The Only Way Is Up
| "The Only Way Is Up" | |
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| Single by Otis Clay | |
| from the album The Only Way Is Up | |
| B-side | "Special Kind of Love" |
| Released | 1980 |
| Format | 7" single |
| Genre | Funk |
| Length | 3:46 |
| Label | Echo |
| Writer(s) | George Jackson, Johnny Henderson |
| Producer(s) | Otis Clay, Troy Thompson |
| "The Only Way Is Up" | ||||||||
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| Single by Yazz and the Plastic Population | ||||||||
| from the album Wanted | ||||||||
| B-side | "Bad House Music" Remix |
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| Released | July 11, 1988 | |||||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" maxi, CD maxi, cassette single | |||||||
| Genre | Dance-pop, funk, acid house | |||||||
| Length | 4:27 (album version) 4:02 (7" edit) |
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| Label | Big Life | |||||||
| Writer(s) | George Jackson, Johnny Henderson | |||||||
| Producer(s) | Coldcut | |||||||
| Yazz singles chronology | ||||||||
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"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single for Yazz and the Plastic Population. The song is the official theme tune for award-winning ITV2 series The Only Way Is Essex. The song was a favourite of M People's, who would frequently play it on their live tours. The band's lead singer, Heather Small, has described it as her favourite song, and once explained that, should she ever be anywhere, this is the song that she would sing.
The song was first recorded by Otis Clay and released as a single on the Echo label in 1980. Though not a hit at the time, the song became the title track of Clay's 1982 LP, The Only Way Is Up.
The Yazz version was produced by Jonathan More and Matt Black (better known as dance duo Coldcut, who had worked with Yazz on their hit single "Doctorin' the House"). Released as a single in July 1988, "The Only Way Is Up" became an instant smash, spending five weeks at #1 in the UK, and ultimately became the second biggest selling single of the year. In the United States, however, it fared less well, peaking at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100, though it did reach #2 on the Billboard dance chart.
The song's opening horn blast is a sample from Sharon Redd's 1982 dance classic "Beat the Street". The opening lyrics of the song tell of the degradation of being at the bottom of the social class ladder. They are soon followed by a reference to the threat of eviction. The song is in B major and has quite an up-beat rhythm.
A 2009 remix was released in the UK on 7 September 2009.
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Wikipedia