| "Only You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byYazoo | ||||
| from the albumUpstairs at Eric's | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 15 March 1982 | |||
| Recorded | January 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Songwriter | Vince Clarke | |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Yazoo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Only You" (1999 Remix) onYouTube | ||||
"Only You" is a song by Englishsynth-pop duoYazoo. It was written by memberVince Clarke, while he was still withDepeche Mode, but recorded in 1982 after he formed Yazoo withAlison Moyet. It was released as Yazoo's first single on 15 March 1982 in the United Kingdom, taken from their first album,Upstairs at Eric's (1982), and became an instant success on theUK Singles Chart, peaking at number two on 16 May 1982.[3] It would also reach the top 10 in neighbouring Ireland as well as Australia. In the US, "Only You" was released as the band's second single in November 1982 and charted at number 67 on theBillboard Hot 100. It also made theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart (number 38).
Aremix of "Only You" made theUK top 40 again in 1999, while reaching number 16 on the USBillboardHot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Themusic video for the new version was created using theHoudini3D animation software package.[4]
An orchestral remix of "Only You" was created for theBoots 2017 Christmas advert on British TV. Yazoo released the track on their YouTube channel on 17 November 2017, promising that it would be released as a single-track download the following week. The remix features Moyet's original vocal with a brand new orchestral backing track.
The Flying Pickets recorded ana cappella cover of "Only You" which was theChristmas number one in the UK in December 1983. It also reached number 17 in Canada in April 1984.[5]
Becky Hill released a stripped-back version which featured in the McDonald's Christmas ad for 2022. 10 pence from every download of Hill's version in the UK until spring 2023 was donated to BBC Children in Need. The track went on to become Hill's tenth top 40 record and has accumulated over 9.9 million streams to date.[6]
In 1981, English musicianVince Clarke left the electronic bandDepeche Mode, citing touring fatigue and disdain for pop stardom as his reasons for the departure.[7] Clarke was worriedMute Records would drop him as a result, and decided to write for the label a song called "Only You".[8] Clarke originally wrote the music for the song on a guitar, andtransposed theriff into synthesizer notes. While writing the lyrics, Clarke remarked "It was a very simple arrangement. I just formed words on a piece of paper. I was just hopingDaniel Miller, Mute Records founder, would like it".[9] Before Clarke presented the song to Miller, he offered it toAndy Fletcher andMartin Gore of Depeche Mode, although the two of them rejected it.[10]
Clarke had written "Only You" as asentimental ballad, and wanted to find a vocalist who could sing with emotion.[7] Around this time, therhythm and blues bandThe Screamin' Ab Dabs split, and singerAlison Moyet placed an ad inMelody Maker looking for a new band.[11] Clarke had heard Moyet perform with a few other bands in the pub circuit, and felt she was a good fit for the song. He responded to the ad and asked Moyet if she was interested in singing for a demo.[9] Moyet was reluctant at first, as she never aspired to perform pop songs, and noted "A part of me was thinking I'll never hear the end of it if I go and sing with this pretty boy". She eventually agreed, saying she needed the money and had no way of making a demo on her own.[9]
Clarke recorded the demo of "Only You" on a four-tracktape recorder, and had already finished thebacking track when Moyet arrived.[7] Once the demo was finished, Clarke presented it to Miller, who at first found it to be uninteresting. That evening, publishing associates fromScandinavia heard the demo and liked it, which Clarke noted may have influenced Miller's opinion of the song.[9] About a week later, Miller called Clarke and told him that he and Moyet should rerecord the song as a group and release it as a single. Moyet was surprised by the news, as neither she nor Clarke had intended to start a band together. The two knew virtually nothing about each other besides musical abilities, and Moyet described the pairing as "almost like an arranged marriage".[8] Regardless, the newly formed duo recorded "Only You" atBlackwing Studios.Eric Radcliffe produced the song, along with Clarke and Miller.[12]
