Following the release of their debut album ‘The Overload’ earlier this year, Yard Act are sharing a new version of album closer ‘100% Endurance’ with Elton John.
“Within our camp we have a saying: ‘Mad shit happens when you do art’ - it means what it means. You make stuff because you want to make it, and you throw stuff you’ve made into the world because you’d rather share it than not and then you leave it alone and let it do its thing. That thing you did can take you to places you didn’t intend to go with it, but it’s out of your control really. You have no control over the mad shit. It just happens (when you do art),” the band’s James Smith explains. “Elton John saw our stuff and he started telling the press he thought we were good and then we chatted on the phone and after a few calls I said ‘Elton, do you want to come to the studio and play piano on a tune?’ because, fuck it, it doesn’t matter if he says no. Anyway, he said ‘yes’, so it doesn’t matter that he didn’t say no. I don’t know what else to say. He’s brilliant. Switched on, hilarious and an amazing musician.”
Elton adds, “From the first moment I heard Yard Act, I fell in love with James’ lyrics, and the way he’s delivered the song. Their sound is such a breath of fresh air. When James called and asked if I would come into the studio I instantly loved the idea. I started out as a session musician in the late ’60s and I absolutely loved it then. It was such a thrill to be thrown in with musicians I’d never met before, it pushed me out of my comfort zone and I became a better musician. During lock down I had the time on my hands to really start doing that in a concerted way again, and I fell in love with the challenge and the process all over again. They’re a very special band, with a massive future ahead of them and I’m honoured they’ve let me be a part of their journey.”
James continues, “After he’d laid down the piano and laid down the vocals, taking direction from us and trying everything we asked, Elton reiterated his love of sessioning on other people’s tracks and said something very poignant to me and Ali - ‘I love playing on other people’s songs, especially these guys, because I started off as a session musician. The fascinating thing is you hear things so differently from other people, and when you hear what they hear, then it all makes sense.’ That insight, that curiosity and that approach to music is the reason he’s still standing (after all this time). Elton is a diamond. It was an honour to collaborate with him. My mum is showing off to all her mates and mad shit happens when you do art.”
Check out the track below.
See Yard Act live at the following dates:
JULY 01 | AFAS, Amsterdam, NL* 15 | Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival, UK 22 | Truck Festival, Oxford, UK 22 | Standon Calling Festival, Hertfordshire, UK 23 | Bluedot Festival, Cheshire, UK 24 | Tramlines, Sheffield, UK 27 | The Cluny, Newcastle, UK SOLD OUT 28 | The Caves, Edinburgh, UK SOLD OUT 29 | Deer Shed, Thirsk UK 30 | Ynot Festival, Derbyshire, UK
AUGUST 05 | Ypsigrock Festival, Castelbuono, IT 07 | Off Festival, Katowice, PL 11 | Haldern Pop Festival, Rees-Haldern, DE 12 | Way Out West Festival, Gothenburg, SE 13 | Oya Festival, Oslo, NO 18 | Route du Rock Festival, St Malo, FR 19 | Cabaret Vert Festival, Charleville-Mézières, FR 20 | Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, BE 21 | Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen, NL 26 | Golden Leaves Festival, Darmstadt, DE 28 | Todays Festival, Turin, IT
SEPTEMBER 04 | End Of The Road Festival, Dorset, UK 09 | Andalucía Big Festival, Andalucía, ES 10 | Mad Cool Sunset, Madrid, ES 16 | The Bullingdon, Oxford, UK - SOLD OUT 17 | Esquires, Bedford, UK - SOLD OUT 18 | O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK - SOLD OUT 21 | Sugar Mill, Stoke, UK - SOLD OUT 22 | The Crescent, York, UK - SOLD OUT 23 | Polar Bear, Hull, UK - SOLD OUT
OCTOBER 06 | Crocodile, Seattle, US 07 | WOW Hall, Eugene, US 09 | Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, US 11 | Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles, US 13 | Black Cat Washington D.C 14 | Bowery Ballroom, New York, US 16 | Underground Arts, Philadelphia, US
NOVEMBER 22 | Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, UK 23 | NUSU, Newcastle, UK 24 | O2 Academy, Leeds, UK 25 | O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK SOLD OUT 26 | Marble Factory, Bristol, UK 27 | Tramshed, Cardiff, UK 29 | 1865, Southampton, UK 30 | Chalk, Brighton, UK - SOLD OUT
DECEMBER 01 | O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, UK
Get tickets to watch Yard Act live now.Get tickets to watch Elton John live now.
Tags: Yard Act, Elton John, Listen, News
Ahead of the festival’s eagerly-awaited return, we chat to IDLES, Yard Act, Jelani Blackman, girl in red and Turnstile…
The Elton-curated bill also features Berwyn, Thomas Headon and Let’s Eat Grandma.
Headlined by Primal Scream, and with Caribou, Amyl and the Sniffers and more in tow, the Brockwell Park weekender was full of hits.
The track is taken from their debut LP ‘The Overload’.
Enter your email address for weekly updates on all things DIY