Situation (song)
1982 single by Yazoo
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"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.
| "Situation" | ||||
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 Artwork for 1982 US release | ||||
| Single by Yazoo | ||||
| from the album Upstairs at Eric's | ||||
| A-side | "Only You" | |||
| B-side | "Remix (12-inch)" | |||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Recorded | January 1982 | |||
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| Yazoo singles chronology | ||||
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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".[6]
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, including the 1995 smash dance hit "Macarena" by Los del Río. The song was also interpolated by Heidi Montag for the 2009 single "Body Language."[7]
Tom Jones covered the song on his 1994 album The Lead and How to Swing It.
Background
In a 1982 interview with the NME, Moyet expressed some dissatisfaction over the single: "It's great that [it's] doing so well in the States, although I'm not too happy with the record itself. I think it's pretty shoddy actually! It was remixed from the version on the B-side of 'Only You', but we didn't really have much of a say in how it turned out. I think it could have been a lot better if the record company had taken a bit of time instead of rushing it out so quickly over there."[8]
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
1982 release
1990 remixes
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1999 remixes
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Accolades
| Year | Publisher | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Village Voice | United States | "Singles of the Year" (26)[9] | 20 |
| 2005 | Blender | United States | "Top 500 Songs of the 80s-00s"[citation needed] | 417 |
| 2006 | Slant Magazine | United States | "100 Greatest Dance Songs"[6] | 64 |
| 2011 | Robert Dimery | United Kingdom | "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die"[10] | * |
| 2011 | Treble | United States | "Top 200 Songs of the '80s"[11] | 168 |
(*) indicates the list is unordered.
Charts
Original versionWeekly charts
Year-end charts
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Situation '90
1999 remixes
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