"Only You" is asynth-pop andnew wave[13] song with atempo of 108 beats per minute.[14][15] The song features anarpeggio chord progression, and is composed in thekey ofA major.[15] When asked about the song, Moyet said: "'Only You' has anursery rhyme simplicity and a lack of pretension. You don't need to be a great instrumentalist to play it. It's a universal,everyman song."[9] Marcos Hassan ofTiny Mix Tapes agreed with this statement. He wrote that although "Only You" is a traditional synth-pop song, its softer and intimate sound is more reminiscent ofMotown records, and ultimately described the song as "a warm and familiar extraterrestrial creature".[16] Stewart Mason ofAllMusic noted the use of layered melodies performed on multiplemonophonic synthesizers, which add what he called "depth and melodic substance" to the song.[14]
NME's Priva Elan wrote that the song may have initially been about Clarke's uneasy relationship with Depeche Mode, but Moyet turned the lyrics into the story of a person "looking through a scrapbook of photo-like memories".[17] Moyet's soulful, almost masculine vocals span a tonal range of F♯3 to D4.[15][17] Mason compared Moyet's vocals to those of 1970s singerAnn Peebles.[14]
"Only You" was released in March 1982, as a7" and12" single.[12] It was the first single from their debut albumUpstairs at Eric's, and was paired with theB-side "Situation". The cover art for "Only You" featured an illustration of anAmerican football player running with the ball.[12]
"Only You" debuted at number seventy-two on theUK Singles Chart, on 11 April.[18] Over the next few weeks, the song steadily climbed the chart, and on 16 May peaked at number two, only behind theEurovision winning song "A Little Peace".[19] "Only You" stayed within the top ten for the next three weeks, after which it began to drop in position. It spent fourteen weeks on the chart, and last appeared on 11 July.[18] During its chart run, "Only You" wascertified silver by theBritish Phonographic Industry, denoting shipments of 250,000 copies.[20]
In the United States, "Only You" debuted at number ninety on theBillboard Hot 100 on 26 February 1983.[21] The song slowly rose in positions, and on 19 March peaked at number sixty-seven, where it remained for three weeks.[22] It spent eight weeks on the chart, and last appeared on 16 April.[23]
Upon its release, Richard Cook ofNME noted that "Only You" "could quite easily have emanated fromDepeche Mode" and added, "The emotional dial is on yearning and it trips through a melodic multiplication table that charms a passage to the heart by the end."[24] Betty Page ofSounds called it an "incongruous but addictive mix of distinctive Clarkian techno-melodies and rich is-it-a-she-or-a-he raspy R'n'B vocals from Alf".[25] Sunie, writing forRecord Mirror, felt that the song was "60s-derived" and noted, "Lovely stuff it is, too, though in parts it's naggingly reminiscent of 'Do That to Me One More Time'."[26]
The song was ranked at number 7 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1982 byNME,[27] and in 2012 the website ranked it at number 8 on their list of the Greatest Pop Songs in History.[17]
(*) CD released on 30 September 1996
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[28] | 6 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[29] | 39 |
| Iceland[30] | 6 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[31] | 5 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[32] | 21 |
| Portugal (AFP)[33] | 18 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[34] | 19 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 2 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[35] | 67 |
| USAdult Contemporary Chart (Billboard)[36] | 38 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[37] | 72 |
| Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[38] | 3 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] | 47 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 38 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[40] | 19 |
| Chart (1982) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[41] | 34 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Only You" has been featured extensively in various film and television productions. The song features in the filmsCan't Hardly Wait andThe Chocolate War, and the closing scenes of the final episode of the British TV seriesThe Office.[42] The song is also heard during the romantic boat ride in the 2013 romcom Austenland and in the closing scene ofThe Americans episode "Dimebag",[43][44] in the closing scene of theLucifer episode "High School Poppycock",[45] theOnce Upon a Time episodes "The Price" and "Dreamcatcher" (and lends its title to the22nd episode of thefifth season), theFringe episode "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11",[46] and over the closing scenes and credits of episode 3 of the BBC/Hulu mini-seriesNormal People.[47][48] It was also the closing scenes music in the American TV series9-1-1 episode "What's Next?" broadcast May 11, 2020.[49] In 2025, the song was heard in the opening scene of the first episode of the third season of the American comedy-drama seriesAnd Just Like That.
