Meier (vocals, lyrics), a millionaire industrialist and gambler, was brought in when the two founders realised that they needed a singer. The new band name, Yello, was chosen as a pun based on a comment made by Meier, "a yelled Hello".[1]

Yello's first release was the 1979 single "I.T. Splash". The LP Solid Pleasure, featuring the original short version of "Bostich" (extended to a hit dance single in 1981), was released in November 1980.

In 1983, Yello received substantial media attention with the release of "I Love You" and "Lost Again". Perón left the band in 1983 to start a solo career. With their 1983 album You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, the band began a working relationship with Ernst Gamper, whose "corner cut" logo would represent them for three albums, and who would design covers for the group beyond the demise of this logo.[citation needed]

In 2005, Yello re-released their early albums Solid Pleasure, Claro Que Si, You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, Stella, One Second, and Flag, all with rare bonus tracks, as part of the Yello Remaster Series.[2]

A documentary on Yello, Electro Pop made in Switzerland, directed by Anka Schmid, was premiered at the Riff Raff cinema in Zürich in September 2005.[3]

Yello was commissioned to produce music for the launch of the Audi A5 at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2007 and for the Audi A5 commercial in May 2007.[4]

Musical style

Yello's sound is mainly characterised by unusual music samples, a heavy reliance on rhythm and Dieter Meier's dark crooning voice. Yello has been instrumental in spreading and developing the use of sampling, along with Art of Noise, Paul Hardcastle and Depeche Mode, especially in the construction of rhythm tracks, such as one of their signature tunes The Race from 1988.

Boris Blank has taken a couple of vocal turns; on "Swing" (from You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess) and "Blazing Saddles" (from Flag), and guest vocalists have included Rush Winters (the first female diva to be featured on a Yello recording), Billy MacKenzie, Stina Nordenstam, Jade Davies, Shirley Bassey and Heidi Happy. The group has shared writing credit with MacKenzie, Winters and Happy.

Yello rarely use samples from previously released music; nearly every instrument has been sampled and re-engineered by Boris Blank, who over the years has built up an original sample library of over 100,000 named and categorised sounds.[5]

Yello worked extensively with singers Billy Mackenzie and Shirley Bassey.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Label UK[6] US AUS[7] Additional information
1980 Solid Pleasure Ralph Records (re-issued by Mercury Records/Vertigo Records) - - -
1981 Claro Que Si Ralph Records (re-issued by Mercury Records/Vertigo Records) - - -
1983 You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess Stiff Records/Elektra Records (re-issued by Mercury Records 65 184 -
1985 Stella Stiff Records/Elektra Records (re-issued by Mercury Records) 92 - -
1987 One Second Mercury 48 92 95 Featuring Billy Mackenzie and Shirley Bassey
1988 Flag Mercury 56 152 -
1991 Baby Mercury/PolyGram 37 - 73
1994 Zebra Fourth & Broadway - - -
1997 Pocket Universe PolyGram - - - Featuring Stina Nordenstam on "To The Sea"
1999 Motion Picture Polygram - - -
2003 The Eye Motor Music - - - Featuring Jade Davies on "Don Turbulento", "Junior B", "Distant Solution", "Time Palace" and "Unreal"[8]
2009 Touch Yello Polydor - - - Featuring Heidi Happy on "You Better Hide", "Kiss In Blue" and "Stay"

Other albums

Year Album Label UK[6] US AUS[7] Additional information
1986 1980–1985 The New Mix in One Go Mercury - - 99 Remix album
1992 Bostich Full Frequency Range Recordings/Ralph Records - - - Remix album
1992 Essential Mercury - - - Compilation album
1995 Hands on Yello Urban Records/Motor Music - - - Remix album
1999 Eccentrix Remixes Mercury - - - Remix album
2007 Progress and Perfection - - - - Audi A5 promo album
2010 Yello by Yello Polydor - - - Compilation album
2012 The Key to Perfection - - - - VW Golf 7 promo album

Notable singles

Year Title Chart positions Additional information
UK[6] U.S. U.S. D/P AUS[7]
1979 "Bostich" – – 23 –
1982 "You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess/Heavy Whispers" – – 42 –
1983 "I Love You" 41 103 16 –
"Lost Again" 73 – – –
1984 "Pumping Velvet" – – 12 –
1985 "Vicious Games" – – 8 60
"Oh Yeah" – 51 35 9 Re-released with new lyrics added in 1987. This version was added only in the original release of One Second.
1986 "Goldrush" 54 – – – featured Billy MacKenzie
1987 "The Rhythm Divine" 54 – – – featured Shirley Bassey
"Call It Love" 91 – – –
1988 "The Race" 7 – 33 56
"Tied Up" 60 – 9 –
1989 "Of Course I'm Lying" 23 – – 123
"Blazing Saddles" 47 – – –
1990 "Unbelievable" – – 22 –
1991 "Rubberbandman" 58 – – –
1992 "Jungle Bill" 61 – 40 –
"The Race" (re-issue) 55 – – – re-issued with "Bostich"
1994 "Do It" – – 46 –
1995 "Tremendous Pain" – – 7 –
1996 "How How" 59 – 28 –
"Jingle Bells" – – 44 –
1997 "On Track" – – 16 –
"To the Sea" – – – – featured Stina Nordenstam
1999 "Vicious Games" 110[9] – – – Yello vs Hardfloor
2003 "Planet Dada" – – – –
2011 "Mean Monday" – – – – Included in the book "Yello - Boris Blank und Dieter Meier". Released on iTunes on October 22, 2011.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ [1][dead link]
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Australian chart peaks:
    • Singles and albums peaking within the top 100 (Kent Music Report) prior to June 26, 1988: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and June 19, 1988.
    • "Oh Yeah" (ARIA Chart) peak: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • "The Race" (ARIA Chart) peak: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • "Of Course I'm Lying" (ARIA Chart) peak: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • Singles and albums peaking within the top 100 (ARIA Chart) from January 1990 until December 2010: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Album Cover
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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