Situation (song)

Last updated

"Situation"
YazooSituation.jpg
Artwork for 1982 US release
Single by Yazoo
from the album Upstairs at Eric's
A-side "Only You"
B-side "Remix (12-inch)"
Released1982
Genre
Length
  • 2:22 (UK B-side)
  • 3:44 (US 7-inch single)
  • 5:40 (US 12-inch single)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Yazoo singles chronology
"Don't Go"
(1982)
"Situation"
(1982)
"The Other Side of Love"
(1982)

"Situation" is a 1982 single by British synth-pop band Yazoo. The song was released in the UK as the B-side to Yazoo's debut single "Only You", which went to number two on the UK Singles Chart. Released as a single in North America, the song peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, and hit the top 40 in Canadian charts, peaking at number 31. In late-summer 1982 it became Yazoo's first song to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, remaining at number one on this chart for four weeks. It also crossed over to the Black Singles chart, peaking at number 31.

Contents

Its most well-known version is the U.S. 12-inch remix by François Kevorkian. This version was included on the U.S. version of Yazoo's debut album Upstairs at Eric's (1982), and it is the version of the song which receives the most radio airplay in the United States (where the song, despite its modest showing on the Hot 100, is still played on alternative, variety-hits and dance-oriented radio stations).

In 1990, and again in 1999, the song was remixed by several noted DJs, including Peter Rauhofer and Richard "Humpty" Vission. The 1999 remixes were released to dance clubs. In October of the same year, this renewed interest in the song sent "Situation" to number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for a second time.

In 2006, Slant ranked the song at number 64 in its list of the "100 Greatest Dance Songs". [5]

The song was heavily sampled in the Saturdays' 2008 debut single "If This Is Love". Moyet's laugh at the start of the track has been sampled on several different recordings.

Versions

The original version's first chorus does not have the response lyrics. The 7-inch version skips to the verses before the first chorus with response lyrics.

Track listings

Accolades

YearPublisherCountryAccoladeRank
1982 The Village Voice United States"Singles of the Year" (26) [6] 20
2005 Blender United States"Top 500 Songs of the 80s-00s"[ citation needed ]417
2006 Slant Magazine United States"100 Greatest Dance Songs" [5] 64
2011Robert DimeryUnited Kingdom"1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die" [7] *
2011TrebleUnited States"Top 200 Songs of the '80s" [8] 168

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Charts

See also

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References

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