| "Yesterday Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Chris Andrews | ||||
| B-side | "Too Bad You Don't Want Me" | |||
| Released | September 1965 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2'20" | |||
| Label | Decca F11536 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Chris Andrews | |||
| Producer(s) | Ken Woodman | |||
| Chris Andrews singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Performance video | ||||
| "Yesterday Man" on Beat Club on YouTube | ||||
"Yesterday Man" is a song written by Chris Andrews and was his first single as a solo singer, released in September 1965. It climbed to No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and No. 1 in Ireland, New Zealand, Germany and Austria.[2] In England it sold 20,000 copies in its first day.[3] After a visit to England in September 1965, Jerry Wexler made a deal for Atco Records to release the single in the United States.[4] In the US, it reached No. 94 in 1966. The Cash Box trade paper reported in its 5 February 1966 issue that it had passed 300,000 sales in Germany alone, and later over 800,000 as a final tally in that country (28 May 1966).
In a contemporary review of the song, the Evening Sentinel wrote how: "Why write hits for Adam and Sandie all the time? says Andrews and sounds quite good on his own", further deeming it to be "Blue-beatish and good."[5] In 2014, Spin included the song in their list of "25 Major Moments in White Reggae History"; in the accompanying write-up, writer Chris Martins deemed it "the birth of White Reggae" and highlighted how the song "made [Andrews'] heart pitter and patter to an island riddim".[6] Mario Villanueva of The Greenville News included the song in a list of twelve exemplary "cod-reggae" songs.[7]
Reggae Mint of UDiscover Music wrote that the "ska-styled solo hit" was a musical predecessor to the Beatles' song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (1968).[8] Andrews' brass-heavy hit was also a partial inspiration for the oom-pah arrangement written by Johnny Marr for the Smiths' song "Frankly Mr. Shankly" (1986).[9]
A German-language version was also recorded.[10] Named "Alles tu Ich Fuer Dich", it was released on the label Deutsche Vogue.[3]
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 24. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Chris Andrews - Yesterday Man". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ a b Andreson, Omer (11 December 1965). "Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 50. p. 28. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Atl. to Release Andrews' Hit". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 44. 30 October 1965. p. 6. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Farmer, Bob (2 October 1965). "The Groove". Evening Sentinel: 4. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Martins, Chris (19 December 2014). "Rude Awakening: 25 Major Moments in White Reggae History". Spin. p. 2. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
Behold, the birth of White Reggae. This young, kempt Caucasian was writing songs for the likes of future Moz fave Sandie Shaw and American upstarts the Mamas & the Papas when he composed this number that made his English heart pitter and patter to an island riddim. "Yesterday Man" hit No. 3 in the U.K., despite the confusion written on the faces of all those pale folks above, and their general lack of groove.
- ^ Villanueva, Mario (17 April 2007). "Mix of the Week". The Greenville News: 75. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Mint, Reggae (July 2022). "One Love: How Reggae Music Inspired The World". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
...in terms of musical style, "Oh-Bla-Di, Oh-Bla-Da" was similar to "Yesterday Man," the 1965 ska-styled solo hit by Chris Andrews, the musical brains behind Sandie Shaw's career.
- ^ Rogan, Johnny (2012). "The Queen Is Dead". Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127822. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ Hutchins, Chris (30 October 1965). "Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 44. p. 24. Retrieved 6 December 2022.