Sight for Sore Eyes
Encyclopedia
"Sight For Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from the British band M People
released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit
.Written by Mike Pickering
, Paul Heard and Heather Small
and Produced by M People
. It was released on 5 November 1994. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart
.
and toured the UK and Europe twice, but over the summer of 1994, worked quickly and resolutely to continue their sizeable success, recording new album Bizarre Fruit
, and the first fruits of their labour were in the form of Sight for Sore Eyes.
in Chalk Farm
, London. The song starts with a gospel-esque ‘harmonized’ warm-up by the backing vocalists accompanied with a building piano with lead vocals by the unmistakable voice of Heather Small
.
The key refrain #“Ain’t love, ain’t love, ain’t love a surprise”# is bellowed by Heather and then other key elements are introduced, most notably synths and a subtle allegro acenato (quick and accentuated) piano movement during the verses with Small's vocals more prominent than on previous singles. In the chorus breaks, an Italo-House style chord progression and sequenced bleeps granulizer synths lead up to the verses.
Like "One Night in Heaven
", the melody line is guided by the insistently infectious deep Moog bass line, programmed drumming, percussion drumming and layered high hat synths and a four-to-the-floor house beat. This is underlined by subtle strings and euphoric chords during the actual choruses. The Italo House
style is most punctuated during the middle–eight piano-break.
became the fifth consecutive single to enter the Top 10. It also, for only the second time since One Night in Heaven
seventeen months previous, promptly climbed the next week. It is the only the second M People
single to climb within the Top 10. It entered the chart at number 8 and following huge club support and some major performances on British television, most notably Top of the Pops
saw a massive surge in sales to then peak in its second week at number 6.
A lot of pressure was on the first single of the new album, to continue in the success of Renaissance which peaked at 5, but in two weeks the single sold over 150,000 copies, to not only continue but surpass previous successes and Sight for Sore Eyes
became M People
’s third biggest selling single, behind Moving on Up and One Night in Heaven
.
The single entered the chart at number 8 with sales of 79,000 copies in its first week and another 89,000 copies in its second week to rise and peak at number 6 and a further 63,000 in its third week to chart at number 9. The single spent three weeks in the Top 10 and chart positions went from number 8 to 6 to 9 to 17 to 20 to 26 to 27 to 43 to 71.
This single spent nine weeks on the chart and left in early January 1995.
was serviced to radio five weeks before physical release on Monday 1st October as the eagerly awaited brand new song to continue the unbroken string of five consecutive top 5 Airplay hits. Radio was quick to play the single, with Top supporters in the being the Capital Radio group, Galaxy and BBC Radio 1, who all placed the song on their A-List/Single if the Week. By the end of week one on airplay, the single had become the highest new entry being played 539 times on UK Radio placing it straight in at Number 45.
Growing anticipation of the new album and the very radio friendly sound propelled the single up the airplay chart and received plaudits form DJs, as a result the single climbed from 45 to 31 to 19 to 9 to the week before release. At this point the song peaked at number 3 on airplay for two weeks and stayed in the top 10 for another three weeks becoming a firm radio favourite. It then took another ten weeks to leave the Airplay Top 75 which meant it was still being heavily played when its successor Open Your Heart
was released to radio. This had only happened once before with One Night in Heaven
and Moving on Up and would happen again with future singles Just for You
and Fantasy Island
.
on drums, Paul Johnson and Lynieve Austin on backing vocals.
Within the studio, there are two main colour themes, red and blue. And the starting shot of empty cars leaned up against each other and twelve people dressed in dark mechanic overalls with their backs facing the camera all dancing up against the cars in the background. To the fore, is Heather dancing on the spot and very much reflecting the general happy mood of the video, surrounded by her band mates: Mike Pickering
on guitar, Paul Heard on first and second keyboard and Shovell on Bongos.
To incorporate the overall metal theme of the new album there are cutaways of sparks flying as metalwork is carried out mechanics and close ups of booted-feet dancing to the music.
The video was filmed entirely in a North London studio, by the legendary British photographer and film director Terence Donovan
, and filmed in one day on September 29, 1994. Donovan had taken several promotional photos of the band for merchandise and tours between 1994-1996 and was considered a very good friend of the band. They dedicated their next album Fresco (1997) to him following his untimely death.
gets arguably one of the largest rapturous audience responses, alongside One Night in Heaven
, Moving on Up and Search for the Hero
. During the Bizarre Fruit
, Bizarre Fruit II tours as well as T in the Park
in 1995 proved to be an enormous crowd pleaser played with additional Percussion obligato by Shovell in the middle eight break to add to the Italo-House style. Some additional rhythm guitar and saxophone ad-libs are also played throughout and during the Italo-house break towards the latter half of the song is greeted by audience whoops.
nearly three months later.
