Oh Yeah (Roxy Music song)

"Oh Yeah"
Single by Roxy Music
from the album Flesh and Blood
B-side	"South Downs" "Rain Rain Rain" (USA) "In the Midnight Hour" (Australia)
Released	25 July 1980
Recorded	1980
Genre	Pop[1]
Length	4:12 (single version) 4:51 (album version)
Label	Atco/Reprise/EG
Songwriter(s)	Bryan Ferry
Producer(s)	Rhett Davies & Roxy Music
Roxy Music singles chronology
"Over You" (1980) "Oh Yeah" (1980) "Same Old Scene" (1980)

"Oh Yeah", also known as "Oh Yeah (There's a Band Playing On the Radio)" or "Oh Yeah (On the Radio)" on certain releases, is a hit single by the English rock band Roxy Music. It was released as the second single from their 1980 album Flesh and Blood. The song is featured prominently in the fifth episode of the Stephen Merchant comedy series Hello Ladies.

Background

The song was recorded during the sessions for the album "Flesh and Blood", their first album since the departure of drummer Paul Thompson from the band. This turned Roxy Music into a trio consisting of Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay and Phil Manzanera. Two session musicians filled in for Thompson, with Allan Schwartzberg playing drums on the majority of the album, and Andy Newmark playing on two tracks.

"Oh Yeah" was backed by the non-LP track "South Downs", a synth instrumental by Ferry, or by the album tracks "Rain Rain Rain" (in the USA) and "In the Midnight Hour" (in Australia and South Africa).

"South Downs" when re-released on the boxset of "The Thrill of It All" was accidentally released backwards, but due to the nature of the synthetic string sound, it didn't sound out of place. The original version reappeared on a 3-track CD single with "Jealous Guy" and "Lover".^[2]

Chart Performance

"Oh Yeah" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at No. 30 and reached a peak of No.5 on August 16. This was the second top 10 from the album with the previous single, "Over You", also reaching a peak of No.5, and their fourth consecutive UK top 10. "Oh Yeah" spent a total of 8 weeks on the UK Singles chart, three of which were within the top 10.^[3]

Although released as a single in USA, "Oh Yeah" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Personnel

• Bryan Ferry – vocals, keyboards
• Phil Manzanera – guitar
• Andy Mackay – saxophones and oboe
• Neil Hubbard – guitar
• Paul Carrack – strings
• Neil Jason – bass
• Allan Schwartzberg – drums

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
West Germany (GfK)[4]	14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5]	39
UK Singles (OCC)[6]	5

References

1. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Roxy Music". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 705–706. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
2. "Roxy Music - Songs - on VivaRoxyMusic.com". vivaroxymusic.com. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
3. ROXY MUSIC | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company
4. "Offiziellecharts.de – Roxy Music – Oh Yeah (There's A Band Playing On The Radio)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
5. "Roxy Music – Oh Yeah (There's A Band Playing On The Radio)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
6. "Roxy Music: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.