"Brimful of Asha" | ||||
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Single byCornershop | ||||
from the albumWhen I Was Born for the 7th Time | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 18 August 1997 (1997-8-18) | |||
Studio | West Orange (Preston, Lancashire, England)[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Wiiija | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tjinder Singh | |||
Producer(s) | Tjinder Singh | |||
Cornershop singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Brimful of Asha" onYouTube | ||||
"Brimful of Asha" is a song by Englishalternative rock bandCornershop from their third album,When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997). The recording, released byWiiija, originally reached number 60 on theUK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version byNorman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart and number 16 on the USBillboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to the Indian singerAsha Bhosle.[5] Its music video was directed byPhil Harder.
This song is based on the history offilm culture in India. Since their beginnings, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. The singing is almost always performed by background singers while the actors and actresseslip sync.Asha Bhosle is aplayback singer who has sung over 12,000 songs and is referred to as "Sadi rani" (Punjabi for "our queen") at one point in the lyrics. In the slower, original album recording, playback singersLata Mangeshkar (her elder sister) andMohammed Rafi (one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are mentioned. The lyrics in thebridge contain a number of references to non-Indian music, includingGeorges Brassens' song "Les Amoureux des bancs publics",Jacques Dutronc,Marc Bolan,Argo Records andTrojan Records.[6]
Kevin Courtney fromIrish Times named "Brimful of Asha" Single of the Week, adding, "This three-chord paean to the joy of vinyl is already a classic, butFatboy Slim's bouncy,big beat remix will plant the tune firmly on to the dance-floor and give Cornershop a much-deserved commercial boost."[7] British magazineMusic Week rated the original version of the song five out of five, writing, "The Asian-rock outfit deliver their most compulsive slice of pop to date, mixing aVelvet Underground-style groove with a truly ticklesome lyric, strings and a top tune."[8] In 1998, alsoMusic Week named theNorman Cook remix Single of the Week, adding that his remix of this "hugely infectious tune stands out and will at last provide Cornershop with a much-deserved big break. Stock up—this one will surely fly."[9]
A reviewer fromNME commented, "Sadly not a song about the joys of chain-smoking, but in fact a celebration of theAsian music andfilms of ourTjinder's youth. The cognoscenti of the youth revolution will no doubt have heard this already on either its previous release or the album, but this may be the record to take the 'Shop into the crazy Global Hypermarket of the Top Ten. Not because it's a marvellously infectious good-timedance pop number, but because it repeats the line, "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow"."[10]James Hyman ofRecord Mirror gave the remix five out of five and named it Tune of the Week, remarking that "this gentle jangly big beat brew certainly hooks with itsEverybody needs a bosom for a pillow mantra." He concluded, "Seriously a monster!"[11]David Fricke fromRolling Stone said, "You can almost smell the weed that went into the rhythms and smiles of "Good Shit" and "Brimful of Asha"."[12]
The accompanying music video for the song was directed byPhil Harder and produced byHarder/Fuller Films. It was filmed in a house inLewisham, London.[13]
"Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook remix)" | ||||
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Single byCornershop | ||||
B-side | "u47's" | |||
Released | 16 February 1998 (1998-2-16) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Wiiija | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tjinder Singh | |||
Producer(s) | Tjinder Singh | |||
Cornershop singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Brimful of Asha" (Norman Cook remix) onYouTube | ||||
English DJ Norman Cook, known asFatboy Slim, was asked to remix "Brimful of Asha", which he did by speeding it up and modulating the song to a higher key (halfway between B-flat and B, rather than in A). This new version was realized by sampling theDave Pike Set's 1970 song "Raga Jeeva Swara" andthe Monkees' 1966 song "Mary, Mary".[citation needed] The remix was released as a standalone single became a number-one single on theUK Singles Chart in February 1998.[17]
In 2003,Q ranked the Fatboy Slim remix at number 840 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever"[18] and in 2004 it featured it in their "The 1010 Songs You Must Own".[1] In October 2011,NME placed it at number 105 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[19] In August 2010,Pitchfork placed the remix at number 113 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[20]NME ranked the remix at number 2 in their list of "The 50 Best Remixes Ever", saying it "does what the truly great remixes do – render you unable to enjoy the original".[21] The remix was included inPitchfork's 2010 list of "25 Great Remixes" of the 1990s.[22]
UK 7-inch single[26]
UK and Australian CD single; UK 12-inch single[27][28]
UK 7-inch and cassette single[29][30]
European CD single[31]
| Japanese CD single[32]
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | 2× Platinum | 634,000[55] |
Region | Version | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United Kingdom | Original | 18 August 1997 |
| Wiiija | [57] |
United States | 15 September 1997 | Alternative radio | [58] | ||
16 January 1998 |
| [59] | |||
20 January 1998 | Contemporary hit radio | ||||
United Kingdom | Norman Cook remix | 16 February 1998 |
| Wiiija | [60] |
Japan | 25 March 1998 | CD |
| [61] |
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