Gold (East 17 song)

"Gold"
Single by East 17
from the album Walthamstow
Released	2 November 1992 (1992-11-02)
Length	4:20
Label	London
Songwriter(s)	Tony Mortimer
Producer(s)	Ian Curnow Phil Harding
East 17 singles chronology
"House of Love" (1992) "Gold" (1992) "Deep" (1993)
Music video
"Gold" on YouTube

"Gold" is a song by English boy band East 17, taken from the band's debut album, Walthamstow (1993). Written by Tony Mortimer and produced by Ian Curnow and Phil Harding, it was released on 2 November 1992 by London Records as the second single from the album. In Australia, it instead served as the album's fifth single in November 1993. "Gold" was successful in only a few countries, peaking at number two in Sweden, number three in Finland, and number 28 in the UK. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Jaswinder Bancil, ^[1] depicting the band performing the track whilst wearing angel wings. ^[2]

Critical reception

Sharon Mawer from AllMusic felt the song could easily have been recorded by the Pet Shop Boys, "as the intro and chorus had their lush orchestration and smooth vocals, although the verses featured Tony Mortimer rapping about the futility of war and the need to live together in harmony on this planet." ^[3] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "With their tracks having a harder dance feel to them unlike most teen bands their future looks set to follow soundalikes EMF. Watch this climb." ^[4]

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song three out of five, describing it as "energetic and slick pop, with the Walthamstow boys more in control of their own destiny." ^[5] In his review of the Walthamstow album, Neil Spencer from The Observer found that 'House of Love' and 'Gold' "prove the more inane offerings from a mix of junior hip-hop and melodic pop". ^[6] Ted Kessler from Select wrote, "Love them or loathe them, 'House of Love' and 'Gold' were perfectly fashioned hits: spanking contemporary production and sounds, crass, horribly infectious choruses and easily absorbed dance routines." ^[7] Mark Frith from Smash Hits also gave it three out of five, saying it's "quite good — memorable, light and poppy". ^[8]

Track listings

• CD and cassette single ^{[9] [10]}

1. "Gold" (7-inch Collar Size)
2. "Gold" (The Dark Bark mix)
3. "Gold" (Paws on the Floor mix)
4. "Gold" (The Rabid mix)

• 7-inch single ^[11]

A. "Gold" (7-inch Collar Size)

B. "Gold" (The Soho demo)

• 12-inch single ^[12]

A1. "Gold" (The Dark Bark mix)

A2. "Gold" (The Techno Bonio mix)

B1. "Gold" (Paws on the Floor mix)

B2. "Gold" (The Rabid mix)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1992–1993) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [13] 101 Estonia (Eesti Top 20) [14] 11 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [15] 36 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [16] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [18] 35 UK Singles (OCC) [19] 28 UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [20] 37 UK Dance ( Music Week ) [21] 29 UK Club Chart ( Music Week ) [22] 38

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position Sweden (Topplistan) [23] 76 Chart (1993) Position Sweden (Topplistan) [24] 36

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	2 November 1992	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette	London	[25]
Australia	8 November 1993	CD cassette	London Polydor	[26]

References

1. "East 17: Gold". IMDb . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
2. "East 17 - Gold (Official Video)". YouTube. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
3. Mawer, Sharon. "East 17 – Walthamstow". AllMusic . Retrieved 4 November 2020.
4. Masterton, James (9 November 1992). "Week Ending November 14th 1992". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
5. Jones, Alan (7 November 1992). "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 22. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
6. Spencer, Neil (21 February 1993). "Pop Releases". The Observer .
7. Kessler, Ted (March 1993). "Reviews: New Albums". Select . p. 71. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
8. Frith, Mark (28 October 1992). "New Singles". Smash Hits . p. 54. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
9. Gold (UK & Australian CD single liner notes). London Records. 1992. LONCD 331, 869 943-2.
10. Gold (UK cassette single sleeve). London Records. 1992. LONCS 331, 869 943-4.
11. Gold (UK 7-inch single sleeve). London Records. 1992. LON 331, 869 942-7.
12. Gold (UK 12-inch single sleeve). London Records. 1992. LONX 331, 869 943-1.
13. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2017– via Imgur.
14. "MUUSIKAEDETABELID: EESTI TOP 20". Sõnumileht (in Estonian). 4 February 1993. p. 9. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media . Vol. 10, no. 5. 30 January 1993. p. 43.
16. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
17. "East 17 – Gold". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
18. "East 17 – Gold". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
20. "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week . 28 November 1992. p. 14. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
21. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 14 November 1992. p. 26. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
22. "The Record Mirror Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 21 November 1992. p. 6. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
23. "Årstopplistan 1992, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on 25 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
24. "Årstopplistan 1993, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on 16 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
25. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 31 October 1992. p. 21. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
26. "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 08/11/93: Singles". The ARIA Report . No. 196. 7 November 1993. p. 19.