Editing Yello

{{Short description|Swiss music group}}
{{About|the band|the color|yellow}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| name                 = Yello
| image                = Dieter Meier and Boris Blank.jpg
| landscape            = yes
| caption              = Dieter Meier (left) and Boris Blank
| background           = group_or_band
| alias                = 
| origin               = [[Zürich]], Switzerland
| instrument           = 
| genre                = {{flatlist|
* [[Synth-pop]]
* [[New wave music|new wave]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://909originals.com/2019/07/22/five-reasons-why-yellos-dieter-meier-makes-the-music-industry-more-interesting/|title=Five reasons why Yello's Dieter Meier makes the music industry more interesting…|date=22 July 2019|website=909originals}}</ref>
* [[electro-pop]]<ref name="auto"/>
* [[techno]]
* [[Electronic music|electronic]]
}}
| years_active         = 1979–present
| label                = {{flatlist|
* [[Polydor Records|Polydor]]
* [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
* [[Vertigo Records|Vertigo]]
* [[4th & B'way Records|4th & B'way]]
* [[Smash Records|Smash]]
* [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
* [[Ralph Records|Ralph]]
* [[Do It Records|Do It]]
* [[Stiff Records|Stiff]]
}}
| website              = {{official URL}}
| current_members      = {{plainlist|
* [[Dieter Meier]]
* [[Boris Blank (musician)|Boris Blank]]
}}
| past_members         = [[Carlos Perón]]
}}

'''Yello''' is a Swiss [[electronic music]] band, which formed in [[Zürich]] in 1979.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |editor=Colin Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |date=1997 |edition=Concise |isbn=1-85227-745-9 |page=1283}}</ref> For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of [[Dieter Meier]] and [[Boris Blank (musician)|Boris Blank]]; founding member [[Carlos Perón]] left in 1983.

Their sound is often characterised by unusual [[Sampling (music)|music samples]] and a reliance on rhythm, with Meier as vocalist and lyricist, and Blank providing the music. Among their best known singles are "[[Oh Yeah (Yello song)|Oh Yeah]]" (1985), which has appeared in many films and television shows, including ''[[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]]'', ''[[The Secret of My Success (1987 film)|The Secret of My Success]]'', ''[[Uncle Buck]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]''; and "[[The Race (Yello song)|The Race]]" (1988), which peaked at number 7 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. The band has released 14 studio albums since 1980.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yello-mn0000683795/discography |title=Yello Albums and Discography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Yello's Dieter Meier & Boris Blank signing their book.jpg|right|thumb|Yello's Dieter Meier & Boris Blank signing their book 2021 in Zurich]]
The band was formed by [[Boris Blank (musician)|Boris Blank]] (keyboards, sampling, percussion, backing vocals) and [[Carlos Perón]] (tapes) in the late 1970s. [[Dieter Meier]] (vocals, lyrics), a millionaire investor and gambler, was brought in when the two founders realized that they needed a singer. The new band's name, Yello, was chosen as a [[neologism]] based on a comment made by Meier, "a yelled Hello".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.audiusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=505&mid=67 |title="A Yelled Hello" at the World Premiere of the Audi A5 |website=Audiusanews.com |date=6 March 2007 |access-date=24 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214201017/http://www.audiusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=505&mid=67 |archive-date=14 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Yello's first release was the 1979 single "I.T. Splash". The LP ''[[Solid Pleasure]]'', featuring the original short version of "[[Bostich (song)|Bostich]]" (extended to a hit dance single in 1981), was released in November 1980.<ref name="Larkin"/> Yello's first video was made for the song "Pinball Cha Cha" in 1981; this was included in a 1985 video exhibit at [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yello-mn0000683795/biography |title=Yello Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio, & More |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> In early 1983, just after release of ''[[You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess]]'', Perón left Yello in order to pursue a solo career.

The band's fourth studio album ''[[Stella (album)|Stella]]'' went No.&nbsp;1 in Switzerland in 1985 as the first album ever by a Swiss group to top the Swiss album chart. It also appeared inside the German top&nbsp;10, gaining gold status. The song "[[Oh Yeah (Yello song)|Oh Yeah]]" from the album gained the band worldwide attention the following year, after it prominently appeared in the 1986 film ''[[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/meet-the-righteous-dudes-behind-ferris-buellers-oh-yea-1844162648 |title=Meet Yello, the band behind Ferris Bueller's "Oh Yeah" theme |website=The A.V. Club |date=25 June 2020 |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> and then a year later in ''[[The Secret of My Success (1987 film)|The Secret of My Success]]''. The song was released shortly after and became the band's only single to chart in the US, reaching No.&nbsp;51,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/yello/chart-history/hsi/ |title=Yello |website=Billboard.com |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> and their only top-50 hit in Australia, reaching No.&nbsp;9.

