"Pure and Simple" is a popular song, released as the debut single by Hear'Say

Hear'Say

Hear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...

, the original winners of the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 version of Popstars

Popstars

Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss...

. It was released as a double A-side with "Bridge Over Troubled Water

Bridge over Troubled Water (song)

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...

", which was a fan favourite at the live shows.

The single spent three weeks at the top of the 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 ...

 and, at the time, it was the fastest selling debut single of all time in the UK, selling just under 550,000 copies in the first week, a record beaten a year later by Will Young

Will Young

William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...

, the winner of the first series

Pop Idol (series 1)

The first series of British reality television show Pop Idol was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom during the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a singing competition open to people aged between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1million recording contract to release...

 of Pop Idol

Pop Idol

Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

, with his debut single "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen

Evergreen (Westlife song)

"Evergreen" is a pop song, co-written by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and originally recorded by Westlife. The song appears on their album World of Our Own, and was released as a single, only in the Philippines, where it reached number 3 due to the insistent demand of their fans...

". It was the second highest selling single of 2001 behind "It Wasn't Me

It Wasn't Me

"It Wasn't Me" is the first official single from reggae artist Shaggy's multi-platinum studio album Hot Shot, released on February 26, 2001. The song has since been regarded as Shaggy's breakthrough in the pop market, and is his highest charting song to date, topping the charts in Australia,...

" by Shaggy

Shaggy (musician)

Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...

, and in total, more than 1.2 million copies were sold, meaning it achieved a Double Platinum certification, one of the few singles to achieve the feat that decade.

The song was a cover version of a song originally released a year earlier by Girl Thing

Girl Thing

Girl Thing were a British girl band, made up of members, Jodi Albert, Anika Bostelaar, Linzi Martin, Michelle Barber and Nikki Stuart. They are most famous for their song "Last One Standing" written and produced by the Steelworks production team of Tim Lever, Mike Percy and Eliot Kennedy, which hit...

, who were dropped from Polydor Records

Polydor Records

Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

 to make way for Hear'Say. In 2006, it was covered by America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...

winner Bianca Ryan

Bianca Ryan

Bianca Taylor Ryan is an American singer and guitarist, who won the debut season of NBC's America's Got Talent at age 11....

 on her self-titled album.

The song was co-written by Pete Kirtley

Pete Kirtley

Pete Kirtley is an English multi-platinum and Ivor Novello Award winning songwriter, record producer and recently established publisher. He has produced over 150 records worldwide with sales exceeding 10 million, including four number one hits worldwide, eight UK top ten hits and twenty top forty...

, Tim Hawes and Betty Boo

Betty Boo

Alison Moira Clarkson better known as Betty Boo, is an English singer, songwriter and pop-rap artist...

 under her real name of Alison Clarkson. At the time of release many critics noted that the song had an uncanny resemblance to the Oasis

Oasis (band)

Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

 song "All Around the World

All Around the World (Oasis song)

"All Around the World" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter Noel Gallagher. Released on 12 January 1998, the track peaked at number one in the UK Singles Chart; it is the longest single ever to do so...

" and the All Saints

All Saints (group)

All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...

 song "Never Ever". BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 DJ Chris Moyles

Chris Moyles

Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....

 even recorded a parody version of "Pure and Simple" that included the song lyrics from these two songs. The drumbeat also appears to sample TLC

TLC (band)

TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...

's "Waterfalls", although this was not credited.

"Pure and Simple" has sold 1,080,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts Company.

Chart positions

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...	3
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...	3
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Swiss Music Charts Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	31
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 ...	1