Valerie (The Zutons song)

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"Valerie"
File:Valerie Cover.jpg
Single by The Zutons
from the album Tired of Hanging Around
B-side
  • "April Fool"
  • "I Will Be Your Pockets"
  • "In the City"
  • "Get Up and Dance"
Released 19 June 2006
Format
Recorded
  • The Townhouse
    (London)
  • Olympic Studio 2
    (London)
  • The Bunker
    (London)
Genre
Length 3:56
Label Deltasonic
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Stephen Street
The Zutons singles chronology
"Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?"
(2006)		 "Valerie"
(2006)		 "Oh Stacey (Look What You've Done!)"
(2006)

"Valerie" is a song by English indie rock band The Zutons from their econd studio album Tired of Hanging Around (2006). Released as the album's second single on 19 June 2006 in the United Kingdom, along with their previous single "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?", it gave The Zutons their joint-biggest single to date as well as their second UK top 10 single, climbing from number 41 (through download sales alone the day before physical release) to its peak at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart.

The song was used by ITV during their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, alongside Primal Scream's "Country Girl" and Kasabian's cover of David Bowie's 1977 song "Heroes".

Both the original and Mark Ronson version featured in British soap opera Emmerdale during the wedding of Eric and Val Pollard in 2008.

Music video

The music video was directed by Scott Lyon. It is set in a prison and features The Zutons trying to escape.

Track listings and formats

CD 1
  1. "Valerie"
  2. "April Fool"
CD 2
  1. "Valerie"
  2. "I Will Be Your Pockets"
  3. "In the City"
  4. "Valerie" (Video)
7" single
  1. "Valerie"
  2. "Get Up and Dance"

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
European Hot 100 Singles[1] 33
Irish Singles Chart[2] 32
UK Singles Chart[2] 9

Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse version

"Valerie"
File:Mark Ronson - Valerie.jpg
Single by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse
from the album Version
B-side
Released 15 October 2007
Format
Recorded 2007
Genre
Length 3:37
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Mark Ronson
Certification Platinum (BPI)
Mark Ronson singles chronology
"Oh My God"
(2007)		 "Valerie"
(2007)		 "Wake Up Call" (Remix)
(2007)
Amy Winehouse chronology
"Tears Dry on Their Own"
(2007)		 "Valerie"
(2007)		 "Love Is a Losing Game"
(2007)

English musicians Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse covered "Valerie" for Ronson's second studio album Version (2007). Released as the album's third single on 15 October 2007, the track was first performed by Winehouse on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge show on BBC Radio 1. Singer and director Jordan Galland plays the electric piano on this single. Rolling Stone called the cover Winehouse's only "notable recording" after Back to Black.[3] Winehouse had previously recorded a slower-tempo version of the song, which appeared as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of Back to Black. This version was also featured at the end of Amy, a 2015 documentary film biography of Winehouse, and on the original soundtrack. The song was also featured in the 2008 comedy film 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden.

Chart performance

The single peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, where it spent 19 consecutive weeks inside the top 20. With sales of 329,490, it became the UK's ninth biggest-selling single of 2007.[4] The single spent 36 consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart between September 2007 and May 2008. It re-entered the chart in late June 2008 to take its total to 39 weeks.

The song was released in early 2008 in the Netherlands, quickly gaining airplay and sales. It is Winehouse's most successful song in the country, peaking at number 1 for four consecutive weeks.[citation needed]

As of January 2015, Ronson and Winehouse's version of "Valerie" has sold 658,353 copies in the United Kingdom, according to the Official Charts Company.[5]

Music video

The single's music video, directed by Robert Hales, was filmed in London on 28 August 2007.[6] It shows Ronson and a group of jazz musicians inviting a woman from the audience onto their stage to "sing" the song (after they notice that Winehouse is not present), followed by (presumably) the woman's friends, in the style of group karaoke—although the women essentially mime to Winehouse's voice.

Track listings and formats

CD single
  1. "Valerie"
  2. "Valerie" (Baby J Remix)
  3. "Valerie" (The Count & Sinden Remix)
  4. "California" (Live from Wireless Festival)

Charts

Weekly charts

Other versions

This song has been covered by Ashley Lilinoe;

The song has also been covered by dance vocalist Suzi Z, with the reference to "ginger hair" removed. James Morrison and Panic at the Disco also covered the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in 2008.

It was performed by The X Factor series 4 contestant Alisha Bennett, on the third round of the live shows (Big Band week).

It was sung by Niamh Perry on the fourth round of BBC's I'd Do Anything in 2008.

Canadian Idol season 6 contestant Mookie Morris sang it the final week of the semi-finals, earning him a spot in the top ten.

It was covered in a parody on Today FM's Gift Grub, prior to Munster's appearance in the 2008 Heineken Cup final, as Flannery after Munster hooker, Jerry Flannery.

Australian pop rock band Brittle covered the song for their 2008 EP Chinese Whispers.

The Zutons' version of the song is referenced in the 2010 song "She Said" by Plan B.

Glee covered the Amy Winehouse version of the song in the episode "Special Education", as one of the two songs for the season 2 Sectionals, with Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) singing the lead and also in the 100th episode of the series they redo the song as a duet with Lopez and Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris).

Singer Bruno Mars paid tribute to Winehouse performing her version of the song at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.

Louis Tomlinson of boy band One Direction covered the song during a concert of their 2011 Up All Night Tour.[11]

Frankie Cocozza auditioned for The X Factor in 2011 singing the original Zutons version.

There was a performance (tribute to Amy Winehouse) by Dionne Bromfield (goddaughter of Amy Winehouse), Aura Dione, Ivy Quainoo, Caro Emerald & Ina Müller at the 2012 Echo Awards Presentation in Germany.

Singer Selah Sue performed the song.

The brothers Mark, Rasaan and Marquis Scott of the group AKNU (A Kind Never Understood) performed the Bruno Mars version when they auditioned for The X Factor USA in 2013. They received three "Yes" votes from the judges, with Simon Cowell remarking "I actually could watch this whole audition all over again... I loved it that much".

EastEnders actress Rita Simons sang the song on Children in Need 2013.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.mtv.de/musikvideos_artist/1246-the-zutons
  10. ↑ Radio 1 Chart of the Decade, as presented by Nihal on Tuesday 29 December 2009
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by Dutch Top 40 number-one single
(Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse version)
26 January 2008 – 16 February 2008		 Succeeded by
"Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis
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