Yello has not often performed live during the group’s five decade existence, but one of their shows (their only show?) was taped for posterity on New Year’s Eve of 1983 at The Roxy, a huge roller disco on 18th Street in Manhattan. Their You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess album had come out that year and solidified their reputation as dancefloor innovators. Founding member Carlos Perón was gone and now the trio was a duo consisting of audio engineer Boris Blank and Swiss millionaire industrialist, poker player, golfer and dada performance artist, Dieter Meier who provided the sleazy, deep throated vocals. Their sound at the time was heavily reliant on the Fairlight synthesizer and apparently it was not easy to reproduce what they did in the studio live, hence the extreme lack of live Yello shows.

The Roxy was the scene of Zulu Nation meetings, MC battles, “Double Dutch” contests and and break dancing competitions. Afrika Bambaataa, Jazzy Jay and Grandmaster Flash DJ’d there. That Yello would stage a rare event at the club says much about the esteem the Swiss weirdos were held in by hip hop’s pioneering artists.

A live EP culled from their Roxy performance was released the following year, while the footage came out later on a short VHS home video. At the very beginning they are introduced by New York’s then “It Girl” buxom fashion designer Dianne Brill.