Yachts
The Yachts were formed by art students in Liverpool, England in April 1977. They played their first show at Eric's in Liverpool supporting Elvis Costello which led to a contract with Stiff Records the following October. They released one single, "Suffice To Say" before they departed along with label mates Costello and Nick Lowe for the newly formed RADAR Records. They recorded their debut LP in New York with producer Richard Gottehrer and did a few U.S. dates with Joe Jackson on the "I'm The Man" tour in 1979. The 2nd LP "Without Radar" was recorded by Martin Rushent and they supported The Who in Europe. Both of the Yachts' records were released by Polydor in the U.S. and quickly found their way to the cutout bins. 1981 saw their final release, a 7" single called "Fool Like You" on Demon Records and they split later that year.
The Yachts were:
Henry Priestman - vocals, keyboards - later of It's Immaterial, Wah! and the Christians
Martin Dempsey - bass, vocals - later of Pink Military, It's Immaterial
Martin Watson - guitar, vocals
Bob Bellis - drums, vocals
Glyn Havard - bass Guitar, vocals
You might find a Yachts CD here.
Go to the download page to get Yachts - "Suffice To Say"
29 Comments:
The Yachts! Awesome! Any chance you can give us a two-for? I have been dying to hear "I Couldn't Get Along Without You".
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Wow, I love this blog! I was thinking of doing the same thing myself after ripping all my favorite obscure 80s tracks to .mp3, but you've already done it. Nice job! The Yachts' first album was the first "new wave" album I ever bought, before I even knew there was a new wave. I heard "Yachting Type" on the radio and had to have it!
I remember "The Yachting Type" being played often on KROQ in 1980/81. Also, if my tortured memory serves me, the band was once interviewed 'live' by jock 'Dusty Street', and some surly caller yelled at them "You guys are fags, Led Zeppelin rules!"
Your blog is great, and I love visiting old friends like The Fabulous Poodles & Polyrock. Keep up the good work!
-H
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Yachts were called The Chuddy Nuddies before changing it to Yachts. Releasing 1 track on a 7" split single with a band named Big In Japan.A band that featured members later to gain fame in their own right,in Siouxsie and the Banshees, Frankie Goes To Hollywood,Pink Military and The Lightning Seeds.Members of Yachts went on to form The Christians.
i have this 7" ripped onto my pc, if you let me know how I'll upload it to this blog. If anyone's interested.
I loved (love) THE YACHTING TYPE - I went out and ordered the single! I have it now transfered to MP3 to save.
I used to play it over and over, because it was so quirky, that it upset everyone - ELP it was not!
Love the Yachts.
And yes please upload the The Chuddy Nuddies track.
Hope this isn't to late.....
Best wishes from Sweden
You are missing a bit of history. The guy in front of that photo was the original vocalist and writer with the band. J.J. something (Campbell?). It's his vocals you hear on the single "Suffice to Say"; I believe the album version is different. Seen only once, I remember he was an extraordinary frontman. Gave up the business.
I have a copy of "Suffice to Stay" b/w "On and On," which I found at Amoeba SF for a couple dollars. If anyone wants to hear these tracks and other obscure gems, I like trading mixtapes. Contact: tbinnis [at] gmail [dot] com
-Tyler
The Yachts are a fantastic band with the farfisa beat.....the greatest crime is that their first album is a classic, but is not on CD anywhere....with all the garbage available on CD, why is this overlooked classic not available? If you know where I can get the Yachts on CD, please write me at oswaldsbrother@yahoo.com
thanks....god bless Henry Priestman
The Yachts kicked ass. Ohmigod I wore out their first LP when it first came out (I was working in a record store in the Bay Area and played it cos it looked cool...don't remember if I ever heard it on the radio)only to lose it, and the second one as well, a few years later in a divorce. Found it again!!! in a used record store in Portland, Oregon about ten years ago...don't know if I still have it (a former roommate bogarted my collection)...
A wildly overlooked band but not surprising with the likes of Elvis Costello imports and B-sides, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Graham Parker, Mink DeVille, Dwight Twilley, John Hiatt and all that going on...
I forget where I was but I think it was in London somewhere. At this time of my life I was travelling around & around the world so it could have been NY but in my dim memory I'm sure it was London. But I do remember someone telling me that I should check out the band Yachts & I did. What I remember vividly besides the intensity of the evening was the drummer, it was the first time I had ever seen one play in just his underwear. So even if I can't remember where & when something about this band will stay with me until my dying day.
oh dear, that was my dad, GREAT, just looking round for info about the yachts but wasn't expecting that...
I cannot forget The Yachts and their distinct melodies. My dad was teaching me to drive, and I played the cassette I'd made of The Yachts the entire time. Dad enjoyed listening to them once I passed my test.
