"The Race" is a song by Swiss

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

band

Yello Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983. Their sound is often charac ...

, released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their album ''

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

''. The single was initially released on 11 April 1988 via the

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

label.

Release history

In 1988, the single was released on 7-inch, 12-inch and CD formats throughout the world, and additionally as a cassette single in some places. The limited edition single contained a remix by

Paul Dakeyne Paul David Dakeyne (born 30 January 1961), known by his stage name Tinman, is an English house music producer/remixer from Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1994, his single " Eighteen Strings" (also written as "18 Strings") became an inte ...

. The following year, the track was remixed again by Carl Segal and released as a couple of promotional-only 12-inch singles, coupled with Emilio Pasquez's versions of "Blazing Saddles". In 1992, "The Race" was released as a single a second time, to coincide with the greatest hits collection, ''

Essential Yello ''Essential Yello'', or simply ''Essential'' is a compilation album by Switzerland, Swiss Electronic music, electronic duo Yello. It was first released in 1992 and also available as a sell-through video release (on VHS and later on DVD). Track ...

''. "The Race" appeared in remix form again in 1999 for the ''Eccentrix Remixes'' compilation, following the release of their ''

Pocket Universe A pocket universe or bubble universe, also called pocket dimension, is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. Description It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary ...

'' album. In 2003, the

Tomcraft Thomas Brückner (12 June 1975 – 15 July 2024), known by his stage name Tomcraft, was a German disc jockey, DJ and record producer, producer. He specialized in progressive house and progressive trance music and is better known for having creat ...

remixes of "The Race" appeared on the single for "Planet Dada", released from their album, ''The Eye''. Since its release, "The Race" has been very popular and played among marching bands across the United States. In 2007, a new version of the track was created by the band in order to promote

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

and

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing. Called "The Race II", the digital single was made available free for download, and released as a promo CD single.

Promotional video

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

–infused video was also created for the song, displaying an abstract race. It was directed by

Dieter Meier Dieter Meier (born 4 March 1945) is a Swiss musician, conceptual artist and entrepreneur. He is the frontman of the electronic music group Yello, which was co-founded (with ex-member Carlos Perón) by music producer Boris Blank (musician), Boris ...

. This video was released on the CD-Video format. Yello have also been known to sponsor remixes of their work. For example, in 1989, RockAmerica created a video remix contest on behalf of Yello named "The Race (Video Remix Contest)" in which participants had to video mix the hit recording "The Race". The competition winners Jeff Consiglio and Vincent Zegna remixed the track and video, taking the main award and having the video released through RockAmerica.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

The song was used to open ''

It's Academic ''It's Academic'' is the name for a number of televised academic student quiz shows for high school students through the United States and internationally. ''It's Academic'' programs have notably aired on NBC-owned WRC-TV (and, as of October ...

'' on

WRC-TV WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television service, Class A Telemundo outlet W ...

in Washington, D.C. from the 1990-91 season to June 2017 (it was replaced by a new theme starting with the 2017–18 season, which is used throughout the show). It was also the theme of ''Academic Challenge'' on

WEWS-TV WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of three stations that have been built and signed on ...

in Cleveland from 1996 to 1999 (the last years of its original run), by which time it was also known as ''It's Academic''. From 1988 onward, "The Race" was used as theme song for popular German video clip show ''Formel Eins''. The pan-European sports channel

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

commonly used the song in the early 90s. It is also featured in the 1990 comedy films ''

Nuns on the Run ''Nuns on the Run'' is a 1990 British comedy film starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane, also featuring Camille Coduri and Janet Suzman. The film was written and directed by Jonathan Lynn and produced by HandMade Films. Many of the outdoor sc ...

'', ''

For Richer or Poorer ''For Richer or Poorer'' is a 1997 American slapstick comedy film directed by Bryan Spicer starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley as a New York socialite couple who decide to end their spoiled relationship. The supporting cast includes Jay O. Sa ...

'' and '' Opportunity Knocks''. It was additionally used in the early 1990s as menu music on ''

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

'', the long-running weekly Saturday afternoon BBC sports programme. The song was used in the third episode of the fourth series of ITV sitcom ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'', during a Grand Prix race between

Madge Harvey This is a list of cast members and characters from the British sitcom ''Benidorm'', which aired from 2007 to 2018. Main characters Recurring characters References {{reflist Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of ...

and Mr. Pink. The song was used in the 1992 film ''

The Cutting Edge ''The Cutting Edge'' is a 1992 American sports-romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot is about a wealthy, temperamental figure skater (played by Moira Kelly) who is paired with an injury-sidel ...

'' as the ice skating pair's Olympic Short Program routine song. The song was used in the 2006 film ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Clouseau, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the fil ...

''. The song was played just before the Norwegian politician

Siv Jensen Siv Jensen (born 1 June 1969) is a Norwegian politician who served as the leader of the Progress Party from 2006 to 2021. She also held the position as Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2020 in the Solberg Cabinet. She was also a member of the ...

held her famous "morna Jens!" speech on the night of Norway's 2013 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Race, The 1988 songs 1988 singles Yello songs Fontana Records singles Number-one singles in South Africa Songs about cars Songs written by Dieter Meier Songs written by Boris Blank (musician)