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You're Gorgeous

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"You're Gorgeous"
Single by Babybird
from the album Ugly Beautiful
B-side
  • "You're Gorgeous Too"
  • "Hing King Blues"
  • "KW Jesus TV Roof Appeal"
  • "Bébé Limonade"
  • "Ooh Yeah"
  • "Carcrash"
Released30 September 1996 (1996-09-30)
GenrePop
Length3:44
LabelEcho
Songwriter(s)Stephen Jones
Producer(s)
Babybird singles chronology
"Goodnight"
(1996) 		"You're Gorgeous"
(1996) 		"Candy Girl"
(1997)
Music video
"You're Gorgeous" on YouTube

"You're Gorgeous" is a song by British musical project Babybird, released as a commercial single by The Echo Label on 30 September 1996. Babybird member Stephen Jones wrote the song and co-produced it with Steve Power. It was their only top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number three, and reached the top 40 in Australia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Sweden. Melody Maker ranked "You're Gorgeous" number 11 in their list of "Singles of the Year" of 1996.[1] It is also the track for which the band is best known.

Lyrical meaning

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The song's lyrics are interpreted to describe the way a photographer exploits his models. The track is often mistaken as a love song due to the way it is initially presented, with one person complimenting the other until it is revealed that the narrator is a female model speaking to the photographer.[2][3]

Critical reception

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic (who gave the Ugly Beautiful album 4.5 stars out of 5) praised the song as an "effortlessly catchy" pop single, which "positively radiates with twisted sexuality".[4] The Independent wrote, "Take the hit single "You're Gorgeous" – ostensibly a love ballad of warm togetherness, but, like REM's "The One I Love", actually carrying more sinister undercurrents. In this case, its the song's pitiable account of pornographic devotion – having ice-cubes rubbed on chests, being photographed with legs pulled apart on car bonnets, and being paid £20 with vague promises of being seen in a magazine – all endured for infatuation's sake, because the snapper is so gorgeous."[5]

Kevin Courtney from Irish Times named it a "catchy, slightly risque surprise hit".[6] Ian Watson from Melody Maker was negative, saying, "This single starts haughty, moves onto vain and ends up sickeningly narcissistic, with the stupid singer bloke directing the central you're gorgeous line to his own sneering monkey face in the shattered mirror."[7] Another Melody Maker editor, Caitlin Moran, wrote that the lyrics, "with their Legs pulled apart and ice rubbed on your chest, are about sticky porny photographers hunting beaver shots from models. Steve's quietly, humorously and hornily feminist: Will you lick my candy, girl (And I don't mean that rudely)? gives you a fairly good idea of his world-view."[8] A reviewer from Music Week gave it four out of five, adding, "Filling the void between Vic Reeves and Bono, Stephen Jones's rich baritone is a svelte joy on this rather flimsy tale of tank tops and snapshots."[9]

Impact and legacy

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In December 1996, British magazine Melody Maker ranked "You're Gorgeous" number eleven in their list of "Singles of the Year", writing, "Tipping the conventional paean to physical perfection on its arse, Sheffield's bedsit balladeer Steve Jones came up trumps with this tale of a (male) model whose strings are pulled by a (female) photographer."[1]

Track listings

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All songs were written by Stephen Jones.

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 30 September 1996
  • CD
  • cassette
 Echo [31]
United States 31 October 1997
Atlantic [32]
13 January 1998 Contemporary hit radio [33]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Singles Of The Year". Melody Maker. 21 December 1996. p. 68. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Lyrics". Songfacts. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ Masterton, James (6 October 1996). "Week Ending October 12th 1996". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ugly Beautiful Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Babybird Review". The Independent. 18 October 1996.
  6. ^ Courtney, Kevin (7 February 1997). "Single File". Irish Times.
  7. ^ Watson, Ian (28 September 1996). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 52. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  8. ^ Moran, Caitlin (19 October 1996). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 54. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 September 1996. p. 14. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  10. ^ You're Gorgeous (UK CD1 liner notes). Babybird. The Echo Label. 1996. ECS CD26.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ You're Gorgeous (UK CD2 liner notes). Babybird. The Echo Label. 1996. ECS CX26.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ You're Gorgeous (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Babybird. The Echo Label. 1996. ECS 026.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ You're Gorgeous (UK cassette single sleeve). Babybird. The Echo Label. 1996. ECSMC 26.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ You're Gorgeous (European CD single liner notes). Babybird. The Echo Label. 1996. MCD 80135.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ You're Gorgeous (Australian CD single liner notes). Babybird. Liberation Records, The Echo Label. 1996. D1488.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 43. 26 October 1996. p. 17. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 203 Vikuna 9.1. '97 – 15.1. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 January 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  22. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You're Gorgeous". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Hits of the World – Italy" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 18. 2 May 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Babybird – You're Gorgeous". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 25.
  29. ^ "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  30. ^ "British single certifications – Babybird – You're Gorgeous". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  31. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 28 September 1996. p. 57. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  32. ^ Reece, Doug (13 September 1997). "Baby Bird Hopes to Take Wing in U.S.". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 37. p. 22. Atlantic will begin working 'You're Gorgeous' at modern rock and triple-A radio on Halloween...
  33. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1230. 9 January 1998. p. 40.
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