Uptown Girl

"Uptown Girl"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album An Innocent Man
Released September 29, 1983
Format 7" vinyl[1]
Recorded 1983
Genre Pop rock, doo wop
Length 3:18
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Billy Joel
Producer(s) Phil Ramone[1]
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Tell Her About It"
(1983)		 "Uptown Girl"
(1983)		 "An Innocent Man"
(1983)

"Tell Her About It"
(1983)		 "Uptown Girl"
(1983)		 "An Innocent Man"
(1983)
Music video
"Uptown Girl" on YouTube

"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel. It was released on September 29, 1983, on his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983). The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl."

The 12" EP featured the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (catalogue number TA3775),[2] whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side (TBC).[3]

Inspiration

According to an interview with Howard Stern, Joel had originally titled the song "Uptown Girls" and it was conceived on an occasion when he was surrounded by Christie Brinkley, Whitney Houston and his then-girlfriend Elle Macpherson. According to numerous interviews with Joel, the song was initially written about his relationship with Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon-to-be wife, Brinkley (both women being two of the most famous supermodels of the 1980s).[4][5] Joel also has said that the song was inspired by the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.[6]

Christie Brinkley appears as the main character of the video and later married Joel.

Success

Although "Uptown Girl" was not as successful in the U.S. as previous single "Tell Her About It", it was still a big hit. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100,[7] and number one in the United Kingdom, staying at that position for five weeks as his only number one hit in the country; it was the second biggest-selling single of 1983 in the United Kingdom behind only Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon", which Joel had knocked off the number one position on November 1, 1983. The song was the 19th biggest-selling single of the 1980s in the United Kingdom, selling 975,000 copies. It has sold 1.02 million copies as of 2013.[8]

Music video

The title character in the music video was played by Christie Brinkley.

Different versions of the music video opening were produced, in which an auto mechanic is watching the end of Joel's previous hit "Tell Her About It" on a small TV. Then, depending on the version, the next image on the TV is either a blank screen or the logo of the network or TV show the video was on.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Preceded by
"Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club		 UK Singles Chart
November 5, 1983 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Only You" by The Flying Pickets
Preceded by
"They Don't Know" by Tracey Ullman		 Irish Singles Chart
November 12, 1983 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Love of the Common People" by Paul Young
Preceded by
"Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club		 New Zealand Singles Chart
December 11, 1983 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Come Back and Stay" by Paul Young
Preceded by
"Reckless (Don't Be So)" by Australian Crawl		 Australian Singles Chart
December 5, 1983 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

Westlife version

"Uptown Girl"
Single by Westlife
from the album World of Our Own
Released 24 September 2001
Format CD single, cassette
Recorded Rokstone Studios, London
Genre Teen pop, dance-pop
Length 3:06
Label BMG
Songwriter(s) Billy Joel
Producer(s) Steve Mac
Westlife singles chronology
"I Lay My Love on You"
(2001)		 "Uptown Girl"
(2001)		 "When You're Looking Like That"
(2001)

"I Lay My Love on You"
(2001)		 "Uptown Girl"
(2001)		 "When You're Looking Like That"
(2001)
Music video
"Uptown Girl" on YouTube

"Uptown Girl" was recorded by Irish boy band Westlife for their third studio album, World of Our Own. It was released on 24 September 2001 as the first single from the album. It was also the 2001 Comic Relief charity single. The song was also included on the European Special Edition and Asian Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc of the group's second album, Coast to Coast (2000). The Westlife version is slightly shorter than the Billy Joel version because the one of the verses was repeated in the Billy Joel version which wasn't repeated in the Westlife version.

"Uptown Girl" reached number one in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It became the biggest selling single of 2001 in Ireland, as well as the sixth best-selling single of 2001 and the 24th best-selling single of the decade in the UK, with sales of 756,215 copies. It became the band's biggest-selling single in the UK, and also achieved the highest first-week sales (292,318 copies) of any of their singles. It has since been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 600,000 copies.[28] As of March 2017, the song has sold almost 800,000 copies in the UK.[29]

Music video

The video for this song was shot in a Cafe setting with the members of Westlife working there. Claudia Schiffer starred as the title character, while Robert Bathurst, James Wilby, Ioan Gruffudd, Crispin Bonham-Carter and Tim McInnerny were featured as high class customers. The video starts with Shane Filan taking the orders of the five customers while Mark Feehily passes by. One of the customers starts the Jukebox and the song starts. The video ends with Claudia Schiffer leaving the Cafe to which the band members and several other customers followed her while the Cafe closes leaving the five customers at the cafe.[30]

