"Yellow" is a song by Coldplay. It was the second single from their debut album Parachutes and their first Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Regional singles were released for France, the U.S., and Brazil. The song was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios. The recording was rushed so that the song could be released in time for Summer 2000.[1] Following the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, "Yellow" was the first video played on MTV once normal programming resumed. In 2001, the single was used extensively for ABCfall television promotions and was also employed as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day," in recognition of that organization's official flower's yellow hue. On VH1'sStorytellers program, Chris Martin revealed that his inspiration for the song's title came from the Yellow Pages.[2] The song is consistently played during home games at English Championship club Watford. During the circa 2002 live performances of the song, the band added an intro which has Martin singing "Your skin..." twice before going into the intro. It has been suggested that the song's structure and melody bare strong similarities with those of the song "Here" by Californian indie band Pavement, from their 1992 album Slanted and Enchanted.
The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland Bay, UK, which is a few miles north of a town called Swanage. The area, known for its beautiful beaches, is a National Trust location. The video is very minimalistic and simple, featuring only lead singer Chris Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is wearing a raincoat with his hair wet, suggesting that it had just rained. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. Also, the entire sequence is in slow motion. Originally it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video, in a sunny setting. However, band member Will Champion's mother's funeral was held on the day of the recording, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video. The weather also opposed the original plan, with harsh winds and rain instead of the sunny day that had been envisioned. It had also been originally intended for there to be moving stars in the sky, as if in a time-lapse. The directors however agreed that this would have been too distracting for the focus of the video, which was Martin. The video was directed by James & Alex of The Artists Company. The video was shot at 50 frames per second, twice the regular speed. At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would sync up. The final product is slowed to 25 frames per second, giving the slow motion effect of the video. The transition of the video from night to day was achieved through telecine. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted the amount of lighting for blue in the beginning, red in the middle, and yellow at the end of the video. Shooting was completed in a single day, with five takes for the video.[3]
