FAN TAS TIC! as Midge would say..... I didn't even know there was a video for Yellow Pearl! Reminds me of top of the pops and waiting to see if Midge/ Ultravox were going to be on!

Helen I agree absolutely. This track from the 1st VISAGE-album is still a fav of mine. I like this song a lot. When I saw this now, I think I have it somewhere on DVD, maybe only a small piece of it. It's funny, how cool the "hightech"-walkman gets used. A "must have"-piece for everybody of us during that times. Have to look, somewhere this (payed the an extraordinary amount of money) device must lay around. I had the original "!" 1st one from SONY, the best one ever ....
Really nice, I enjoyed the video very much. Is somebody able to give us some explanation about the japanese symbols used in that video? Does it make sense somehow or is this just some nonsense for getting a "japanese touch"? Poyns or Eiichi, can you tell us?

theres rumours of visage comming back i think but can any body here tell me any more of it.Visage is my second best group thats why my is its way. any more news atall. Mike

Er, Andi, it's not on the first Visage album unless you have some ultra limited edition copy. It's actually taken from Phil Lynott's Solo In Soho album, although irrc nothing-else on there sounded anything like Yello Pearl. I remember picking up a vinyl copy of this album because of the single/TOTP theme and being in awe when I found out that Billy also played on this track...

Si thanks for correcting me. I had could swear this track is from the album VISAGE. But I looked immediatelay after viewing your comment on my Polydor-copy. You are right, it is not to find below the 10 tracks! And the song is also not to find on another VISAGE-CD I own. But I knew I have it on CD, definitely not on a Lynott-CD, because I don't own one. So I searched through all the my CDs, guess where I found it: On the Chrysalis-compilation IF I WAS: THE VERY BEST OF MU & UVOX. The song was cowritten and additionally remixed by Midge. In the booklet is also written that YELLOW PEARL was taken from Solo In Soho-Vertigo Release 8425632. As I said, I had could swear it's from VISAGE's 1st one. Everyday something new, and this stuff is already more than 25 years old now. I am getting old I think.
BTW: Is it worth looking for the Lynott's Album?

Only Mr Strange with girlie backing singers I think - have a look in the Visage section you'll see some stuff in there.

Not only that, but a re-mix of Yellow Pearl is also included on Phil's second solo album "The Philip Lynott Album". On that imaginatively named record you'll also find the track "Together" which was a single Midge produced and played guitar on. I like that song a lot better than "Yellow Pearl"!

Somewhere in my collection I've got two versions of Yellow Pearl on 12" singles. The first is a B-side single edit on Lynott's "Kings Call". The other has a completely yellow card sleeve with the song title embossed, in yellow text, on the cover. If I remember right it's a longer mix.

I had a hankering for Yellow Pearl the other day,
and went looking for it on iTunes -
you can get the "original version" (which I imagine is the one from Solo in Soho) and one labelled "first remix" (which sounds more Top of the Pops).

I love on the original when Midge does this wee backing vocal that goes "We must fight Back!-ack!-ack!-back...!"

PS hello Gwilym.

I hate Yellow Pearl with a vengence!

There's always one! :rolleyes: (lol )

You're not wrong there... :rolleyes:

If I recall correctly, there was also a SECOND video to Yellow Peal, released when it was being used as the Top of the Tops theme, which featured Midge as well as Phil.

It does look rather like Midge playing the drums behind the screen in this one, but I don't know if it is for sure.

I had never seen this video before so cheers for the link Si_W! It certainly does look like Midge in the background - very odd video and a great song!

Hi mate! I have a hankering for this track every so often as well. I wonder if the TOTP remix was ever commercially released, or was it specially edited into that short sequence just for the theme music and not actually put out?

By the way, are you the guy from Feline Dream?

Certainly Midge directed the Yellow Pearl video, so it could well be him.

YP was re-recorded in 1982 for TOTP, but I'm not sure if it was commercially available. There was a video for it that was shown on TOTP, which suggests it might have been... will see what we can find out.

He most certainly is...

I'll have to send him my Feline Dream CDs to sign then!

Pretty good they are too, by the way.

Thanks Cerise, I'd certainly like to know.

Hi Blue Vision

You are nearly right there. The backing track to this song is from the sessions for Visage's 1st one. However, the track was never finished then and never made it to the album. I can't recall who wrote it but the backing track was performed by Midge, Billy and Rusty.

IMHO it should have been finished and should have featured on the Visage album. Sometimes you can't change destiny.
:rolleyes:

Chris C

Indeed. I've still got a few mp3s of theirs on my PC.

Proud to be different!

