Respectable (Mel and Kim song)

For other uses see Respectable (disambiguation).
"Respectable"
Single by Mel and Kim
from the album F.L.M.
B-side From A Whisper To A Scream
Released February 1987
Format 7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded 1987
Genre Dance-pop
Length 3:21
Label Supreme
Atlantic (U.S.)
Writer(s) Stock Aitken Waterman
Producer(s) Stock Aitken Waterman
Mel and Kim singles chronology
"Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)"
(1986)		 "Respectable"
(1987)		 "F.L.M."
(1987)

"Respectable" is a hit song that became a number one single for one week in the UK on March 1987 for Mel and Kim, that was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was the team's second number one, and was also number one in New Zealand for five weeks spanning July and August, and in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

A memorable feature of the song is the sampled and sequenced first syllable of the chorus: "Tay, tay, tay, tay, t-t, t-t, t, tay, tay, take or leave us...".

UK releases

7" (SUPE 111)
  1. "Respectable"
  2. "Respectable" (instrumental)
12" (SUPE T 111 / RCA PT 41220)
  1. "Respectable" (Club/Extended mix)
  2. "Respectable" (7” version)
  3. "Respectable" (Extra Beats version [vocal])
12" picture disc (SUPE TP 111)
  1. "Respectable" (The Tabloid mix)
  2. "Respectable" (7” version)
  3. "Respectable" (Extra Beats version [vocal])
12" remix (SUPE TX 111)
  1. "Respectable" (The Tabloid mix)
  2. "Respectable" (7” version)
  3. "Respectable" (Extra Beats version [vocal])
12" remix (SUPE TZ 111)
  1. "Respectable" (Shop mix)
  2. "Respectable" (7” version)
  3. "Respectable" (Extra Beats version [vocal])

Official mixes

A promo release of Respectable

Cover versions

Girlband Girls@Play released a version of "Respectable" which reached the UK singles chart at number 28.

Sampling

The song was sampled in Pop Will Eat Itself's song, "Hit the Hi-Tech Groove" on their 1987 album Box Frenzy.

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[1] 1
Austrian Singles Chart[1] 7
Dutch Singles Chart[2] 1
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1
Finnish Singles Chart[3] 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[1] 14
German Singles Chart[4] 1
Irish Singles Chart[5] 2
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[1] 2
Swedish Singles Chart[1] 5
Swiss Singles Chart[1] 1
UK Singles Chart[6] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[7] 1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1987) Position
Dutch Top 40[8] 13
Swiss Singles Chart[9] 15

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Netherlands[10] Gold 1987 40,000
UK[11] Gold 1 April 1987 500,000

Chart successions

Preceded by
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
by Aretha Franklin and George Michael		 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
21 March 1987 – 4 April 1987 		Succeeded by
"Sailing Home" by Piet Veerman
Preceded by
"Everything I Own" by Boy George		 UK number-one single
28 March 1987 		Succeeded by
"Let It Be" by Ferry Aid
Preceded by
"Reality" by Richard Sanderson		 Swiss number-one single
5 April 1987 – 26 April 1987
Preceded by
"Stay" by Pierre Cosso and Bonnie Bianco		 German number-one single
10 April 1987 – 17 April 1987 		Succeeded by
"You're the Voice" by John Farnham
Preceded by
"Diamonds" by Herb Alpert		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
4 July 1987 		Succeeded by
"In Love with Love" by Debbie Harry
Preceded by
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
by Whitney Houston		 Australian (ARIA) number-one single
20 July 1987 		Succeeded by
"He's Gonna Step On You Again" by The Party Boys
New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
24 July 1987 – 21 August 1987 		Succeeded by
"La Bamba" by Los Lobos

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Respectable", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  2. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 12, 1987". Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  3. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  4. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  5. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  6. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  7. ↑ Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  8. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1987" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  9. ↑ 1987 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 7 September 2008)
  10. ↑ Dutch certifications nvpi.nl (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
  11. ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 7 September 2008)