Songfacts®:

• This song was Scritti Politti's only major hit in the US, although they had several hits in the UK. Scritti Politti is the British trio of Fred Maher, Green Gartside and David Gamson. "Scritti Politti" translates to "Political Writing" in Italian. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Graham - Huddersfield, England
• An instrumental version was later recorded by Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (who featured on their 1988 hit "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)") for his 1986 album Tutu. George Cole, author of The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991, explains: "When Miles was recording the Tutu album, producer Tommy LiPuma thought the album needed a cover version, so he gave Miles lots of pop albums to listen to – Miles selected Scritti Politti's 'Perfect Way.' In fact, Miles liked the tune so much, that he originally planned to make it the title track. Miles later became friends with singer Green Gartside and played on the Scritti Politti track 'Oh Patti.' He even appeared in the music video. I have to admit that the album version of 'Perfect Way' is not one of my most favorite of Miles's tunes and the rather mechanical rhythm track restricts what Miles can do with it. However, the live version was more fluid and included a nice call-and-response section featuring Miles and the bass player." (read our interview with George Cole)