Im the same

Yes, it's me. Should you so wish, you can keep up to date with my current wretched adventures via http://www.feline1.co.uk and the links thereof...

Do you remember Doktor John T. Lindsay?
Apparently he and Jupiter Ace are planning on recording and releasing a few Feline covers...

I certainly do but unfortunately we lost contact after he and my sister stopped dating. How is he these days? I've got a couple of his Jupiter Ace CDs knocking around somewhere but haven't heard them for years.

Loved the live CD you sent by the way (did you get my 'Thank You' card all those years ago?) I think Industrial Estates is probably my favourite on there- A cracking good track. I've even got the single!

I think I got that, yes.
Did you get our 'Fashion Music' and 'Hell and Highwater' EPs? They were the last and probably the best...

you can find JTL & Jupiter Ace here:
http://p214.ezboard.com/bgregosparlourspopfarcebowen

I don't think so, it's been a few years since I last emailed you. I'll have to reaquaint myself with the FD website one of these days. By the way, where's John working these days? Did he stay in the UK? I remember he was well impressed by my record collection and I think I got him excited about Jarre for the first time too.

The character that the girl wites on the paper door is (I think) the character which means "longevity" and "congratulations". I am not Japanese and so not a native Japanese speaker you see, so have had to look through my kanji dictionary to see what I can find. Plus we are seeing it backwards of course. Eiichi, please correct me if I am wrong.

I am actually a little bit uneasy about this song now. Hearing words like "Attack, that's what we like!" (or is it lack?) and seeing the gas mask and the shredded Hinomaru (Japanese flag) is a bit odd.

I always thought it was "Lack"...... and I think they are refering to the western governments in troubled times and their suspicion of Japan. I don't think it was Phil and Midge's actual opinion that we should go and attack the Japanese!

Chris_C, the track has first been written by Ure and Lynott as an experiment with electronics during Thin Lizzy Japanese tour. Midge then rehearsed it with Ultravox (see Warren's interview to Jonas ), but without success, so Midge then took it to the sessions for the first Phil Lynott LP (and took Billy along to play synths). So the official authors of it are Ure/Lynott.
Interesting that the ingle release of "Yellow Pearl" featured song "Girls" as a B-side, which is also totally electronic (and also on LP).

The first recording line-up (for LP) was this:
Philip Lynott (Vocals, Vocoder, Bass Guitar, Mini Moog, Percussion)
Midge Ure (Mini Moog, String Machine, ARP Synthesizer)
Billy Currie (ARP synthesizer)
Brian Downey (Syndrums)
Laureen (Female Voice)

Rusty Egan re-recorded drums for the single releases in 1981.
The producers of the song were Lynot and Kit Woolven, Midge remixed it for both single releases in 1981, and interesting that for the 2nd (Top of the Pops) release Laureen's vocal contributions were omitted.

As for the meaning of the song - as it was written during the Thin Lizzy tour of Japan, it reflecs fear of the Western man in the face of Japanese technological advances, and the words like "attack is what we LACK" mean that Japanese can and will soon coquer the West thru' it and Western world won't be able to resist.

For more stuff like this check also "Shake the West Awake" from Landscape.
For opposite point of view check "Western Promise"

P.S. By the way, one of the girls in the video dressed almost exactly like Midge in "The Thin Wall" video...

Thanks Vladimir. Perfect. I'll re-read that chapter of his autobiography. :rolleyes:

It proves how excellent Midge was in those days with the synthesizer, as a songwriter and as a player. Perhaps he should have continued with his synthesizers and not abandon them for his guitar.

I'm sure he still has the talent to come up with another synth epic.

Chris C

Thank you Vladimir and you too leggylady. It is a song I have always liked.

Umm its probably worth noting that Midge himself said in 1984 that he "only dabbled with synthesisers"; he "was a guitarist, not a keyboard player". Be that as it may, he still wrote some good stuff played on keyboards.

I thought I'd resurrect this ancient thread to ask about a version of Yellow Pearl that I've not come across before.

It's included on the 2CD compilation "Top Gear- Sub Zero Driving Anthems" with the drums much quieter and buried in the mix compared to the original track, and also some of Phil's lyrics have a repeated fading echo on the last word of each line. It sounds a bit like a demo version or maybe an early mix?

I've not heard that disc but could it be the version that is on 'Solo In Soho', the Phil Lynott album which has the softer drums you speak of? You may already have considered that' of course.

I've just checked a 30-second snippet on Amazon and you're absolutely right, thanks! I've never owned a copy of 'Solo In Soho' so the compilation album was the first time I'd actually heard that particular version. Thanks for the info.

Pleasure!