Downtown (Petula Clark song)
Encyclopedia
"Downtown" is a pop song
composed by Tony Hatch
which, as recorded by Petula Clark
, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.
. I was staying at a hotel on Central Park and I wandered down to Broadway and to Times Square and, naively, I thought I was downtown. Forgetting that in New York especially downtown is a lot further downtown getting on towards Battery Park. I loved the whole atmosphere there and the song came to me very, very quickly."
Hatch had originally intended to present "Downtown" to The Drifters
, but when British singer Petula Clark
heard the incomplete tune, she proposed that if he could write lyrics to match the quality of the melody, she would be interested in recording it.
"Downtown" was recorded 16 October 1964 at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch
. Thirty minutes before the session was scheduled, Hatch was still touching up the song's lyrics in the studio's washroom. Hatch always insisted on recording all the personnel on his productions actually performing together as would be heard on the finished track: the large number of personnel contributing to the "Downtown" session necessitated that two studios be utilized for the track's recording, with a closed-circuit television connection allowing Hatch to conduct the personnel in both the studio in which he was physically present and the auxiliary studio. The session personnel on "Downtown" included guitarists Vic Flick
, Jimmy Page
and Big Jim Sullivan
, and also drummer Bobby Graham
and the Breakaways
vocal group.
"Downtown" entered the UK Top 50 dated the week 14 November 1964 ending a virtual two year UK chart absence for Clark; of the ten singles she'd had released in the UK during that period only one: "Chariot
", #39 the spring of 1963, had appeared in even the lower charts. "Downtown" rose to #2 that December remaining there for three weeks, kept out of the #1 position by the Beatles
' "I Feel Fine
". Certified a Gold record
for sales in the UK of 500,000, "Downtown" also reached #2 in Ireland
and #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and South Africa, and was also a hit in Denmark (#2), India (#3) and Norway (#8).
However "Downtown" had its greatest significance in the reception it was afforded in the US. Warner Bros.
A&R man Joe Smith was scouting in London for records with American hit potential, the musical British Invasion
of the US then going strong. Smith wanted to release Clark's "Downtown" in the US and when a surprised Hatch asked if Smith didn't consider "Downtown" to be "a very English record" he recalls Smith's reply as: "It's perfect. It's just an observation from outside of America and it's just beautiful and just perfect."
Warner Bros. released "Downtown" in the US in December 1964: the track appeared near the bottom of the national charts the week before Christmas and despite the Christmas season traditionally being the worst time to break a new hit "Downtown" shot up to the Top Ten in five weeks and the next week - 23 January 1965 - was #1. "Downtown" retained that position a further week before being overtaken by the ascendancy of the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
". Clark became the first UK female artist to have a US #1 hit during the rock and roll era and the second in the annals of US charted music, Vera Lynn
having hit #1 US with "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart
" in 1952. "Downtown" also made Clark the first UK female artist to have a single certified as a Gold record
for US sales of one million units. "Downtown" would be the first of fifteen consecutive hits Clark would place in the US Top 40 during a period when she'd have considerably less chart impact in her native UK, there reaching the Top 40 eight times.
Clark, who had been playing to her French speaking fans in small venues in Quebec when "Downtown" entered the US charts, swiftly cut non-English versions of the song for the markets in France, Italy and Germany; the absence in each region's language of a two-syllable equivalent of "downtown" necessitated a radical lyric recasting for the versions aimed at France ("Dans le temps"), Italy ("Ciao Ciao") and Spain ("Chao Chao") which respectively charted at #6, #2 and - for three weeks - #1. "Dans le temps" also reaching #18 in the Wallonia region of Belgium. The title and lyric "Downtown" was retained for an otherwise German version which was the most successful foreign language version reaching #1 in Germany and also reaching #3 in Austria and #11 on the charts for the Flemish region of Belgium.
Petula Clark has re-recorded the "Downtown" four times, in 1976 (with a disco
beat), in 1984 (with a new piano and trumpet intro that leads into the song's original opening), in 1988 with Dutch producer Eddy Ouwens for the album "My Greatest" for release in the UK, Germany and Benelux
only, and in 1996. In addition, the original 1964 recording was remixed and re-released in 1988, 1999, and 2003.
Following 9/11
, New York City adopted Clark's version of "Downtown" as the theme song for a series of commercials encouraging tourism to Lower Manhattan
. The song has been used by other metropolitan areas — including Chicago
, Indianapolis
, and Singapore
— for promotional purposes as well.
numerous times by other artists since Clark's original recording, notably by Dolly Parton
in 1984. After she recorded the track in December 1983, "Downtown" appeared on Parton's album of covers of hits from the 1950s and 1960s, The Great Pretender
. It was followed by a single release of the track on RCA Records
in April 1984 and proved to be a moderate success, peaking at number eighty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100
pop chart and number twenty-seven on the Hot Country Songs
chart in the United States. Parton's version altered some of the lyrics: "Listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
" became "Listen to the rhythm of the music that they're playing".
(Lyndhurst) with Simon Franglen producing; the orchestra for the track was recorded at Angel Studios
with Gavin Wright conducting.
Bunton's "Downtown" was selected as the 2006 BBC
Children in Need
single, with all proceeds from the release going to the charity and Bunton performed "Downtown" on the 2006 Children in Need telethon which began broadcast that 17 November. The single debuted on the UK singles chart dated 25 November 2006 at #24. Centralfm.com
noted Bunton's chart debut, declaring "Downtown" "the song she was born to cover...One of the all time great pop songs, ["Downtown"] was long overdue for a revival and Emma Bunton pays it the respect it deserves."
Centralfm predicted "Downtown" would rise to the Top 3 in its second week and the single did indeed jump to #3 on the chart for 2 December 2006 having sold 30,582 units in the relevant week: the mid-week stats had ranked "Downtown" at #2 behind "Patience
" by Take That
but on the chart for the full week Bunton was bested not only by Take That at #1 but by the previous week's #1 "Smack That
" by Akon
which outsold "Downtown" by fifty-seven copies. While affording Bunton her highest charting single since her #1 solo debut "What Took You So Long?
" in 2001, "Downtown" would prove to have little staying power, spending only three weeks in the Top 20, performances by Bunton on a Christmas Day broadcast of Top of the Pops
and New Year Live
failing to significantly buoy its popularity.
UK Sales: 77,039
. It includes appearances from contestants from the BBC's reality television show Strictly Come Dancing
and features cameos from Matt Dawson
, Louisa Lytton
, Carol Smillie
, Spoony
, Mark Ramprakash
, Claire King
, Peter Schmeichel
, Craig Revel Horwood
, Anton du Beke
, Brendan Cole
, Erin Boag
, Lilia Kopylova
, Karen Hardy
, and Darren Bennett
. Though the lyrics are innocuous, in the video Bunton's body language clearly twists the song title into a euphemism for sexual activity. Bunton, however, has denied this repeatedly, for example in this interview with online music magazine Popjustice
:
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
composed by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
which, as recorded by Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.
Original recording
Tony Hatch recalls: "'Downtown' was written on the occasion of my first visit to New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. I was staying at a hotel on Central Park and I wandered down to Broadway and to Times Square and, naively, I thought I was downtown. Forgetting that in New York especially downtown is a lot further downtown getting on towards Battery Park. I loved the whole atmosphere there and the song came to me very, very quickly."
Hatch had originally intended to present "Downtown" to The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
, but when British singer Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
heard the incomplete tune, she proposed that if he could write lyrics to match the quality of the melody, she would be interested in recording it.
"Downtown" was recorded 16 October 1964 at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch
Marble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
. Thirty minutes before the session was scheduled, Hatch was still touching up the song's lyrics in the studio's washroom. Hatch always insisted on recording all the personnel on his productions actually performing together as would be heard on the finished track: the large number of personnel contributing to the "Downtown" session necessitated that two studios be utilized for the track's recording, with a closed-circuit television connection allowing Hatch to conduct the personnel in both the studio in which he was physically present and the auxiliary studio. The session personnel on "Downtown" included guitarists Vic Flick
Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
, and also drummer Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham was an English session drummer, composer, arranger and record producer. Shel Talmy, who produced The Kinks, David Bowie and The Who, described Graham as "the greatest drummer the UK has ever produced."...
and the Breakaways
The Breakaways
The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premiere session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little known girl group singles.-Career:...
vocal group.
"Downtown" entered the UK Top 50 dated the week 14 November 1964 ending a virtual two year UK chart absence for Clark; of the ten singles she'd had released in the UK during that period only one: "Chariot
I Will Follow Him
"I Will Follow Him" is a song recorded by Little Peggy March. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat . It was adapted by Arthur Altman...
", #39 the spring of 1963, had appeared in even the lower charts. "Downtown" rose to #2 that December remaining there for three weeks, kept out of the #1 position by the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "I Feel Fine
I Feel Fine
"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British single. The song is notable for the use of feedback on a recording for the first time by any musician...
". Certified a Gold record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
for sales in the UK of 500,000, "Downtown" also reached #2 in Ireland
Irish Recorded Music Association
Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...
and #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and South Africa, and was also a hit in Denmark (#2), India (#3) and Norway (#8).
However "Downtown" had its greatest significance in the reception it was afforded in the US. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
A&R man Joe Smith was scouting in London for records with American hit potential, the musical British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
of the US then going strong. Smith wanted to release Clark's "Downtown" in the US and when a surprised Hatch asked if Smith didn't consider "Downtown" to be "a very English record" he recalls Smith's reply as: "It's perfect. It's just an observation from outside of America and it's just beautiful and just perfect."
Warner Bros. released "Downtown" in the US in December 1964: the track appeared near the bottom of the national charts the week before Christmas and despite the Christmas season traditionally being the worst time to break a new hit "Downtown" shot up to the Top Ten in five weeks and the next week - 23 January 1965 - was #1. "Downtown" retained that position a further week before being overtaken by the ascendancy of the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" is a 1964 song by The Righteous Brothers which became a number-one hit single in the United States and the United Kingdom the following year. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. ranked the song as having had more radio and television...
". Clark became the first UK female artist to have a US #1 hit during the rock and roll era and the second in the annals of US charted music, Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
having hit #1 US with "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart
Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart
"Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart" is a popular song and a cover version of "Auf wiedersehen, auf wiedersehen" written by German composer Eberhard Storch. Storch wrote the song in the hospital for his wife Maria as he was ill for a long time....
" in 1952. "Downtown" also made Clark the first UK female artist to have a single certified as a Gold record
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
for US sales of one million units. "Downtown" would be the first of fifteen consecutive hits Clark would place in the US Top 40 during a period when she'd have considerably less chart impact in her native UK, there reaching the Top 40 eight times.
Clark, who had been playing to her French speaking fans in small venues in Quebec when "Downtown" entered the US charts, swiftly cut non-English versions of the song for the markets in France, Italy and Germany; the absence in each region's language of a two-syllable equivalent of "downtown" necessitated a radical lyric recasting for the versions aimed at France ("Dans le temps"), Italy ("Ciao Ciao") and Spain ("Chao Chao") which respectively charted at #6, #2 and - for three weeks - #1. "Dans le temps" also reaching #18 in the Wallonia region of Belgium. The title and lyric "Downtown" was retained for an otherwise German version which was the most successful foreign language version reaching #1 in Germany and also reaching #3 in Austria and #11 on the charts for the Flemish region of Belgium.
Petula Clark has re-recorded the "Downtown" four times, in 1976 (with a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
beat), in 1984 (with a new piano and trumpet intro that leads into the song's original opening), in 1988 with Dutch producer Eddy Ouwens for the album "My Greatest" for release in the UK, Germany and Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
only, and in 1996. In addition, the original 1964 recording was remixed and re-released in 1988, 1999, and 2003.
Following 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, New York City adopted Clark's version of "Downtown" as the theme song for a series of commercials encouraging tourism to Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. The song has been used by other metropolitan areas — including Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
— for promotional purposes as well.
Awards
- Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for "Best Rock and Roll SongGrammy Award for Best Contemporary SongThe Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song was awarded between 1960 and 1971. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1960 the award was known as Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist...
" 1965 - Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Song of the Year" 1964
- Silver Record (1964) Awarded for 250,000 UK sales
- Gold Record (1965) Awarded for 400,000 UK sales
- Gold Record (1965) Awarded for One Million US sales
- Cash BoxCash Box magazineCashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...
International Gold Award (1965) - Radio Caroline Bell Award (UK) (1965)
- FestivalbarFestivalbarThe Festivalbar was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Milan; the first time it was held was in 1964...
1965 winner ("Ciao ciao") - Grammy Hall of FameGrammy Hall of Fame AwardThe Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
(2003) - Film & TV Music Award for Best Use of a Song in a Television Program (2007)
Dolly Parton version
"Downtown" has been coveredCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
numerous times by other artists since Clark's original recording, notably by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
in 1984. After she recorded the track in December 1983, "Downtown" appeared on Parton's album of covers of hits from the 1950s and 1960s, The Great Pretender
The Great Pretender (Dolly Parton album)
-Chart performance:-External links:*...
. It was followed by a single release of the track on RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in April 1984 and proved to be a moderate success, peaking at number eighty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop chart and number twenty-seven on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the United States. Parton's version altered some of the lyrics: "Listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
" became "Listen to the rhythm of the music that they're playing".
Chart positions
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
80 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
20 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 20 |
Emma Bunton version
Emma Bunton's remake of "Downtown" was released in 13 November 2006. Bunton, whose admiration for Petula Clark was evident on the 2004 Free Me album, had recorded "Downtown" at AIR StudiosAssociated Independent Recording
Associated Independent Recording , an independent recording company, was founded in London in 1965 by Beatles producer George Martin and his partner John Burgess after their departure from EMI....
(Lyndhurst) with Simon Franglen producing; the orchestra for the track was recorded at Angel Studios
Angel Studios
Angel Studios is a commercial recording studio located on the corner of Upper Street and Gaskin Street Islington, London, England.The three-studio complex is in The Angel, a renovated United Reform Church. Some internal features of the church remain in the studio, such as the original Victorian...
with Gavin Wright conducting.
Bunton's "Downtown" was selected as the 2006 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
single, with all proceeds from the release going to the charity and Bunton performed "Downtown" on the 2006 Children in Need telethon which began broadcast that 17 November. The single debuted on the UK singles chart dated 25 November 2006 at #24. Centralfm.com
Central fm
Central FM is by far the largest and longest serving English commercial radio station broadcasting in Southern Spain. There are now many English stations broadcasting over a similar area on the Costa del Sol, but Central FM leads the way, both in terms of their professional output and...
noted Bunton's chart debut, declaring "Downtown" "the song she was born to cover...One of the all time great pop songs, ["Downtown"] was long overdue for a revival and Emma Bunton pays it the respect it deserves."
Centralfm predicted "Downtown" would rise to the Top 3 in its second week and the single did indeed jump to #3 on the chart for 2 December 2006 having sold 30,582 units in the relevant week: the mid-week stats had ranked "Downtown" at #2 behind "Patience
Patience (Take That song)
"Patience" is a song by British boy band Take That. It was released on 13 November 2006 as the first single from their comeback album Beautiful World...
" by Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
but on the chart for the full week Bunton was bested not only by Take That at #1 but by the previous week's #1 "Smack That
Smack That
"Smack That" is the first single from Akon's second album Konvicted and features Eminem. The single debuted at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 28, 2006. The song set a record in its second week, jumping 88 positions to number 7. The single eventually peaked at #2 on the U.S....
" by Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
which outsold "Downtown" by fifty-seven copies. While affording Bunton her highest charting single since her #1 solo debut "What Took You So Long?
What Took You So Long?
"What Took You So Long?" is a song by English recording artist Emma Bunton from her debut solo album, A Girl Like Me . Written by Bunton, Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, Martin Harrington, John Themis, and Dave Morgan and released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom on 2 April...
" in 2001, "Downtown" would prove to have little staying power, spending only three weeks in the Top 20, performances by Bunton on a Christmas Day broadcast of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and New Year Live
New Year Live(BBC)
Presenters and Singers from the UK celebrate the beginning of the year with songs from special guests like Alesha Dixon and lots more. Also special new year messages from some special people including the people who matter in that year...
failing to significantly buoy its popularity.
Track listings and formats
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Downtown".- EP Children in Need
- "Downtown"
- "Something Tells Me (Something's Going to Happen)"
- "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
- UK CD 1
- "Downtown"
- "Downtown" (Elements Club Mix)
- UK CD 2
- "Downtown"
- "Something Tells Me (Something's Going to Happen)"
- "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
- "Downtown" (video)
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
3 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
32 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
36 |
| Slovakia (IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... ) |
13 |
UK Sales: 77,039
Music video
Directed by Harvey & Carolyn, (the directors who also directed her video for her single "Maybe") the sexually suggestive music video for the single is set in a hotel bedroom featuring Bunton as a maidMaid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
. It includes appearances from contestants from the BBC's reality television show Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
and features cameos from Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
, Louisa Lytton
Louisa Lytton
Louisa Lytton is an English actress born in Camden and living in Islington. She rose to fame in 2005 when joining EastEnders as Ruby Allen. After leaving EastEnders in late 2006, Lytton joined The Bill as PC Beth Green, who she played from May 2007 to March 2009. She also appeared on Strictly...
, Carol Smillie
Carol Smillie
Carol Patricia Smillie is a Scottish television personality, model and actress. Smillie is well-known for presenting the award winning BBC series Changing Rooms, which won her a National Television Award for Most Popular Factual Programme in 1998.She became the hostess of the British version of...
, Spoony
DJ Spoony
DJ Spoony is the stage name of Johnathan Joseph who is a British DJ, and former BBC Radio 1 presenter.-Radio and Dj career:...
, Mark Ramprakash
Mark Ramprakash
Mark Ravin Ramprakash is an English cricketer, playing for Surrey and England. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21...
, Claire King
Claire King
Claire King is a popular English actress, best known for playing the roles of Kim Tate in the ITV Soap Opera Emmerdale from 1989 to 1999 and Karen Betts in Bad Girls from 2000 to 2004.-Biography:...
, Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
, Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British dancer, choreographer, and theatre director in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, Anton du Beke
Anton du Beke
Anton du Beke is a British ballroom dancer and television presenter. His professional dance partner since 1997 has been Erin Boag. With Boag, he won the IDTA Classic in England in November 2003.-Family and early life:...
, Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole is a ballroom dancer specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, a dance contest in which a professional ballroom dancer is partnered with a celebrity amateur dancer...
, Erin Boag
Erin Boag
Erin Boag is a professional ballroom dancer. She has danced from the age of three, originally starting ballet and later moving into ballroom, Latin and jazz...
, Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Andreyevna Kopylova , born 18 June 1978 in Moscow, Soviet Union, is a professional dancer.With her husband Darren Bennett she has been competing as an amateur since July 1997 and as a professional since May 2003...
, Karen Hardy
Karen Hardy
Karen Hardy is a professional ballroom dancer, coach, teacher and adjudicator. In 1998 she won the professional International Latin American Dance Championship with Bryan Watson. She also won the United Kingdom Open, British National, European and World Masters championships...
, and Darren Bennett
Darren Bennett (dancer)
Darren Lee Bennett is a professional dancer, as were his parents. With his wife Lilia Kopylova he has a successful career in professional Latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the Samba and the Foxtrot.They teach private lessons in their own studio...
. Though the lyrics are innocuous, in the video Bunton's body language clearly twists the song title into a euphemism for sexual activity. Bunton, however, has denied this repeatedly, for example in this interview with online music magazine Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
:
Popjustice: "The dancers in the 'Downtown' video seem to know you very well indeed. So well that they are all pointing at your fanny. Was this your idea?"
Bunton: "I don't understand where this has come from. It is a dance routine and it is nothing to do with anything like that. It is everyone else's dirty little minds. Especially yours. It worries me because it is a classic and you can't make classics rude."
Covers
- Sandie ShawSandie ShawSandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
(for her debut 1965 album Sandie) - Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
(for their 1965 album Chipmunks à Go-GoChipmunks à Go-GoChipmunks à Go-Go is an album by The Chipmunks and David Seville, released by Liberty Records in 1965, again in 1982, and on compact disc in 1990....
) - Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
(for her debut 1965 album Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
) - The New Christy Minstrels (for their 1965 album Chim Chim Cher-eeChim Chim Cher-ee"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from Mary Poppins, the 1964 musical motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London at...
) - Chris ConnorChris ConnorChris Connor was an American jazz singer.-Biography:She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school...
(for her 1965 album Sings Gentle Bossa Nova) - Danny (as "Kauan" - long [time] - 1965 Finnish rendering)
- Gelu (1965 Spanish rendering retaining "Downtown" title)
- Renata (as "Cantant" - singer - 1965 Catalan rendering)
- Helena VondráčkováHelena VondráckováHelena Vondráčková is a Czech singer whose career has spanned five decades.- Early life/career :Vondráčková spent her childhood years in the town of Slatinany. She took piano lessons from an early age...
(as "Pátá" - the fifth - 1965 Czech rendering) - Allan ShermanAllan ShermanAllan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
(a parody version: same melody, comedy lyrics, called "Crazy Downtown") - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(for his 1966 album Strangers in the NightStrangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album)Strangers in the Night is a 1966 studio album by Frank Sinatra.The album marked Sinatra's return to #1 on the pop album charts in the mid-1960s, and it consolidated the comeback he started in 1966. Combining pop hits with show tunes and standards, the album creates a balance between big band and...
) - Connie SmithConnie SmithConnie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...
(for her 1966 album Downtown CountryDowntown CountryDowntown Country is the sixth studio album by American country artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in January 1967 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
) - Mrs. MillerMrs. MillerElva Ruby Connes Miller , who recorded under the name Mrs. Miller, was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-key renditions of then-popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown".Singing in an untrained,...
(for her 1966 album "Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits") - Christine LavinChristine LavinChristine Lavin is a New York City-based singer-songwriter and promoter of contemporary folk music. She has recorded numerous solo albums, and has also recorded with other female folk artists under the name Four Bitchin' Babes...
(for her 1988 album "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind") - The B-52'sThe B-52'sThe B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
- RxRx (band)℞ or Rx was a one-off side project by Skinny Puppy band member Nivek Ogre, in collaboration with Invisible Records founder Martin Atkins. The project was originally called Ritalin, but the name was changed for legal reasons....
(aka Ritalin), one-off collaboration project by Skinny PuppySkinny PuppySkinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
vocalist Nivek OgreNivek OgreNivek Ogre is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor best known as a founding member of the industrial band Skinny Puppy. Since that band featured another Kevin and was produced by another Ogilvie Nivek Ogre (born Kevin Graham Ogilvie December 5, 1962) is a Canadian musician,...
and Invisible Records owner Martin Atkins - Holly Cole Trio (a version with updated lyrics on the 1998 album Yesterday & Today)
- Kaori IidaKaori Iidais a Japanese pop singer and actress, associated with Hello! Project and best known as a founding member of the girl band Morning Musume. She has also recorded with the Morning Musume side project band Tanpopo and is currently a solo artist...
(cover of the French version of this song on her album, Osavurio: Ai wa Matte Kurenai, in 2003) - The Killer Barbies
- Jann ArdenJann ArdenJann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
(for her 2007 album Uncover MeUncover MeUncover Me is the seventh album from Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden, released in 2007. "Counterfeit Heart" is the only track written by Jann Arden . Three additional tracks from these sessions, "Moon River", "What the World Needs Now", and "End of the World", are available from her Myspace...
) - Tina ArenaTina ArenaFilippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
(as a bonus track on the digital release of her 2008 studio album Songs of Love & Loss 2Songs of Love & Loss 2Songs of Love & Loss 2 is the eighth studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Tina Arena, released on 15 November 2008 by EMI in Australia. Her second cover album, it follows on from Songs of Love & Loss, released in 2007, and includes covers of songs by Blondie, Lulu, Alice Cooper and...
) - Ina Martell (for release in the former German Democratic Republic, using the same lyrics as on Clark's version for the Western German market)
- Michaela Prunerova (ditto)
- Siw MalmkvistSiw MalmkvistSiw "Siwan" Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist is a Swedish singer who is popular in Scandinavia and Germany...
(in Swedish) - Wendy Van Wanten (as "Nachtblauw" - blue night - on her 1998 album Denk aan mij)
- Celly Campello (in Portuguese as "Não me abandone")
- Sarah CracknellSarah CracknellSarah Cracknell is an English pop singer who fronts the band Saint Etienne and is known for her light, smooth singing voice. She is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick's first assistant director Derek Cracknell.-Career:...
(b-side of "Desert Baby") - Irene CaraIrene CaraIrene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
(for the Downtown soundtrack) - The OsmondsThe OsmondsThe Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers...
(as The Osmond Brothers) Mid 1960's LP Track, Also on compilation MGM PARADE OF STARS - On March 8, 2010, a charity version of the single was released in the UK called "CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
", with the lyrics adapted to be about the Cheltenham Racing FestivalCheltenham FestivalThe Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
. The recording group, made up of various jockeys and commentators, were called 'The Favourites'. - Bill Bruford's EarthworksEarthworks (band)Bill Bruford's Earthworks was a British jazz band led by drummer Bill Bruford. The band recorded several albums for Editions EG, Discipline Global Mobile and Summerfold Records....
(an instrumental version on the 1989 album Dig?Dig?Dig? is the second album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1989....
) - The Saw DoctorsThe Saw DoctorsThe Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990, and still holds the record for the...
Featuring Petula Clark, due for release in December 2011
In popular culture
- In a Season 1 episode of Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, Will (Erick McCormack) meets Val (Molly ShannonMolly ShannonMolly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
) in an elevator when she completes the song after he begins humming it. - In the 1999 movie Girl, InterruptedGirl, Interrupted (film)Girl, Interrupted is a 1999 drama film about a teenager's 18-month stay at a mental institution, starring Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave, with Jolie winning an Academy Award for her performance....
, Susanna (Winona RyderWinona RyderWinona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
) and Lisa (Angelina JolieAngelina JolieAngelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
), sing the song together after their friend is confined in a room alone, the original version is played during the closing credits. - The song is used as the opening number to Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical, a stage musical based on the 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
- In the Season 3 premiere episode of LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, "A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities (Lost)"A Tale of Two Cities" is the third season premiere, and 50th episode overall, of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost. The episode was written by co-creators/executive producers J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, based on a story by Lindelof and directed by...
", Elizabeth MitchellElizabeth MitchellElizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
's character Juliet BurkeJuliet BurkeDr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
had this song playing in her home in the opening scene. The song was heard again in a flashback sequence in the season 3 episode "One of UsOne of Us (Lost)"One of Us" is the 16th episode of the third season of Lost. It aired on April 11, 2007, making it the 65th episode of the series. The episode was written by Carlton Cuse and Drew Goddard and directed by Jack Bender...
". - The song also was used in episode 272 ("Uncle Charley's Aunt") of the television series My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
. Originally aired on February 17, 1968, the episode had Tina Cole as Katie singing the popular song with the rest of the Douglas family. They then decide to perform the song at Uncle Charley's local lodge when he's forced to put together a matinee performance, but all but one member of the family ends up not being able to attend. - In the 1991 movie Flight of the IntruderFlight of the IntruderFlight of the Intruder is a 1991 film directed by John Milius, which is based on the novel of the same name by A-6 Intruder pilot Stephen Coonts...
, starring Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Brad JohnsonBrad Johnson (actor)Brad Johnson is an American actor and former Marlboro Man.Johnson's first acting credit was in the low-budget biker film The Nam Angels , and shortly after he had his first co-starring role in a major film when he played the role of Ted Baker in the 1989 film Always, directed by Steven Spielberg...
, Defoe and Johnson sing it together in an A-6 Intruder cockpit on their way back from a prohibited bombing run on a Hanoi SAM missile depot. (see the entry for Operation Rolling ThunderOperation Rolling ThunderOperation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division , US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.The four objectives...
below) - The song is briefly mentioned in the movie Short Circuit 2Short Circuit 2Short Circuit 2 is a 1988 comedy science fiction film, the sequel to 1986's film Short Circuit. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson, and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahrvi , Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy Banatoni, and Tim Blaney as the voice of Johnny 5 Short Circuit 2 is a...
