The Only One I Know

"The Only One I Know"
Single by The Charlatans
from the album Some Friendly
Released	14 May 1990
Format	7" vinyl 12" vinyl CD maxi
Recorded	The Winding Studios, Wrexham, Wales, 1990
Genre	Madchester[1]
Length	4:00
Label	Situation Two (UK) RCA (US)
Writer(s)	Martin Blunt Jon Brookes Tim Burgess Mark Collins Jon Day
Producer(s)	Chris Nagle
The Charlatans singles chronology
"Indian Rope" (1990) "The Only One I Know" (1990) "Then" (1990)

"The Only One I Know" is the second single by the English rock band The Charlatans. It was their first top-ten hit, reaching no. 9 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] In the UK it was the highest-charting single from the Some Friendly album. Its best showing in the US was on the Modern Rock Chart, where it reached no. 5 in September 1990.^[3][4] The song contained lines directly lifted from The Byrds' 1967 song "Everybody’s Been Burned,"^[1] while the melody prominently features an organ riff lifted from the Deep Purple rendition of the song "Hush".^[5]

The song was included as a track on the influential compilation album Happy Daze. A funk-styled cover version with vocals by Robbie Williams appeared on Mark Ronson's 2007 album Version. In 2010, the song was used in a TV advert for Cadbury's chocolate. In 2012 the song featured in the film California Solo.

Tim Burgess, in his memoir Telling Stories, says the single went on to sell 250,000 copies.

Track listing

All tracks written by Brookes, Day, Collins, Blunt and Burgess

7"

1. "The Only One I Know" – 4:00
2. "Everything Changed" – 3:23

12"

1. "The Only One I Know" – 4:00
2. "Imperial 109 (Edit)" – 3:44
3. "Everything Changed" – 3:23

CD

1. "The Only One I Know" – 4:00
2. "Imperial 109 (Edit)" – 3:44
3. "Everything Changed" – 3:23
4. "You Can Talk to Me" – 4:48

• "You Can Talk to Me" was recorded 20 March 1990 for the John Peel Show, BBC Radio 1. First broadcast 9 April 1990.

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[6]	75
Ireland (IRMA)[7]	11
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8]	56
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[2]	9
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[3]	37
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[3]	5

References

1. "BBC – Music TV – Pop on trial – 1950s-1990s". BBC Online. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
2. "Archive Chart: 1990-06-16" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
3. "Some Friendly – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
4. "September 15, 1990 – Alternative Songs". Billboard. 15 September 1990. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
5. Raggett, Ned. "The Charlatans UK – Only One I Know". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
6. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
7. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Only One I Know". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Charlatans – The Only One I Know" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 October 2014.