Only You (Yazoo song)

In 1981, English musician Vince Clarke left the electronic band Depeche Mode, citing touring fatigue and disdain for pop stardom as his reasons for the departure.[8] Clarke was worried Mute Records would drop him as a result, and decided to write for the label a song called "Only You".[9] Clarke originally wrote the music for the song on a guitar, and transposed the riff 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 hoping Daniel Miller, Mute Records founder, would like it".[10] Before Clarke presented the song to Miller, he offered it to Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, although the two of them rejected it.[11]

Clarke had written "Only You" as a sentimental ballad, and wanted to find a vocalist who could sing with emotion.[8] Around this time, the rhythm and blues band The Screamin' Ab Dabs split, and singer Alison Moyet placed an ad in Melody Maker looking for a new band.[12] 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.[10] 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.[10]

Clarke recorded the demo of "Only You" on a four-track tape recorder, and had already finished the backing track when Moyet arrived.[8] Once the demo was finished, Clarke presented it to Miller, who at first found it to be uninteresting. That evening, publishing associates from Scandinavia heard the demo and liked it, which Clarke noted may have influenced Miller's opinion of the song.[10] 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".[9] Regardless, the newly formed duo recorded "Only You" at Blackwing Studios. Eric Radcliffe produced the song, along with Clarke and Miller.[13]

"Only You" is a synth-pop song with a tempo of 108 beats per minute.[14][15] The song features an arpeggio chord progression, and is composed in the key of A major.[15] When asked about the song, Moyet said: "'Only You' has a nursery 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."[10] Marcos Hassan of Tiny 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 of Motown records, and ultimately described the song as "a warm and familiar extraterrestrial creature".[16] Stewart Mason of AllMusic noted the use of layered melodies performed on multiple monophonic synthesizers, which add what he called "depth and melodic substance" to the song.[14]

Lyrically, "Only You" is a torch song about the resignation of a relationship.[17] The singer knows the conflict laden relationship is over, but desperately wants to be proven wrong.[16] 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".[18] Moyet's soulful, almost masculine vocals span a tonal range of F♯₃ to D₄.[15][18] Mason compared Moyet's vocals to those of 1970s singer Ann Peebles.[14]

"Only You" was released in March 1982, as a 7" and 12" single.[13] It was the first single from their debut album Upstairs at Eric's, and was paired with the B-side "Situation". The cover art for "Only You" featured an illustration of an American football player running with the ball.[13]

"Only You" debuted at number seventy-two on the UK singles chart, on 11 April.[19] Over the next few weeks, the song steadily climbed the chart, and on 16 May peaked at number two, only behind the Eurovision winning song "A Little Peace".[20] "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.[19] During its chart run, "Only You" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, denoting shipments of 250,000 copies.[21]

In the United States, "Only You" debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100 on 26 February 1983.[22] The song slowly rose in positions, and on 19 March peaked at number sixty-seven, where it remained for three weeks.[23] It spent eight weeks on the chart, and last appeared on 16 April.[24]

The song was ranked at number 7 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1982 by NME,[25] and in 2012 the website ranked it at number 8 of their Greatest Pop Songs in History list.[26]

• 7": Mute/7 MUTE 20 (UK)

1. "Only You" – 3:10
2. "Situation" – 2:22

• 7": Sire/9 2-98447 (US)

1. "Only You" – 3:10
2. "Winter Kills" – 4:01

• 12": Mute/12 MUTE 20 (UK)

1. "Only You" – 3:10
2. "Situation" (extended version) – 5:20

• CD: Mute/CD MUTE 20 (UK)

1. "Only You" – 3:10
2. "Situation" – 2:26
3. "Situation" (extended version) – 5:20

(*) CD released on 30 September 1996

The song features in the films Can't Hardly Wait and The Chocolate War, additional to the closing scenes of the final episode of the British TV series The Office.[36] The song is also heard in the closing scene of The Americans episode "Dimebag",[37][38] in the closing scene of the Lucifer episode "High School Poppycock",[39] the Once Upon a Time episodes "The Price" and "Dreamcatcher" (and lends its title to the 21st episode of the fifth season), the Fringe episode "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11",[40] and over the closing scenes and credits of episode 3 of the BBC/Hulu mini-series Normal People.[41][42] It was also the closing scenes music in the American TV series 9-1-1 episode "What's Next?" broadcast May 11, 2020.[43] The Song is used in the credits of Season 3, Episode 8 "Peter and the Wolf" of the Hulu series The Great in 2023.

The Flying Pickets version was used in a montage about the 2022 FIFA World Cup during the 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony at Dock10 Studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, United Kingdom.

• List of number-one singles (UK)
• List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1997
• List of Christmas number one singles (UK)