Perfect by Fairground Attraction

Album: The First Of A Million Kisses (1988)

Charted: 1 80

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Songfacts®:

This is a rare '80s hit with a Skiffle flavor. It was written by the band's guitarist Mark E. Nevin.
This was Fairground Attraction's first hit. They followed it up with "Find My Love," which made the Top-10 in the UK, but the band broke up soon after. Lead singer Eddi Reader left the band after their second album and started a new band called The Patron Saints Of Imperfection - the band name showing her distaste for this song. Nevin continued to write, play and produce with such artists as Kirsty MacColl.
Bass player Simon Edwards played the guitaron (a Mexican acoustic bass) on this song.
In 1989 this won a Brit Award for Best Single while in the same year First of a Million Kisses won the Brit Award for the Best Album.
The song's writer Mark Nevin explains the song: "It's just about having girlfriends that haven't really worked out. You get into a relationship and go along with it in a half-hearted atitude and then you think, well, it's time to stop messing about and get it right this time. Find that perfect one."
Eddi Reader: "We used 'Perfect' at the end of the set to cheer everyone up because the rest of the songs were full of angst, breakup and love gone wrong, so 'Perfect' was thrown in at the end of the hour to make everyone dance a little bit." (Both quotes from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh.)

Comments: 4

Tania from Brisbane, AustraliaIt’s one of those songs that when it comes on now, you’re like “oh not this song”, but then you find yourself singing along to every single damn word!

It was a MASSIVE hit in Australia, and I was one of those who played it (and sung it) to death!
Dave from Cardiff, WalesEddi Reader went on to have a huge solo hit in the UK in 1996 with a cover version of Gene Pitney's '60s hit "Town Without Pity"
Orangebeaker from Edinburgh, ScotlandThis was amazingly popular in the UK when it came out, a neighbour of mine played it all Saturday afternnon on repeat, I think she must have worn the record out.
Pete from Nowra, Australiaremember when this song first came out in Australia, my flatmate bought it , didn't stop playing it at first , first time he got it , played it about 10 times in a row...i figure he must've liked it

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