Track listing

CD1
  1. "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) – 3:06
  2. "Angel's Wings" (2001 Remix) – 4:14
  3. "Uptown Girl" (Video) – 3:14
CD2
  1. "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) – 3:06
  2. "Uptown Girl" (Extended Version) – 5:02
  3. "Behind the Scenes Footage & Band Messages"
DVD
  1. "Uptown Girl" (Video) – 3:14
  2. "Behind the Scenes Footage & Band Messages"
  1. "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) – 3:06
  2. "Uptown Girl" (Extended Version) – 5:02
  3. "Angel's Wings" (Original Version) – 4:02
  4. "Close Your Eyes" – 4:32
  5. "Uptown Girl" (Video) – 3:14
  6. "Behind the Scenes Footage & Band Messages"

Charts and certifications

Chart successions

Preceded by
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok		 Irish IRMA number one single
March 10, 2001 (6 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Survivor" by Destiny's Child
Preceded by
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok		 Scottish Singles Chart
March 11, 2001 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Pure and Simple" by Hear'Say
Preceded by
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok		 UK number-one single
March 11, 2001 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Pure and Simple" by Hear'Say

"Uptown Girl" has appeared on the television series The Simpsons, Preacher, Glee, Ashes to Ashes (which involved a dream sequence parodying the music video), and 30 Rock, and was featured in the film Trainwreck.[57] It was featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution Party.

References

  1. 1 2 "Billy Joel - Uptown Girl". Discogs.
  2. ↑ "Billy Joel - Uptown Girl - Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Billy Joel - Uptown Girl". Discogs. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Channel Five Interview" on YouTube
  5. ↑ "Billy Joel Visits. 11/16/10. 7:55am". Howard Stern archive. Marksfriggin.com. November 16, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Billy Joel Website Interview
  7. ↑ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. pp. 137–138. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
  8. 1 2 Lane, Daniel (June 27, 2013). "Daft Punk's Get Lucky becomes one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all-time!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ↑ Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada
  13. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl". Tracklisten.
  14. ↑ "Billy Joel: Uptown Girl" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Billy Joel Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Billy Joel search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  17. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl". Top 40 Singles.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl". VG-lista.
  19. ↑ ""Uptown Girl" on the South African Singles Chart". Springbok Radio. January 13, 1984. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Billy Joel: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Billy Joel – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Billy Joel.
  22. ↑ "Billy Joel – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Billy Joel.
  23. ↑ "Billy Joel – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Billy Joel. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  24. ↑
    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  25. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1983 – Volume 39, No. 17, December 24 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1984/Top 100 Songs of 1984", musicoutfitters.com (retrieved 9 April 2017).
  27. ↑ "British single certifications – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Uptown Girl in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  28. ↑ "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  29. 1 2 Copsey, Rob (March 17, 2017). "The Official Top 40 biggest selling singles by Irish acts of the last 20 years". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  30. ↑ westlifeVEVO (2017-02-17), Westlife - Uptown Girl, retrieved 2017-06-16
  31. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  32. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Westlife – Uptown Girl" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Westlife – Uptown Girl" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Westlife – Uptown Girl" (in French). Ultratip.
  35. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". Tracklisten.
  36. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (March 24, 2001). "Billboard".
  37. ↑ "Westlife: Uptown Girl" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  38. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl" (in French). Les classement single.
  39. ↑ "Musicline.de – Westlife Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  40. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". Top Digital Download.
  41. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Westlife search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  42. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Westlife – Uptown Girl". Top 40 Singles.
  43. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". VG-lista.
  44. ↑ "Polish Airplay Charts - Lista krajowa 27/2001". PiF PaF Production. Archived from the original on February 28, 2002. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2001-03-11". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  46. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl" Canciones Top 50.
  47. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". Singles Top 100.
  48. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Westlife – Uptown Girl". Swiss Singles Chart.
  49. ↑ "Westlife: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  50. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  51. ↑ "Australian End of Year 2001 Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Best of 2001 Irish Singles Chart". IRMA (Would required to select the "Best of 2001" tab). Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  53. ↑ "New Zealand Top Selling Singles of 2001". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  54. ↑ "2001 UK Singles Chart" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  55. ↑ Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on December 29, 2009, presented by DJ Nihal
  56. ↑ "British single certifications – Westlife – Uptown Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Uptown Girl in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  57. ↑ Brayson, Johnny (July 16, 2015). "'Uptown Girl' In 'Trainwreck' Is A Great Reminder That The Billy Joel Classic Has Major Comedy Creed". Bustle. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
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