Positivity (Suede song)

"Positivity" is the first single from the album A New Morning by Suede, released on 16 September 2002 through Epic Records. Although it received mixed reviews from critics and fans, the song became one of the band's final hit singles, reaching number one in Denmark, number 12 in Spain, number 15 in Finland and Norway, and number 16 in their native United Kingdom.

This article is about the Suede song. For the Ashley Tisdale song, see Headstrong (Ashley Tisdale album).

"Positivity"
Single by Suede
from the album A New Morning
Released16 September 2002 (2002-09-16)
Length2:55
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Suede
Producer(s)
Suede singles chronology
"Can't Get Enough"
(1999)		 "Positivity"
(2002)		 "Obsessions"
(2002)

Background

The single is a big departure from the sleazy rock characteristic of the previous two albums, and has a far more warm and acoustic sound to it. The single had various producers: "Positivity" was produced by John Leckie, "One Love", "Superstar" and "Colours" were produced by Stephen Street, "Simon" was produced by Suede and Ken Thomas, "Cheap" was produced by Suede and Dick Meaney while "Campfire Song" was produced by Suede and Alex Silva.

Initially Brett Anderson liked the song and considered it one of his favourites on the album prior to its release. However, his views on the song would later change, saying: "When I first wrote it I thought it was a masterpiece but soon realized that many people were genuinely offended by it."[1] On the meaning of the song, Anderson said it's about "someone who's really close to me, who doesn't have much in life but manages to deal with it incredibly well."[2] The video for the title song was directed by Julian Gibbs.

Critical reception

The single garnered mixed reviews from critics. Paul McNamee of NME felt that the song lacked the "affected social commentary" of the songs from Coming Up and that Anderson's lyrics were of a lower standard. In conclusion, he offered the band the following advice: "For the love of God chaps, you still have fans. Go quietly now, and they'll remain true."[3] Ben Gilbert of Dotmusic rated the song four out of ten. He wrote: "'Positivity' finds Anderson, who now looks more like a body builder than a smack-infested rock'n'roll poet, using credit card as a rather desperate metaphor for love. There is precious little here to suggest Suede have anything left in the tank, amidst a lame swathe of breezy strings."[4] On the other hand, Music Week called it "a heartfelt song which sounds catchy enough for mainstream radio."[5]

Despite the negativity surrounding the song, "Positivity" reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number one in Denmark,[6][7] making it the third European number-one single by the band after "Trash", which topped the Finnish Singles Chart in August 1996;[8] and "Beautiful Ones", which topped the Icelandic Singles Chart in November 1996.[9]

Track listings

Charts
Chart (2000–2001) Peak
position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[16] 13
Denmark (Tracklisten)[7] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 42
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 15
Germany (Official German Charts)[19] 99
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 44
Italy (FIMI)[21] 24
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 15
Scotland (OCC)[23] 23
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24] 12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 32
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 16

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 16 September 2002 CD Epic [26]
Japan 19 September 2002 [27]

References
  1. Post by Brett Anderson on Nov 8, 2007 Archived 9 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. brettanderson.co.uk.
  2. "Cred Music!". NME. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
  3. McNamee, Paul. "Suede : Positivity". NME. Archived from the original on 11 June 2004.
  4. Gilbert, Ben (September 2002). "Positivity - Suede". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 13 March 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  5. "Reviews - For Records Out On 16 September 2002" (PDF). Music Week. 7 September 2002. p. 8.
  6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  7. "Suede – Positivity". Tracklisten.
  8. "Hits of the World". Billboard: 49. 21 September 1996. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  9. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (28.11. – 04.12 '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 29 November 1996. p. 20. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  10. Positivity (UK CD1 liner notes). Suede. Epic Records. 2002. 672949 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Positivity (UK CD2 liner notes). Suede. Epic Records. 2002. 672949 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Positivity (UK DVD single liner notes). Suede. Epic Records. 2002. 672949 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Positivity (European CD single liner notes). Suede. Epic Records. 2002. 672949 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Positivity (Canadian CD single liner notes). Suede. Columbia Records. 2002. 38K 3368.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Positivity (Japanese CD single liner notes). Suede. Epic Records. 2002. EICP 122.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. "The London Suede Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  17. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 41. 5 October 2002. p. 11. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  18. "Suede: Positivity" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  19. "Suede – Positivity" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  20. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Suede". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  21. "Suede – Positivity". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  22. "Suede – Positivity". VG-lista.
  23. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  24. "Suede – Positivity" Canciones Top 50.
  25. "Suede – Positivity". Singles Top 100.
  26. "New Releases – For Week Starting 16 September 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 14 September 2002. p. 23. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  27. "スウェード – ポジティヴィティー" [Suede – Positivity] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 7 November 2002. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
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