Thanks for the enlightening info that it was a different vocalist on the single of "Suffice To Say" (which is much better than the album's). I still have their first 3 or 4 singles, though nothing to play them on. One of them is on transparent blue vinyl. Also, I saw them do a small club gig in NYC just before their 1st album came out, & they were incredible; heavier & more rockin' than I'd expected, yet still acting like a bunch of collegiate intellectuals who didn't quite fit their roles & had inappropriately sophisticated vocabularies. They were not only musically excellent, but as funny as a great comedy act. The crowd at The Bottom Line completely fell in love with them. No CD comps out is a crime.
I can hear The Stranglers' vibes (just like PMC) in Suffice To Say :) I love The Yachts hardly. I collected theirs singles (only mp3, unfortunately).
i run a radio show on my local college station, please repost the mp3s im dying to get my hands on this track, cant find the album anywhere. the world needs to hear more of these guys.
would be a huge help if you could repost them or send me a link to them
moman84@hotmail.com
tnx
The Yachts were one of the favourite bands of my teenage circle and we played the album all the time along with The Vapors and The Undertones. We all used to sing horribly along with the chorus to Love You Love You and as most I loved The Yachting Type. However, best track for me has to be Easy to Please but there are so many stand out songs. I also am desperate for a CD release of this and check Amazon frequently! I have the vinyl and the free single which came with it of Suffice to Say/On and On but it is somewhat worn. I also have the second album Without Radar which didn't quite hit the same frenetic spot. I saw the band at Leicester Poly; there were about 25 people there which was quite sad and they played songs off neither of these albums so most people even those got fed up, guess they broke up after this. Still, the first album is a classic and hopefully one day it will be re-released
!!! :))))))
http://music-isms.blogspot.com/search?q=yachts
Bob Bellis from yachts is my Uncle, my name is Michael Kalik, I'm a singer/songwriter, and Yachts inspired me to become a musician. We are all musical in our family, (an occasionally play drums in our underwear! (eh bob!)
Yachts should have been superstars, they were awesome
http://music-isms.blogspot.com/2007/11/yachts-part-1-1977-1979.html
http://music-isms.blogspot.com/2007/11/yachts-part-2-1978-1981.html
for reference
Keep Yachts Music ALive
Michael Kalik
I first saw The Yachts at Manchester Poly with The Paranoids and was instantly hooked.I went because I had heard them on John Peel.To my knowledge I have all their material on vinyl and the odd cassette.Me and mate converted god knows how many people from Wythenshawe into 'the yachting types'.Those were THE days. STAPES.
I first saw The Yachts at Manchester Poly after hearing them on John Peel and was instantly hooked.The other band on the bill that night were The Paranoids.To my knowledge I have most of their vinyl catalogue plus the odd cassette tape.My mate and I converted god knows how many people in Wythenshawe into 'the yachting types.' STAPES
The Yachts, very popular band in history. It was almost lost but you did great thing that you share this awesome pictures of Yachts band. Two guys standing front in pictures are vocalist. Keep sharing such great post...
Yacht was an amazing band. It was very popular in that time and people still love to listen it..
http://www.amazon.com/Yachts/dp/B00BV52ATC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_dmusic_a_1
The Yachts album is being re-released in June, follow the link above for the amazon page :)
R.I.P. Bob Bellis.
Just to let you know Bob Bellis drummer with Yachts has passed away following a massive heart attack, 14th July 2015. He Was one of the best New Wave drummers of his generation. He will is now so sadly missed by Yachts fans from all over the world.
Lovely bloke, funny, kind hearted, nutty, talented free thinker. When they made Bob Bellis they broke the mold. RIP BOB BELLIS 1953 - 2015
I was in the Art foundation group with Bob 74-75 at Wallasey (also in the group was one of the Mojos - Terry O'Toole) Bob and I formed a group (which went under various names) - Bob drums, John Mason guitar, and me on bass. Bob was truly a free spirit, and really open to ideas. We practiced without fail for a couple of hours each Saturday in an old scout hut. It was about exploring ideas rather than looking purely for gigs. I remember Bob introducing us to Lou Reed (Sweet Jane) and Mothers of Invention numbers.
I met him after he moved to Liverpool Art College and remember being well impressed by the tapes of his new group 'Albert Dock' In fact I wished I'd moved to Liverpool college with him, but hey ho.
My main memories are of so often laughing so much I could hardly breath ! He was funny, but with no sarcasm or malice. He was open to spirtual things to, (he told me he'd lived in the jungle going native in India for quite a while on the hippy trail) One day at my house he produced a pack of tarot cards and read my future (he said he felt he needed to do it)
We did experiment with substances, but nothing too heavy
Later Yachts came to North Staffs Polytechnic and performed....it was great to see him again. They did the business at the gig, very good, but I lost touch after that
God bless
Post a Comment
<< Home