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She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy

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"She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy"
Single by Chumbawamba
from the album WYSIWYG
Released29 February 2000
Recorded2000 at Woodlands Studio, Castleford, UK
GenreAlternative rock, pop
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Chumbawamba
Producer(s)Chumbawamba & Neil Ferguson
Chumbawamba singles chronology
"Tony Blair"
(1999) 		"She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy"
(2000) 		"Enough Is Enough (Kick It Over)"
(2000)

"She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy" is the first single released from Chumbawamba's album WYSIWYG. The song's lyrics describe a wealthy socialite who's benefited from her parents' wealth. Upon its release, the song received mixed reviews from critics and was generally unsuccessful, failing to enter the UK Singles Chart or the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving very little airplay. The song's B-side, "Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721", was subject to controversy upon its release, due to its lyrics' criticism of a number of prominent social figures.

The song's introduction samples an audio clip from the American cable barker channel, Sneak Prevue.

Reception

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Critical

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The song was met with mixed reviews from critics upon its release. CMJ New Music Monthly, in their review of the song's parent album, described the track as "entertaining" but "ham-fisted."[1] Rolling Stone, although highly critical of the song's parent album, praised the lyric "you can buy your friends but I'll hate you for free."[2]

Commercial

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The song was commercially unsuccessful, failing to enter the UK Singles Chart nor the Billboard Hot 100.[3][4] The song received very little airplay upon its release.[5] BBC Radio 1 considered the original version of the song "too pop" to receive airplay, so a second version of the song was recorded and released by former Eurovision Song Contest entrants and fellow West Yorkshire band Black Lace. The latter version is available from Chumbawamba's website for download.[6]

Music video

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A music video was released to promote the single. It depicts band members performing in front of a white background.[7]

B-side

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The B-side, "Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721", was extremely controversial upon its release due to its subject matter: it called out, by name, a number of public figures (real and fictitious) of whom the group disapproved.[8][5] Some of these included Courtney Love, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Ally McBeal, Rupert Murdoch, and Bono.[5] Following the song's release, many DJs threatened to remove the group from rotation.[8] Regarding the controversy, vocalist Alice Nutter told MTV that "I'm always shocked by what causes controversy [...] All you have to do is write a song that's not a love song. People pretend they're absolutely stopped dead by a song that waves bye-bye to Bono. It's just pop music."[5]

Formats and track listings

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  • European CD single[9]
  1. "She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy" (single edit) – 2:52
  2. "Just a Form of Music" – 3:04
  • German CD single[10]
  1. "She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy" (single edit) – 2:52
  2. "Just a Form of Music" – 3:04
  3. "Lest We Forget" – 1:28
  4. "Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721" – 2:49
  • Japanese CD single[11]
  1. "She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy" (single edit) – 2:52
  2. "Just a Form of Music" – 3:04
  3. "Lest We Forget" – 1:27

Release history

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Region Date Formats(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States 29 February 2000 (2000-02-29) Contemporary hit radio
[12]

References

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  1. ^ ""WYSIWYG" review". CMJ New Music Monthly: 53. 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  2. ^ Sheffield, Rob. "Chumbawamba: Wysiwyg review (archived at Wayback Machine)". Wayback Machine. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Chumbawamba: Singles Chart History". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Chumbawamba: Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "Chumbawamba 'Not Sorry' About Eclectic New Album". MTV. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Hard-to-find miscellaneous oddities to download or stream". Chumba. Chumbawamba. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Chumbawamba - She's got all the friends that money can buy (with lyrics)". YouTube. 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 121. ISBN 9780879306076. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  9. ^ She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy (European CD single liner notes). Chumbawamba. EMI Electrola. 2000. 7 24388 82232 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy (German CD single liner notes). Chumbawamba. EMI Electrola. 2000. 7243 8 88206 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ She's Got All the Friends That Money Can Buy (Japanese CD single liner notes). Chumbawamba. EMI. 2000. TOCP-40136.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1339. February 25, 2000. p. 71.
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