In 1988, single "[[The Race (Yello song)|The Race]]" from the album ''[[Flag (Yello album)|Flag]]'' reached No.&nbsp;7 in the UK as their only top-10 hit there.<ref name="Larkin"/> It featured in the film ''[[Nuns on the Run]]''.

In 1995, a tribute remix album ''[[Hands on Yello]]'' was released, featuring remixes by [[Moby]], [[the Orb]], [[Carl Craig]], [[Carl Cox]], [[the Grid]] and [[WestBam]].<ref name="Larkin"/>

In 2005, Yello re-released their early albums ''[[Solid Pleasure]]'', ''[[Claro Que Si]]'', ''[[You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess]]'', ''[[Stella (album)|Stella]]'', ''[[One Second (Yello album)|One Second]]'' and ''[[Flag (Yello album)|Flag]]'',<ref name="Larkin"/> all with bonus tracks, as part of the Yello Remaster Series.

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

Yello was commissioned to produce music for the launch of the [[Audi&nbsp;A5]] at the [[Geneva Motor Show]] in March 2007 and for the Audi&nbsp;A5 advertisement in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.audiusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=531&mid=67 |title=Audi A5 In Verona - A Road Movie Becomes Reality |publisher=Audiusanews.com |access-date=24 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214201021/http://www.audiusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=531&mid=67 |archive-date=14 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Style==
Yello's sound is mainly characterized by unusual music samples, a heavy reliance on rhythm and [[Dieter Meier]]'s dark voice. Yello makes heavy use of sampling in the construction of rhythm tracks, such as in "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''). Guest vocalists have included Rush Winters, [[Billy Mackenzie]], [[Stina Nordenstam]], Jade Davies, [[Shirley Bassey]], Heidi Happy and FiFi Rong. The group has shared writing credit with Mackenzie, Winters and Happy.

Yello rarely uses 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 thousands of named and categorised sounds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/dec94/yello.html |title=Boris Blank (Yello): Recording Zebra |publisher=Soundonsound.com |access-date=24 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410120500/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/dec94/yello.html |archive-date=10 April 2005}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{Main|Yello discography}}
*''[[Solid Pleasure]]'' (1980)
*''[[Claro Que Si]]'' (1981)
*''[[You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess]]'' (1983)
*''[[Stella (album)|Stella]]'' (1985)
*''[[One Second (Yello album)|One Second]]'' (1987)
*''[[Flag (Yello album)|Flag]]'' (1988)
*''[[Baby (Yello album)|Baby]]'' (1991)
*''[[Zebra (Yello album)|Zebra]]'' (1994)
*''[[Pocket Universe]]'' (1997)
*''[[Motion Picture (album)|Motion Picture]]'' (1999)
*''[[The Eye (Yello album)|The Eye]]'' (2003)
*''[[Touch Yello]]'' (2009)
*''[[Toy (Yello album)|Toy]]'' (2016)
*''[[Point (Yello album)|Point]]'' (2020)

==Literature==
*Boris Blank/Dieter Meier: Oh Yeah / Yello 40, Edition Patrick Frey, 2021, Zurich. {{ISBN|978-3-907236-35-2}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.editionpatrickfrey.com/en/books/oh-yeah-yello-40|title=Oh Yeah / Yello 40|website=Edition Patrick Frey|date=3 September 2021 |access-date=4 December 2021}}</ref>

== Live performances ==
The band's first live performance was on the 18th of September 1978 at the Cinema Forum in Zurich titled "''Dead Cat".''                     The performance was originally 15-minutes long and only showed Meier, due to Boris' stage fright at the time.                                  Out of the fifteen minutes of the performance, only four minutes have been publicly circulated on the internet.                                   It has never been released on other formats.

Their second live performance was in December 1983 at the Roxy Club, where they played a more techno-like remix of ''[[Bostich (song)|Bostitch]]''. It's another 15-minute{{citation needed|reason=Live at the Roxy is 43 minutes?|date=January 2025}} performance hosted by [[Dianne Brill]]. This time Boris is showing himself too. The single is available as a clear vinyl in the remaster series.

Their most recent live performance was on third of November 2017 in Berlin, where they played their older and newer songs with additional musicians and background vocalists.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* Review album Point at [https://www.hifi-today.de/poprock/yello-point.html HIFI-TODAY]
* {{Official website}}

{{Yello}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Musical groups established in 1979]]
[[Category:Swiss dance music groups]]
[[Category:Swiss electronic music groups]]
[[Category:Swiss new wave musical groups]]
[[Category:Synth-pop new wave musical groups]]
[[Category:Techno music groups]]
[[Category:Electronic music duos]]
[[Category:Male musical duos]]
[[Category:Elektra Records artists]]
[[Category:Island Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Polydor Records artists]]
[[Category:Smash Records artists]]
[[Category:Stiff Records artists]]
[[Category:Vertigo Records artists]]
[[Category:Ralph Records artists]]
[[Category:English-language musical groups from Switzerland]]