YARD ACT COLLABORATE WITH ELTON JOHN ON BRAND NEW STUDIO VERSION OF “100% ENDURANCE”

YARD ACT COLLABORATE WITH ELTON JOHN ON BRAND NEW STUDIO VERSION OF “100% ENDURANCE”
 
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DEBUT ALBUM THE OVERLOAD OUT NOW
 
BIGGEST HEADLINE SHOW TO DATE AT LONDON’S O2 KENTISH TOWN FORUM ON DECEMBER 1^ST
 
SET TO RETURN TO NORTH AMERICA ON HEADLINE TOUR THIS FALL
 

Photo Credit: Rachel Paley 
 
LISTEN TO “100% ENDURANCE” FT. ELTON JOHN HERE
LISTEN TO THE OVERLOAD HERE

 
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 1^ST, 2022 – Leeds outfit Yard Act have collaborated with icon Elton John on a brand new studio version of “100% Endurance”—the euphoric closing track on their critically acclaimed 2022 debut album The Overload. Recorded at Parlour Studios and Metropolis Studios, “100% Endurance” is produced and mixed by Ali Chant.
 
LISTEN TO “100% ENDURANCE” FT. ELTON JOHN HERE
 
Explaining how the collaboration with Elton John—a fervent champion of new music of all genres via his own Rocket Hour show on Apple Music 1—came about, Yard Act frontperson James Smith said: “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). 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 added: “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.”
 
Smith rounds off: “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.”

The original version of “100% Endurance”, the latest single lifted from The Overload—which charted at #2 in the UK and was officially the biggest selling vinyl debut of the century earlier this year—came accompanied by a video directed by longtime collaborator James Slater. The video stars multi-award-winning actor and fan of the band David Thewlis, who said of the experience: “I’ve told my agent I’m only doing Yard Act videos from now on, though next time on a tropical island or a big yacht.” “100% Endurance” also represents the first time Thewlis has filmed in his hometown Blackpool. Watch the video HERE.
 
Yard Act recently announced their biggest headline show to date at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum on December 1^st, following an entirely sold-out tour in February and March this year, and recent shows supporting Jack White. They will return to the US this fall on their headline tour, stopping in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and more. The band was recently awarded the Grulke Prize for Developing non-US Act at SXSW this year, playing no less than 10 completely sold out shows at the festival. They also made their US TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
 
The Overload was the subject of stellar reviews across the board in national media with “Album of the Week” accolades from The Guardian, The Telegraph (both 4*), and The Sunday Times, coinciding with high scoring write-ups from DIY, Rolling Stone, Dork, The Forty Five, Scottish Express (all perfect 5*), Uncut, The Line Of Best Fit (both 4 ½*), MOJO, The Times, NME, Gigwise (all 4*), and more. The Official Charts Company also confirmed Yard Act as the year’s Biggest Breakthrough Act so far and crowned The Overload as the best-selling album on vinyl of Q1 2022.
 
Singles from the album “The Overload”, “Payday”, and “Pour Another” have been heavily supported across UK radio by the likes of BBC 6 Music (all A-Listed), Radio 1 (where “The Overload” was crowned the Introducing Tune Of The Week and “Pour Another” was C-Listed after launching as a Hottest Record), and John Kennedy at Radio X (who featured “Payday” as a Hot One on the X-Posure show). The band also made their UK television debut last November, performing the album’s title track and lead single on Later… with Jools Holland—watch HERE.
 

Praise for Yard Act’s The Overload:
 
“Lives up to its hype with flying colours”
DIY 5*
 
“A stellar debut”
Rolling Stone 5*
 
“We hope the rest of 2022’s musical output is as good as this album.”
Dork 5*
 
“Will remain omnipresent in the music press for another 12 months to come”
The Forty Five 5*
 
“A resounding success”
The Scottish Express 5*
 
“A debut album bursting with character”
Uncut 4 ½*
 
“An album of deeply relatable storytelling for the plight of the ordinary people”
The Line Of Best Fit 4 ½*
 
“An exhilarating record”
 MOJO Album of the Month 4*
 
“Witty post-punks confront post-Brexit Britain”
The Guardian Album of the Week 4*
 
“The much lauded rock band from Leeds justifies the hype with a set of 11 smart, fierce tracks.”
The Telegraph Album of the Week 4*
 
“An exciting prospect for 2022”
The Times 4*
 
“An overload of good ideas”
The Daily Star 4*
 
“Rabble-rousing, likeable post-punk rock”
The Sun 4*
 
“Seldom do you hear such sentimentality and beauty in music as brusque as this.”
NME 4*
 
“The greatest lyrical party you will have in a long time”
Gigwise 4*
 
See Yard Act Live in 2022:
 
1 Jul | AFAS, Amsterdam, NL
15 Jul | Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival, UK
22 Jul | Truck Festival, Oxford, UK
22 Jul | Standon Calling Festival, Hertfordshire, UK
23 Jul | Bluedot Festival, Cheshire, UK
24 Jul | Tramlines, Sheffield, UK
27 Jul | The Cluny, Newcastle, UK - SOLD OUT
28 Jul | The Caves, Edinburgh, UK - SOLD OUT
29 Jul | Deer Shed, Thirsk, UK
30 Jul | Ynot Festival, Derbyshire, UK
5 Aug | Ypsigrock Festival, Castelbuono, IT
7 Aug | Off Festival, Katowice, PL
11 Aug | Haldern Pop Festival, Rees-Haldern, DE
12 Aug | Way Out West Festival, Gothenburg, SE
13 Aug | Oya Festival, Oslo, NO
18 Aug | Route du Rock Festival, St Malo, FR
19 Aug | Cabaret Vert Festival, Charleville-Mézières, FR
20 Aug | Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, BE
21 Aug | Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen, NL
26 Aug | Golden Leaves Festival, Darmstadt, DE
28 Aug | Todays Festival, Turin, IT
 
4 Sep | End Of The Road Festival, Dorset, UK
9 Sep | Andalucía Big Festival, Andalucía, ES
10 Sep | Mad Cool Sunset, Madrid, ES
16 Sep | The Bullingdon, Oxford, UK - SOLD OUT
17 Sep | Esquires, Bedford, UK - SOLD OUT
18 Sep | O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK - SOLD OUT
21 Sep | Sugar Mill, Stoke, UK - SOLD OUT
22 Sep | The Crescent, York, UK - SOLD OUT
23 Sep | Polar Bear, Hull, UK - SOLD OUT
6 Oct | Crocodile, Seattle, WA
7 Oct | WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
9 Oct | Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
11 Oct | Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles, CA
13 Oct | Black Cat Washington, D.C.
14 Oct | Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
16 Oct | Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA
22 Nov | Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
23 Nov | NUSU, Newcastle, UK
24 Nov | O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
25 Nov | O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK - SOLD OUT
26 Nov | Marble Factory, Bristol, UK
27 Nov | Tramshed, Cardiff, UK
29 Nov | 1865, Southampton, UK
30 Nov | Chalk, Brighton, UK - SOLD OUT
1 Dec | O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, UK
 
Yard Act – The Overload – Out Now
 

 
1. The Overload
2. Dead Horse
3. Payday
4. Rich
5. The Incident
6. Witness
7. Land Of The Blind
8. Quarantine The Sticks
9. Tall Poppies
10. Pour Another
11. 100% Endurance

 
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