Fairground (song)

"Fairground"
Single by Simply Red
from the album Life
B-side	Remix, live version of other songs
Released	18 September 1995
Format	CD single, CD maxi, 12" single
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:23 (single version) 5:34 (album version)
Label	EastWest
Writer(s)	Mick Hucknall
Producer(s)	Mick Hucknall, Stewart Levine
Simply Red singles chronology
"The Montreux" (1992) "Fairground" (1995) "Remembering the First Time" (1995)
Life track listing "Lives and Loves" (3) "Fairground" (4) "Never Never Love" (5)

"Fairground" is a 1995 single released by Simply Red from the album Life. The song makes extensive use of a sample of The Goodmen's "Give It Up".

Video

The video (which uses the shorter single version) shows Mick Hucknall driving to and singing at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, that had been closed for the day and had been invaded by a group of his friends and opened up again. The majority of the video was shot on the Pepsi Max Big One and around the park, and some scenes are shot on the Promenade showing the Illuminations in 1994. Filming credits go to the single cameraman, Steven Young.

Chart performance

It was the first and only single by the group to reach No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] It spent four weeks at the top,^[1] and fourteen weeks in the Top 40. The track also reached No. 1 in Ireland and made the Top 10 in Italy, Austria and The Netherlands. A remix by Soulshock and Karlin was included on the US single release and received moderate success on R&B Radio, but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listings

CD maxi "Fairground" (single edit) — 4:23 "Fairground" (extended single mix) — 5:32 "Stars" (live) — 4:12 "The Right Thing" (live) — 4:31 12" maxi "Fairground" (extended single mix) — 5:32 "Fairground" (too precious remix) — 7:50 "Fairground" (rollo and sister bliss remix) — 9:42

CD maxi - Remixes "Fairground" (single edit) "Fairground" (extended single mix) "Fairground" (in the garden mix) "Fairground" (too precious remix) "Fairground" (rollo and sister bliss remix) CD single "Fairground" (single edit) — 4:23 "Fairground" (in the garden mix) — 5:32

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1995) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[2] 7 Austrian Singles Chart[2] 5 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[2] 2 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[2] 10 Dutch Top 40[3] 6 French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 26 German Singles Chart[2] 5 Irish IRMA Singles Chart[4] 1 Italian Singles Chart[2] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[2] 6 Swedish Singles Chart[2] 17 Swiss Singles Chart[2] 6 UK Singles Chart[5] 1 U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 14 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[6] 25

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[7] 25 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[8] 65 Dutch Top 40[3] 30 French Singles Chart[9] 92 Swiss Singles Chart[10] 55 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Germany[11] Gold 1995 150,000

Chart successions

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 585. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. "Fairground", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 18 February 2008)
3. "Single top 100 over 1995" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
4. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 18 February 2008)
5. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 2 August 2008)
6. Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved 25 July 2009)
7. 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 3 August 2008)
8. 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 3 August 2008)
9. 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 30 January 2009)
10. 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 3 August 2008)
11. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Fairground')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 August 2008.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics