Elton John is joined by rising Leeds-based band Yard Act this Saturday on Rocket Hour on Apple Music 1. They discuss their journey to date, plus Elton shares his admiration for their unique sound, telling the band they're "a breath of fresh air".
Elton John On The First Time He Heard Yard Act…
As you probably know, I'm a big fan and have been since I first heard your first record. ‘Fixer Up’ was the first thing I heard, and then I saw the video, and then I fell in love with your lyrics, and I fell in love with how you delivered the song. And I just thought, "God, this is such a breath of fresh air."
Elton John Shares His Admiration For Yard Act’s Lyrics….
And I like the fact that young acts are actually writing about what we've become, what the world is like now, how unjust it is, how awful it is. As you know, I can't write a lyric to save my life, so I'm very envious of your ability to do that with a sense of humour, but also hitting it home. And I think that's why you become so successful so quickly, because I think there's a great need out there for people to hear stuff and also to have the energy behind it. You have incredible energy in Yard Act. It's not boring, it's right in your face, and I think that's brilliant and I think we need more of it.
Elton John Tells Yard Act He Wants To Meet Them In Person…
I would love to catch up with you and see you in person. Buy you dinner, come to a show, and I wish you all the best, all the band and everything.
Yard Act’s James Smith Explains How They Formed The Band…
Everyone had been in separate bands in Leeds, all playing gigs around Leeds and we all knew each other, and Ryan, who plays bass, who co-writes most of the songs with me, he was in a band called Menace Beach and we'd done a split single together for a local record shop called Jumbo Records. And off the back of that, we ended up spending a bit of time together and kept saying we were going to start a side project together as a way to have a bit of fun. And then he ended up temporarily homeless, so I let him move into this room here. And it was there that we started Yard Act and we just started writing demos together, and that was in September 2019, and we were just demoing and talking about it and didn't really know what it was or what it was going to become at that point.
