It's Alright (East 17 song)

"It's Alright" is a song by English boy band East 17, released in November 1993 as the sixth and last single from their debut album, Walthamstow (1993). The single version, labelled the "Guvnor mix", begins with a slow ballad-like intro for the first minute, before converting to the dance sound for the rest of the track. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and became a number-one hit in Australia, France, Ireland, Israel, and Switzerland. In 2011, English singer and songwriter Kim Wilde recorded a cover of the song for her 12th album, Snapshots (2011), which charted in Germany.

"It's Alright"
Single by East 17
from the album Walthamstow
Released22 November 1993 (1993-11-22)[1]
GenreDance
Length4:41
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)Tony Mortimer
Producer(s)
  • Phil Harding
  • Ian Curnow
  • Richard Stannard
  • Neil James Stainton
East 17 singles chronology
"West End Girls"
(1993)		 "It's Alright"
(1993)		 "Around the World"
(1994)
Music video
"It's Alright" on YouTube

Critical reception

James Masterton stated in his weekly UK chart commentary, that "It's Alright" is "classic East 17", "starting mellow with a piano before launching into a hardcore dance beat."[2] In his review of Walthamstow, Alan Jones from Music Week noted that the track "rings the changes; a reggae rollercoaster that moves from a UB40-style lead vocal through ragga and dub."[3] On the single release, he rated it four out of five, adding, "The teen market has become somewhat more crowded since East 17's last single, but their stock is still high and this unusual track should confirm their standing behind Take That."[4] German band Culture Beat reviewed it for Smash Hits, giving it three out of five. Tania Evans said, "I like the song, the chords are nice and the contrast where it speeds up. What they do isn't so bad."[5]

Chart performance

In Europe, "It's Alright" peaked at number one in France, Ireland and Switzerland while reaching number two in both Germany and Lithuania. Additionally, the single was a top-10 hit in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it hit number four. In the UK, "It's Alright" peaked at number three in its seventh week on the UK Singles Chart, on 9 January 1994.[6] The song also was a top-20 hit in Denmark and a top-30 hit in Sweden. Outside Europe, it went to number one in Australia, where it spent seven weeks in a row and ended the year as the fourth-highest-selling single.[7] and in Israel, where the song spent five weeks on the top spot. It earned a gold record in France, a silver record in the UK, and a platinum record in Australia and Germany.

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Chris Clunn and Lawrence Watson.[8] They had previously directed the video for "Slow It Down". The video begins with Brian Harvey and Tony Mortimer in a dark room, in front of a red stage curtain. Harvey sings while Mortimer plays the piano. As the rhythm kicks in, the band appears performing on a stage in front of a large crowd of young people. Different colors appear in the backdrop throughout the video, and the members of the band often performs while standing on large pyramide-like stairs. As the video nears its end, we're back with Harvey in front of the red stage curtain again. "It's Alright" received heavy rotation on MTV Europe[9] and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA.[10] The video was later published on London Records' official YouTube channel in September 2017, and as of December 2022, it had generated more than 17 million views.[11]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[41] Platinum 70,000^
France (SNEP)[42] Gold 250,000*
Germany (BVMI)[43] Platinum 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Silver 200,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Kim Wilde version
"It's Alright"
Single by Kim Wilde
from the album Snapshots
A-side"Sleeping Satellite"
Released19 August 2011
Length3:20
LabelColumbia SevenOne
Songwriter(s)Anthony Mortimer
Kim Wilde singles chronology
"Real Life"
(2010)		 "It's Alright" / "Sleeping Satellite"
(2011)		 "To France"
(2011)

English singer and songwriter Kim Wilde recorded a cover of "It's Alright" for 2011 for her 12th album, Snapshots (2011). It was released as a double lead single with "Sleeping Satellite", originally performed by Tasmin Archer, on 19 August 2011.[45] A Groove Coverage remix of the song was also released, as the B-side to the album's second single, "To France".

Music video

The accompanying music video for "It's Alright" premiered on 28 July 2011 exclusively on the German website of video hosting service MyVideo. It was recorded at the Kameha Hotel in Bonn and was directed by Nikolaj Georgiew.

The video features Wilde and her band in a conference room at the hotel, where they perform the song. In between, there are segments featuring Wilde singing in other areas of the hotel.

Track listings
  • CD single
  1. "It's Alright" (radio edit) – 3:20
  2. "Sleeping Satellite" (radio edit) – 3:30
  • Digital download
  1. "It's Alright" (radio edit) – 3:20
  2. "Sleeping Satellite" (radio edit) – 3:30
  3. "It's Alright" (music video) – 3:14
  4. "Sleeping Satellite" (music video) – 3:33

Charts
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[46] 98

The song came back to the public eye in February 2009, with the yoghurt company Müller playing "It's Alright" as the background song for their new advert. In the same year, it was featured in another advert, this time for More Th>n car insurance. In 2010, it was also used in the final montage in the series-ending episode of Big Brother's Big Mouth in the United Kingdom.

In June 2015 the song was featured in an advertisement for the mobile network 3, in which it is lip-synched by a purple puppet, made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, named Jackson.[47]

References
  1. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 20 November 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. Masterton, James (28 November 1993). "Week Ending December 4th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. Jones, Alan (20 February 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 23. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. Jones, Alan (27 November 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 18. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  5. "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. 24 November 1993.
  6. "East 17: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. "It's Alright - Australian 1994 End Of Year Charts". ARIA End of Year Charts. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  8. "East 17: It's Alright". IMDb. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  9. "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. 26 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  10. "Station Reports > VIVA TV/Cologne" (PDF). Music & Media. 5 February 1994. p. 29. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  11. "East 17 - It s Alright (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. "East 17 – It's Alright". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  13. "East 17 – It's Alright" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  14. "East 17 – It's Alright" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  15. Danish Singles Chart. 14 January 1994.
  16. "Billboard". 23 April 1994.
  17. source: Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
  18. "East 17 – It's Alright" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  19. "East 17 – It's Alright" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It's Alright". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  21. 5 weeks at No. 1 (7 December 1993, 14 December 1993, 21 December 1993, 28 December 1993 and 4 January 1994)
  22. Oricon Singles Chart Oricon Singles Chart (Retrieved 2 November 2012)
  23. "M-1 TOP 40". M-1.fm. 30 January 1994. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  24. "Nederlandse Top 40 – East 17" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  25. "East 17 – It's Alright" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  26. "East 17 – It's Alright". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  27. "East 17 – It's Alright". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  28. "East 17 – It's Alright". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  29. "Major Market Airplay – Week 2/1994" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 3. 15 January 1994. p. 36. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  30. "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 24.
  31. 1994 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved 12 August 2008)
  32. 1994 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived 24 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 12 August 2008)
  33. "jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  34. url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugsEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1
  35. 1994 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived 20 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 30 January 2009)
  36. "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  37. "Single top 100 over 1994" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  38. "JAAROVERZICHTEN - Single 1994" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  39. 1994 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 12 August 2008)
  40. "Top 100 Singles 1994". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 9.
  41. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  42. "French single certifications – East 17 – It's Alright" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  43. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (East 17; 'It's Alright')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  44. "British single certifications – East 17 – It's Alright". British Phonographic Industry.
  45. Hamard, Jonathan (28 July 2011). "Kim Wilde : un album de reprises le 26 août" (in French). Charts in France. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  46. "Kim Wilde singles, German Singles Chart". acharts. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  47. Swift, James (5 June 2015). "Three promises to 'make it right' with a Muppet and East 17". Campaign. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
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