Album: The Sound of McAlmont and Butler (1995)
Charted: 8
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Suede guitarist Bernard Butler had flounced out of the band after recording Dog Man Star, as tensions between him and frontman Brett Anderson became unbearable. Around the same time, vocalist David McAlmont's rock 'n' soul duo Thieves collapsed in swathes of even heavier acrimony and he hooked up with Butler on the musical rebound. The result was this defiant message to their former band mates, told through the narrative prism of the heartbreaking ending of a gay relationship. Butler told NME: May 11, 2013: "It was the first piece of music I wrote after I left Suede. I wrote it as an instrumental. Everything was in place, but it didn't have the voice. I wanted to write a piece of music that made me feel good. I'd just left the band and it was a frightening time."

    "Everything I'd done in the past six months had been really dark," he continued. "I'd come out of a very sad situation and lost a lot of friends, so it was a very liberating song. I met David at the Jazz Café in Camden and said, 'I've got this song, do you wanna try it out?' He came back to me two days later and sang the first verse. He had no second verse, so I just said 'Sing the first one again.' How many good songs do you get when the singer's too lazy to write a second verse?"
  • Musically, the song is a collision between Philly-style Soul and Glam Rock fused into a Phil Spector type wall of sound. Bernard Butler played all the instruments.
  • The song reached #8 in the U.K. and its follow up "You Do" peaked at #17, but demands that the pair tour in support of their hits were loudly ignored. Though they made several television appearances, McAlmont and Butler played just one low key gig together, before acrimoniously breaking up. The Sound of McAlmont and Butler album was released after their split peaking at #33 on the UK album chart. After pursuing solo careers for several years, the duo resolved their issues and recorded a second album together.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."