The B-side was album track ‘Sugartown’ providing people with a sampler as to what the album may sound like showing that M People could also do a funk Soul song with a melodic groove.
7" Mini
12" Maxi
CD Maxi
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit
Bizarre Fruit
- Release history :...
.Written by Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
, Paul Heard and Heather Small
Heather Small
Heather Small is a British soul singer, best known for being the lead singer in the Manchester based band M People. Her debut solo album was Proud in 2000...
and Produced by M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
. It was released on 5 November 1994. The song peaked at number six on 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 ...
.
Background
The band had scored four consecutive Top 10 singles from the previous album Elegant SlummingElegant Slumming
Elegant Slumming is the second album by British house music band M People. It was released on 4 October 1993 charting and peaking at number 2 on the UK Album Chart and spent 87 weeks in the Top 75...
and toured the UK and Europe twice, but over the summer of 1994, worked quickly and resolutely to continue their sizeable success, recording new album Bizarre Fruit
Bizarre Fruit
- Release history :...
, and the first fruits of their labour were in the form of Sight for Sore Eyes.
Composition
The song was recorded at the RoundhouseRoundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
in Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is an area of north London, England. It lies directly to the north of Camden Town and its underground station is the closest tube station to the nearby, upmarket neighbourhood of Primrose Hill....
, London. The song starts with a gospel-esque ‘harmonized’ warm-up by the backing vocalists accompanied with a building piano with lead vocals by the unmistakable voice of Heather Small
Heather Small
Heather Small is a British soul singer, best known for being the lead singer in the Manchester based band M People. Her debut solo album was Proud in 2000...
.
The key refrain #“Ain’t love, ain’t love, ain’t love a surprise”# is bellowed by Heather and then other key elements are introduced, most notably synths and a subtle allegro acenato (quick and accentuated) piano movement during the verses with Small's vocals more prominent than on previous singles. In the chorus breaks, an Italo-House style chord progression and sequenced bleeps granulizer synths lead up to the verses.
Like "One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven is the sixth overall single from British band M People and the first single from their second album Elegant Slumming . Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 June 1993. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles...
", the melody line is guided by the insistently infectious deep Moog bass line, programmed drumming, percussion drumming and layered high hat synths and a four-to-the-floor house beat. This is underlined by subtle strings and euphoric chords during the actual choruses. The Italo House
Italo house
Italo house is a form of house music popular in Italy, Britain and United States since the late 1980s. It fuses house music and Italo disco. The genre's main musical characteristic is its use of predominantly electronic piano chords in a more lyrical form than classic Chicago House records...
style is most punctuated during the middle–eight piano-break.
Chart performance
Like previous single, Sight for Sore EyesSight for Sore Eyes
"Sight For Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from the British band M People released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit.Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small and Produced by M People. It was released on 5 November 1994...
became the fifth consecutive single to enter the Top 10. It also, for only the second time since One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven is the sixth overall single from British band M People and the first single from their second album Elegant Slumming . Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 June 1993. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles...
seventeen months previous, promptly climbed the next week. It is the only the second M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
single to climb within the Top 10. It entered the chart at number 8 and following huge club support and some major performances on British television, most notably 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...
saw a massive surge in sales to then peak in its second week at number 6.
A lot of pressure was on the first single of the new album, to continue in the success of Renaissance which peaked at 5, but in two weeks the single sold over 150,000 copies, to not only continue but surpass previous successes and Sight for Sore Eyes
Sight for Sore Eyes
"Sight For Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from the British band M People released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit.Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small and Produced by M People. It was released on 5 November 1994...
became M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
’s third biggest selling single, behind Moving on Up and One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven is the sixth overall single from British band M People and the first single from their second album Elegant Slumming . Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 June 1993. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles...
.
The single entered the chart at number 8 with sales of 79,000 copies in its first week and another 89,000 copies in its second week to rise and peak at number 6 and a further 63,000 in its third week to chart at number 9. The single spent three weeks in the Top 10 and chart positions went from number 8 to 6 to 9 to 17 to 20 to 26 to 27 to 43 to 71.
This single spent nine weeks on the chart and left in early January 1995.
Airplay
Sight for Sore EyesSight for Sore Eyes
"Sight For Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from the British band M People released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit.Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small and Produced by M People. It was released on 5 November 1994...
was serviced to radio five weeks before physical release on Monday 1st October as the eagerly awaited brand new song to continue the unbroken string of five consecutive top 5 Airplay hits. Radio was quick to play the single, with Top supporters in the being the Capital Radio group, Galaxy and BBC Radio 1, who all placed the song on their A-List/Single if the Week. By the end of week one on airplay, the single had become the highest new entry being played 539 times on UK Radio placing it straight in at Number 45.
