"Perfect Way" | ||||
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Single by Scritti Politti | ||||
from the album Cupid & Psyche 85 | ||||
Released | 27 August 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:33 (album version) 4:02 (single version) | |||
Label | Virgin (UK) / Warner Bros. (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Scritti Politti singles chronology | ||||
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Official video | ||||
"Perfect Way" on YouTube |
"Perfect Way" is a song written by Green Gartside and David Gamson [3] and performed by the British pop band Scritti Politti. It was featured on the band's second and most successful studio album, Cupid & Psyche 85 , released in June 1985. The song features synthesizer in its instrumentation.
Four singles had already been released in the UK from the album before "Perfect Way" was issued in August 1985. It was only a minor hit in the UK (No. 48), [4] but in the US "Perfect Way" became Scritti Politti's only hit, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. [5] On other US charts, "Perfect Way" reached No. 6 on the Hot Dance/Disco chart. [6] The song was also a minor hit on the Hot Black Singles chart, where it peaked at No. 85. [7] It was also a Top 40 hit in Canada, reaching No. 32 on the RPM Singles chart.
The official music video, which mixes monochrome and colour footage, features musicians performing in the studio, intercut with close-up faces, video effects, and urban scenes, was directed by Paula Greif and Peter Kagan. [8]
John Leland of Spin wrote the song was, "a pretty, lightweight pop tune that skips around on a busy electronic groove as feyly as Green's ultrawimp vocals. This is extremely well crafted, but it packs all the punch of a neutered "Sussudio"." [9]
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] [11] | 75 |
Year-end chart (1986) | Rank |
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US Top Pop Singles (Billboard) [12] | 64 |
An instrumental version of the song was covered by Miles Davis on his 1986 studio album Tutu , providing a second success for the song in the US. [13] The song entered Davis' live repertoire and he was recorded playing it live many times.
Scritti Politti are a UK band formed in 1977 in Leeds, England by Welsh singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band.
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Cupid & Psyche 85 is the second studio album by the British pop band Scritti Politti, released in the UK on 10 June 1985 by Virgin Records. The release continued frontman Green Gartside's embrace of commercial pop music stylings and state-of-the-art studio production, while its lyrics reflect his preoccupation with issues of language and politics.
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This is the discography of British band Scritti Politti.
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"Hypnotize" is a song by British pop band Scritti Politti. It was released in 1984 by Virgin Records, as a single from the album Cupid & Psyche 85. It peaked at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as number 43 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco chart. The music video was directed by Peter Care.