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 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.

Background

Bernard Butler had departed from Suede in acrimonious circumstances. In 2013, 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."

Butler made demo recordings of the music used in the song with Julianne Regan, formerly of All About Eve, singing alternate lyrics. The demo tape is attributed to an act called "Mrs Decorating Bike" with the song titled "What the girl should do?" on the tape. This demos surfaced online in 2023 and were acknowledged by Regan on her twitter account.

David McAlmont had departed his previous band, Thieves, at around the same time that Butler had left Suede. Butler described to the NME how they met:

"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."

The song was recorded utilising the Wall of Sound technique, and the lyrics of the song are a thinly disguised attack on their former colleagues.

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". 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". In 2014, NME ranked the song at number 174 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Track listings

UK CD1 and European CD single

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

UK CD2

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

UK cassette single

"Yes" (edit) – 4:00
"Don't Call It Soul" – 3:56

Another UK cassette was issued including "How About You?" as a bonus track.

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes.

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)	39
Ireland (IRMA)	24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	40
Scotland (OCC)	5
UK Singles (OCC)	8

Sales and certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	200,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

"New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 May 1995. p. 39. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
^ Masterton, James (21 May 1995). "Week Ending May 27th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
"The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs". NME. London, England: IPC Media. 11 May 2013. p. 34.
Why Are Bernard Butler & & Julianne Regan "Mrs Decorating Bike"? Rare 90s Demo.
@msjulianneregan (2 November 2023). "Well this is interesting" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
"The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs". NME. London, England: IPC Media. 11 May 2013. p. 34.
^ Corcoran, Patrick (26 November 2020). "McAlmont & Butler's Debut Album 'The Sound of McAlmont & Butler' Turns 25 | Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
Barker, Emily (31 January 2014). "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". NME. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^ 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
"Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 23. 10 June 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mc Almont and Butler". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019 2019.
"McAlmont & Butler – Yes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
"Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
"British single certifications – McAlmont & Butler – Yes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

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