Yes (McAlmont & Butler song)

"Yes" is the debut single of English music duo McAlmont & Butler, released on 15 May 1995 and later included on their debut album, The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler. The soul ballad[2] was their first UK hit, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, and remains their most successful single, selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom to earn a silver sales certification. The song also charted in Ireland, reaching number 24, and in New Zealand, peaking at number 40. British magazine NME ranked the song at number 174 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014.

"Yes"
Single by McAlmont & Butler
from the album The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler
B-side
  • "Don't Call It Soul"
  • "How About You?"
  • "What's the Excuse This Time?"
  • "Disappointment"
Released15 May 1995 (1995-05-15)[1]
GenreSoul
Length
  • 4:53 (full version)
  • 4:00 (edit)
LabelHut
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
McAlmont & Butler singles chronology
"Yes"
(1995)		 "You Do"
(1995)
Audio
"Yes" on YouTube

Background

Both David McAlmont and Bernard Butler had departed from their previous bands in acrimonious circumstances shortly before the release—McAlmont from Thieves; Butler from Suede. Utilising the Wall of Sound technique,[3] the lyrics of the song are a thinly disguised attack on their former colleagues. In 2013 Bernard Butler spoke to NME about the song's genesis:

"It was the first piece of music I wrote after I left Suede. I wrote it as an instrumental. Everything was in place, but it didn't have the voice... Everything I'd done in the past six months had been really dark. I'd come out of a very sad situation and lost a lot of friends, so it was a very liberating song. I met David at the Jazz Café in Camden and said, 'I've got this song, do you want to try it out?' He came back to me two days later and sang the first verse. He had no second verse, so I just said 'Sing the first one again'... I wanted it to be like a great piece of '60s vinyl."[4]

Critical reception

Reviewing the song in his weekly UK chart column, James Masterton wrote that McAlmont "sings like an angel" and described the song as "the most utterly wonderful records you have heard in ages".[2] In a retrospective review, Patrick Corcoran of music website Albumism called McAlmont's vocal performance on the song "incredible" and noted that "Yes" is "perhaps, one of the most joyously uplifting songs of all time".[3] In 2014, NME ranked the song at number 174 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]

Track listings

UK CD1 and European CD single[6][7]

  1. "Yes" (edit) – 4:00
  2. "Don't Call It Soul" – 3:56
  3. "How About You?" – 5:49

UK CD2[8]

  1. "Yes" (full version) – 4:53
  2. "What's the Excuse This Time?" – 5:07
  3. "Disappointment" – 7:32

UK cassette single[9]

  1. "Yes" (edit) – 4:00
  2. "Don't Call It Soul" – 3:56
  • Another UK cassette was issued including "How About You?" as a bonus track.[10]

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes.[6]

Studio

  • Engineered at Chateau de la Rouge Motte (Normandy, France)

Personnel

  • David McAlmont – writing, vocals
  • Bernard Butler – writing, guitars, "things", string arrangement, production
  • Makoto Sakamoto – drums
  • Gini Ball – violin
  • Jote Osahn – violin
  • Anne Stephenson – violin
  • Johnny Taylor – violin
  • Claire Orsler – viola
  • Joss Pook – viola
  • Billy McGhee – string arrangement
  • Mike Hedges – production
  • Ian Grimble – engineering

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 39
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 40
Scotland (OCC)[14] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 8

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 May 1995. p. 39. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. Masterton, James (21 May 1995). "Week Ending May 27th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  3. Corcoran, Patrick (26 November 2020). "McAlmont & Butler's Debut Album 'The Sound of McAlmont & Butler' Turns 25 | Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  4. "The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs". NME. London, England: IPC Media. 11 May 2013. p. 34.
  5. Barker, Emily (31 January 2014). "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". NME. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. Yes (UK CD1 liner notes). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTDG53, 7243 8 92911 2 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Yes (European CD single liner notes). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTCD 53, 7243 8 92926 2 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Yes (UK CD2 liner notes). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTDX53, 7243 8 92910 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. Yes (UK cassette single sleeve). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTC 53.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Yes (UK cassette single sleeve). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTC 53, 7243 8 92910 4 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 23. 10 June 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mc Almont and Butler". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019 2019.
  13. "McAlmont & Butler – Yes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  16. "British single certifications – McAlmont & Butler – Yes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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