Mellow Yellow coffeeshop Mellow Yellow coffeeshop Mellow Yellow was the oldest cannabis coffee shop in Amsterdam, prior to its closure at the start of 2017. The coffee shop was founded in 1972 by Wernard Bruinin in Weesperzijde, Amsterdam, on the premises of a former bakery. The shop is named after "Mellow Yellow", a song by Donovan which describes the singer trying to become intoxicated through smoking the peel of banana. The intent of the shop is to sell cannabis, despite this being illegal at the time of its creation. Sales were originally disguised by drug dealers seated at the bar posing as customers.
Have You Never Been Mellow (song) Animals sampled the song in 1996 on their happy hardcore hit "Have You Ever Been Mellow". The song reached number one in the Netherlands. The punk band the Feederz covered the song on their 1984 debut album "Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?". The Nip Drivers was another punk band that covered it. Australian singer James Reyne covered the song (titled simply, "Mellow") on his 2004 release "Speedboats for Breakfast". His version is a raucous, punk-influenced take on the song. (Reyne and Newton-John shared the same management in the late '80s and early '90s, and Newton-John sang backing vocals on