Yellow (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Yellow”
“Yellow” cover
Single by Coldplay
from the album Parachutes
Released June 26, 2000
Format CD, 7", cassette
Recorded February – March 2000
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:29
Label Parlophone
Producer Ken Nelson, Coldplay
Coldplay singles chronology
"Shiver"
(2000)
"Yellow"
(2000)
"Trouble"
(2000)
Parachutes track listing
"Sparks"
(4)
"Yellow"
(5)
"Trouble"
(6)

"Yellow" is a song by Coldplay. It was the second single from their debut album Parachutes and their first Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Regional singles were released for France, the U.S. and Brazil.

The song was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios. The recording was rushed so that the song could be released in time for Summer 2000.[1]

Following the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, "Yellow" was the first video played on MTV once normal programming resumed.

In 2001, the single was used extensively for ABC autumn television promotions and was also employed as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day," in recognition of that organisation's official flower's yellow hue.

On VH1's Storytellers program, Chris Martin revealed that his inspiration for the song's title came from the Yellow Pages.[2]

The song is consistently played during home games at English Championship club Watford.

During the circa 2002 live performances of the song, the band added an intro which has Martin singing "Your skin..." twice before going into the intro.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  • CD CDR6538
  1. "Yellow" – 4:29
  2. "Help is Round the Corner" – 2:38
  3. "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground" – 4:33

[edit] Music video

The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland beach near Poole, Dorset. The video is very minimalistic and simple, featuring only lead singer Chris Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is wearing a raincoat with his hair wet, suggesting that it had just rained. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. Also, the entire sequence is in slow motion.

Originally it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video, in a sunny setting. However, band member Will Champion's mother's funeral was held on the day of the recording, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video. The weather also opposed the original plan, with harsh winds and rain instead of the sunny day that had been envisioned. It had also been originally intended for there to be moving stars in the sky, as if in a time-lapse. The directors however agreed that this would have been too distracting for the focus of the video, which was Martin.

The video was directed by James & Alex of The Artists Company. The video was shot at 50 frames per second, twice the regular speed. At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would sync up. The final product is slowed to 25 frames per second, giving the slow motion effect of the video.

The transition of the video from night to day was achieved through telecine. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted the amount of lighting for blue in the beginning, red in the middle, and yellow at the end of the video.

Shooting was completed in a single day, with five takes for the video.[3]

 Music sample:

"Yellow"

Sample of "Yellow" by Coldplay
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Awards

Year Award Category
2001 NME Awards Best Single

[edit] Nominations

Year Award Category
2002 Grammy Awards Best Rock Song
2002 Grammy Awards Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal

[edit] Covers

  • The song was also covered by Singaporean singer Tanya Chua.
  • In 2006, Tre Lux covered "Yellow" on the cover album A Strange Gathering.
  • G4 (Runners up of The X Factor 1) covered the song for their second album, G4 & Friends.
  • Brand New often covers part of the song live at the end of their song "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot".
  • Galway-based musicians Joe Joyce and Oisin Tierney have been known to cover "Yellow" as part of their performances.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roach, Martin (2003). Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9810-8.
  2. ^ Coldplay Revive TV Show. Rolling Stone (1 June 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  3. ^ E-Zine. Coldplay.com (January 2003). Retrieved on 2006-12-18.

[edit] External links