Just got my copy of “Leicester Square’ – the best of Yeah Yeah Noh CD – re-issued by the good people at Cherry Red.
Yeah Yeah Noh were a horribly obscure indie band in the 1980s, championed by John Peel at a time when I was listening to – and taping – a lot of John Peel.
Their music is shambolic but charming, the lyrics just wonderful. Like any truly interesting band, they take you somewhere you’ve never been before. Somewhere weird that you don’t fully understand.
Aside from Joe Orton, I think they could be Leicester’s only contribution to popular culture.
After me, 1, 2, 3…
Wraparound shades hide a weakling pasty face
Beware the weakling!
Hipster pants on a feeble ass bad taste
Beware the weakling!
…
I’ll take you back to my fledgling flat
show you my jigsaw collection
score 50,000 on space invaders
a Rubik cube fob novelty
hangs at the waist of the weakling
the fruit of second division loins
everyone’s doing the weakling thing…
Phillip Erwood liked Yeah Yeah Noh – he met them after a gig once and shyed away from buying their fanzine. He regretted that later. Sigh.