, as part of a plot device using the names of songs as clues. The Downtown they refer to is Downtown New York. - In 1987, The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (later to become better known as The KLFThe KLFThe KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
) sampled large chunks of "Downtown" to make their new single "Down TownDown Town"Down Town" was the a 1987 release by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu . The song is gospel music driven by house music rhythms, incorporating a sample of Petula Clark's 1964 single "Downtown".-Origins:...
". - The pop-punk band Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
use the melody of "Downtown" for their song "Waiting", on their 2000 album WarningWarning (Green Day album)Warning is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on October 3, 2000 through Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor, Nimrod , the album eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic and pop rock elements...
. - The song was sung by Lucille Bluth to General Anderson to get her son Buster out of military service in the Arrested Development episode "Switch HitterSwitch Hitter"Switch Hitter" is the 29th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael schedules a meeting with Stan Sitwell, President of rival company Sitwell Housing Inc., at the house. Michael thinks that Sitwell sees that the company is in trouble and sees an opportunity whereas G.O.B...
". - The song was heard on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. The classical pianist considered Petula Clark the best female vocalist of his generation and published several essays praising her talent and achievements.
- In the 1993 episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "Homer's Barbershop QuartetHomer's Barbershop Quartet"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...
", the Be Sharps hold an audition to replace Chief Wiggum. Groundskeeper WillieGroundskeeper WillieWilliam McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
performs the song in his audition and, with his Scottish accent, pronounces the title as "Doontoon". - The song was used to introduce a feature on Children's BBC where viewers could send in pictures of themselves in their town (hence "Downtown") to presenter Phillip SchofieldPhillip SchofieldPhillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
. - The French language version of the song was used in the Canadian movie waydowntownWaydowntownwaydowntown is a film directed by Gary Burns, released in 2000 which explores office driven culture. The film takes place in Calgary, Alberta, where many downtown buildings are connected by a network of skywalks called Plus 15. As a result, the hustle and bustle of the main street has been...
. - The song was used during the opening scenes of Jaws 2Jaws 2Jaws 2 is a 1978 thriller film and the first sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws , which is based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name...
in 1978. - Amanda Price sings it to Elizabeth Bennet'sElizabeth BennetElizabeth Bennet, later Elizabeth Darcy, is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family...
peers in Lost in AustenLost in AustenLost in Austen is a four-part 2008 British television series for the ITV network, written by Guy Andrews as a fantasy adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...
which sees a modern-day Londoner trapped inside Jane Austen's fictional world of Pride and Prejudice. This scene is deleted from some DVD and broadcast versions of the show. - The song was used in an episode of Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
for the episode where Liam ConnorLiam ConnorLiam Barrington Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street, played by Rob James-Collier from 2006 to 2008.-Creation:...
is murdered. This was aired on the 16th October 2008 - Rick MoranisRick MoranisFrederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
performs a jazz version of the song as lounge singer Tom Monroe on SCTVSecond City TelevisionSecond City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
. The song is arranged to include Petula Clark's other hits, "Don't Sleep in the SubwayDon't Sleep in the Subway"Don't Sleep in the Subway" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. Released in April 1967, it peaked at #5 on the US charts that June. It was Clark's final US top-ten single and the second of two #1 hits on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following "I...
," "A Sign of the TimesA Sign of the Times"A Sign of the Times" was the followup to Petula Clark's #1 US hit "My Love", continuing her association with writer/producer Tony Hatch though with a more percussive sound than was evident on Clark's previous singles – or would be evident on her later ones....
" and "I Know a PlaceI Know a Place"I Know a Place" is a song with music and lyrics by Tony Hatch. It was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch in a session which featured drummer Bobby Graham and the Breakaways vocal group....
". - A Mad MenMad MenMad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
character sings a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
an improvised version of the song to mock a coworker and her lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
girlfriend (Season 4). - In AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Coles SupermarketsColes SupermarketsColes Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
used a version of the song sung by staff members and customers, altering the lyrics to reflect reduced prices throughout the store in 2011. - In SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, George CostanzaGeorge CostanzaGeorge Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
erroneously believes his boss is sending him a crypted message about an assignment through the lyrics in the song.