Growing anticipation of the new album and the very radio friendly sound propelled the single up the airplay chart and received plaudits form DJs, as a result the single climbed from 45 to 31 to 19 to 9 to the week before release. At this point the song peaked at number 3 on airplay for two weeks and stayed in the top 10 for another three weeks becoming a firm radio favourite. It then took another ten weeks to leave the Airplay Top 75 which meant it was still being heavily played when its successor Open Your Heart
Open Your Heart (M People song)
"Open Your Heart" is the eleventh overall single from British band M People. It is the second single from their third album Bizarre Fruit . Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small. Produced by M People. It was released on 23 January 1995...
was released to radio. This had only happened once before with One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven is the sixth overall single from British band M People and the first single from their second album Elegant Slumming . Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 June 1993. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles...
and Moving on Up and would happen again with future singles Just for You
Just for You (M People song)
Just for You is the fifteenth overall single from British band M People. It is the lead single single from their fourth album Fresco . Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small. Produced by M People. It was released on 22 September 1997...
and Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
.
Music video
It features the four main members of the band who are performing to the song throughout, accompanied by Andy GangadeenAndy Gangadeen
Andy Gangadeen is a drummer from the United Kingdom, known for his band The Bays and as a session drummer. Born in the UK to a Guyanese family, he grew up in Walthamstow and took up drums aged 17....
on drums, Paul Johnson and Lynieve Austin on backing vocals.
Within the studio, there are two main colour themes, red and blue. And the starting shot of empty cars leaned up against each other and twelve people dressed in dark mechanic overalls with their backs facing the camera all dancing up against the cars in the background. To the fore, is Heather dancing on the spot and very much reflecting the general happy mood of the video, surrounded by her band mates: Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
on guitar, Paul Heard on first and second keyboard and Shovell on Bongos.
To incorporate the overall metal theme of the new album there are cutaways of sparks flying as metalwork is carried out mechanics and close ups of booted-feet dancing to the music.
The video was filmed entirely in a North London studio, by the legendary British photographer and film director Terence Donovan
Terence Donovan (photographer)
Terence Daniel Donovan was a British photographer and film director, best remembered for his fashion photography of the 1960s. He oversaw the music video to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible".Donovan was born in Stepney in the East End of London to Lilian Constance V...
, and filmed in one day on September 29, 1994. Donovan had taken several promotional photos of the band for merchandise and tours between 1994-1996 and was considered a very good friend of the band. They dedicated their next album Fresco (1997) to him following his untimely death.
Live performances
When performed live, Sight for Sore EyesSight for Sore Eyes
"Sight For Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from the British band M People released as the lead single from multi-platinum album Bizarre Fruit.Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small and Produced by M People. It was released on 5 November 1994...
gets arguably one of the largest rapturous audience responses, alongside One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven
One Night in Heaven is the sixth overall single from British band M People and the first single from their second album Elegant Slumming . Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 June 1993. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles...
, Moving on Up and Search for the Hero
Search for the Hero
Search for the Hero is the third single from Bizarre Fruit , the multi-platinum selling album from M People Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard. Produced by M People. It was released on 12th June 1995...
. During the Bizarre Fruit
Bizarre Fruit
- Release history :...
, Bizarre Fruit II tours as well as T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
in 1995 proved to be an enormous crowd pleaser played with additional Percussion obligato by Shovell in the middle eight break to add to the Italo-House style. Some additional rhythm guitar and saxophone ad-libs are also played throughout and during the Italo-house break towards the latter half of the song is greeted by audience whoops.
Remixes/B-sides
At the time of release only one remix of the single was readily available by the Hed Boys and their ‘Post Op’ Mix, a much sought after E-Smoove Mix was being heavily rotated on the dance floor but was not made available for general issue until it featured on CD2 of successor single Open Your HeartOpen Your Heart (M People song)
"Open Your Heart" is the eleventh overall single from British band M People. It is the second single from their third album Bizarre Fruit . Written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small. Produced by M People. It was released on 23 January 1995...
nearly three months later.
The B-side was album track ‘Sugartown’ providing people with a sampler as to what the album may sound like showing that M People could also do a funk Soul song with a melodic groove.
Track listings
CSS- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Radio Edit) 3.57
- “Sugartown” 4.36
7" Mini
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Radio edit) 3.44
- “Sugartown” 4.36
12" Maxi
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Radio Edit) 3.57
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Master Mix) 6.13
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Hed Boys Post Op Mix) 10.12
- “Sugartown” 4.36
CD Maxi
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Radio Edit) 3.57
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Master Mix) 6.13
- “Sight for Sore Eyes” (Hed Boys Post Op Mix) 10.12
- “Sugartown” 4.36
Charts
| Chart (1994) | 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 ... |
6 |
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
20 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
17 |