Yeah Yeah Noh: Temple Of Convenience EP

In Tape 1985.  ITTI 023

Discogs

Ah, Yeah Yeah Noh. A band whose records I rarely play but whose lyrics I often find myself quoting and whose songs I often find myself humming.  They really couldn’t play that well, and the singer, Derek Hammond was terminally flat, but neither of those things stopped them from being entirely wonderful and Peel favourites.  Early in their short career the amateurishness of their playing added to the charm, although as their competence grew, lineup changed and they drifted into psychedelia, they became less original, but still a rewarding listen.

This EP is from the start of their psychedelic phase.  The title track is typically sardonic social commentary, and the other highlight is the lengthy Jigsaw which includes manipulated announcements from John Peel, presumably giving details of one of their sessions for his programme, together with a cheeky and I imagine unauthorised Beatles sample.  It ought to be a disaster, but actually works pretty well.  The cover claims it’s 4 separate tracks, but really it isn’t and I’ve ripped it as such.

The fourth track is worthy of special mention.  It’s a cover of The Beatles’ Rain by The Psychedelic Filberts, which YYN claimed they found in the basement of a studio in Leicester.  At the time that story was obvious nonsense, especially with the obvious Leicester FC reference, but it wasn’t clear what it actually was.  It turns out it was Diesel Park West, also from Leicester.  Why they appear on this EP is anyone’s guess.

All their original albums and singles are long deleted, but there is a mighty fine retrospective on Cherry Red which is worth a tenner of anyone’s money.  Rumour has it that their entire back catalogue will be re-issued at some point.