Ana cappella version, similar to The Flying Pickets, is performed by the cast in the 2019 filmMilitary Wives.[50] In episode 7 ofThe Penguin ("Top Hat"), the song is playing in the background when young Oz returns home to his mother after leaving his brothers in the abandoned train station.[51]
| "Only You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Flying Pickets | ||||
| from the album Lost Boys | ||||
| Released | November 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | A cappella | |||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Songwriter | Vince Clarke | |||
| Producers | The Flying Pickets, John Sherry Sonet | |||
| The Flying Pickets singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "Only You" onYouTube | ||||
Ana cappella version bythe Flying Pickets was even more successful than the 1982 original on theUK Singles Chart, being released towards the end of the following year and becoming theChristmas number one in 1983. It spent five weeks at the top.[52] This made "Only You" the first a cappella chart-topper in the UK.[53] The song was also the 1983 Christmas number one in Ireland. It was released on overseas markets the following year.
The Flying Pickets version went on to become a number one hit on theWest German Singles Chart in 1984,[54] and also charted in Canada,[55] though it did not chart in the United States. The song also spent 5 weeks atop theIrish Singles Chart, also becoming a Christmas number one. The song is also used at the end ofWong Kar-wai's 1995 filmFallen Angels.[56][57]
The Flying Pickets version was reportedly one of then-Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher's favourite songs, a fact that has been noted with irony, due to the band'ssocialist views and support of the1984–1985 miners' strike which Thatcher opposed.[58]
| Chart (1983–1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[59] | 61 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[60] | 3 |
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[61] | 3 |
| Canada Top 50 Singles (RPM)[5] | 17 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[31] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[62] | 5 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[63] | 9 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[64] | 3 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[65] | 2 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[66] | 1 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[37] | 1 |
| "Solo En Ti" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byEnrique Iglesias | ||||
| from the albumVivir | ||||
| Released | 17 February 1997 (1997-02-17) | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Fonovisa | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Rafael Pérez-Botija | |||
| Enrique Iglesias singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Sólo En Tí (Only You)" onYouTube | ||||
Spanish singer-songwriterEnrique Iglesias recorded a Spanish version of the song, which was featured on his second studio albumVivir (1997), released byFonovisa on 17 February 1997. The track was released as the second single from the album and debuted at number one on the U.S.BillboardHot Latin Tracks chart on 3 May 1997 (his second in a row, and the first artist to do so),[67] and spent ten non-consecutive weeks at the top.[68] Iglesias also recorded the song in English, which is included on the albumBailamos Greatest Hits (1999).
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Latin Tracks (Billboard)[68] | 1 |
| US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)[69] | 1 |
| US Latin Regional Mexican Airplay (Billboard)[70] | 4 |
| US Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay (Billboard)[71] | 6 |
| "Only You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byKylie Minogue withJames Corden | ||||
| from the albumKylie Christmas | ||||
| Released | 9 November 2015 (2015-11-09) | |||
| Recorded | 2015 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter | Vince Clarke | |||
| Producer | Steve Anderson | |||
| Kylie Minogue singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| James Corden singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Lyric video | ||||
| "Only You" onYouTube | ||||
"Only You" is the lead single fromKylie Minogue's 2015 album,Kylie Christmas. Minogue andJames Corden (who have been friends since 2009) reportedly saw the duet as a novelty inclusion for the album. However, it was elevated to single status.[73]
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[74] | 22 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[75] | 40 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[76] | 74 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[77] | 155 |
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[78] | 59 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 9 November 2015 | Digital download | Parlophone | [79][80] |
| "Only You" | |
|---|---|
| Song bySelena Gomez | |
| from the album13 Reasons Why (A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack) | |
| Released | 30 March 2017 |
| Length | 3:04 |
| Label | Interscope |
| Songwriter | |
| Producer | Eskmo |
| Lyric video | |
| "Only You" onYouTube | |
A cover version performed bySelena Gomez was included on the soundtrack for13 Reasons Why (2017), a series adaptation of theeponymous book.[81] Its official lyric video was uploaded to Gomez'sVevo account on 18 April 2017.[82]
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[83] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[84] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)The Flying Pickets' version of the electronic pop ballad was also a huge hit in Germany and Canada...
| Enrique Iglesias | |
|---|---|
| Vivir | |
| Cosas del Amor | |
| Enrique | |
| Escape | |
| Quizás | |
| 7 | |
| Insomniac | |
| 95/08 Éxitos | |
| Greatest Hits | |
| Euphoria | |
| Sex and Love | |
| Final (Vol. 1) | |
| Final (Vol. 2) | |
| Other singles | |
| Featured singles | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| EPs | |
| Singles |
|
| Featured singles | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Charity singles |
|
| Other songs | |
| Concert tours | |
| Related | |
