Only You (Yazoo song)

"Only You"
Single by Yazoo
from the album Upstairs at Eric's
B-side
Released15 March 1982
RecordedJanuary 1982
Genre
Length3:11
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Vince Clarke
Producer(s)
Yazoo singles chronology
"Only You"
(1982)
"Don't Go"
(1982)
Music video
"Only You" (1999 Remix) on YouTube

"Only You" is a song by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was written by member Vince Clarke, while he was still with Depeche Mode, but recorded in 1982 after he formed Yazoo with Alison Moyet. It was released as Yazoo's first single on 15 March 1982 in the United Kingdom, taken from their first album, Upstairs at Eric's (1982), and became an instant success on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two on 16 May 1982.[3] It would also reach the top 10 in neighbouring Ireland as well as Australia. In the US, "Only You" was released as the band's second single in November 1982 and charted at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also made the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (number 38).

A remix of "Only You" made the UK top 40 again in 1999, while reaching number 16 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The music video for the new version was created using the Houdini 3D animation software package.[4]

An orchestral remix of "Only You" was created for the Boots 2017 Christmas advert on British TV. Yazoo released the track on their YouTube channel on 17 November 2017, promising that it would be released as a single-track download the following week. The remix features Moyet's original vocal with a brand new orchestral backing track.

The Flying Pickets recorded an a cappella cover of "Only You" which was the Christmas number one in the UK in December 1983. It also reached number 17 in Canada in April 1984.[5]

Becky Hill released a stripped-back version which featured in the McDonald's Christmas ad for 2022. 10 pence from every download of Hill's version in the UK until spring 2023 was donated to BBC Children in Need. The track went on to become Hill's tenth top 40 record and has accumulated over 9.9 million streams to date.[6]

  1. ^ Mitchell, Matt (21 July 2023). "The 50 Greatest Synth-Pop Albums of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ^ Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1982.2". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-915841-45-2.
  3. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 75 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  4. ^ Moltenbrey, Karen (April 2002). Broadcast Retrospective 25th Anniversary: Part 4 Archived 26 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Computer Graphics World. Accessed 26 February 2006.
  5. ^ "RPM Top 50 Singles – April 14, 1984" (PDF).
  6. ^ Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (11 November 2022). "Becky Hill releases stripped back cover of 'Only You' from the McDonald's Christmas Advert". Retrieved 31 December 2022.