Toy Boy

"Toy Boy" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released on 25 July 1987 and became the fourth single in her self-titled debut album, which came out on 26 December of the same year.[1] It became a hit in the UK and in other European countries where it reached the top ten.

For other uses, see Toy Boy (disambiguation).
"Toy Boy"
Single by Sinitta
from the album Sinitta!
ReleasedJuly 1987[1]
Recorded1987
Genre
Length3:25
LabelFanfare Records
Songwriter(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Sinitta singles chronology
"Feels Like the First Time"
(1986)		 "Toy Boy"
(1987)		 "GTO"
(1987)

Background and writing

"Toy Boy" was Sinitta's first collaboration with producers Stock Aitken Waterman.[2] In his book, Simon Cowell claims to have come up with the song idea for "Toy Boy", coining the phrase "toy boy" which described older women dating considerably younger guys.[3] However, this is contradicted by writer/producer Mike Stock in his book The Hit Factory: The Stock Aitken Waterman Story as he claims that his inspiration came from the fact that Sinitta herself at the time was dating a younger man. It was inspired by a tabloid newspaper article about the singer's love life, and Sinitta wrote the rap.[2]

Critical reception

Max Bell from Number One complimented the song's "clever wordplay".[4] Maggi Farran of British magazine Music Week described "Toy Boy" a "great dance track that only a corpse could ignore" which she attributed to PWL team's work, while noting Sinitta's great look and voice.[5]

Chart performance

"Toy Boy" entered the UK chart at number 41 on 25 July 1987, reached number four for consecutive three weeks in August 1987, staying on the charts for 14 weeks, six of them in the top ten,[6] and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.[7] It was thus Sinitta's second most successful single in terms of peak position and number of weeks on the charts, after "So Macho". The song was the 27th best-selling single of 1987 in the UK, selling more than some number ones from that year.[8] In Ireland, it missed the top ten by one place and charted for six weeks there.[9] In Continental Europe, "Top Boy" peaked within the top five in three nations, attaining number three in Switzerland and Greece,[10][11] and number four in Finland.[12] In Germany, it peaked at number nine and spent 13 weeks on the chart,[13] was a top 15 hit in both Sweden and the Flanders region of Belgium,[14][15] and a top 25 hit in the Netherlands and Spain.[16] On the overall Eurochart Hot 100 compiled by the Music & Media magazine, it started at number 91 on 8 August 1987, climbed until number nine in its ninth week,[17] and remained on the chart for 15 weeks. It was not much aired on radios and appeared for only four weeks on the European Airplay Top 50, with a peak at number 43.[18] Outside Europe, "Toy Boy" was well-received on the US dance charts, peaking at number 19,[19] reached number 13 in New Zealand where it charted for 11 weeks,[20] but barely made the top 50 in Australia.[21]

Formats and track listings
  1. "Toy Boy" - 3:25
  2. "Toy Boy" (Instrumental) - 4:56
  1. "Toy Boy" - 3:25
  2. "Toy Boy" (Extended Rap Version) - 3:50
  1. "Toy Boy" (The Extended Bicep Mix) - 7:36
  2. "Toy Boy" - 3:25
  3. "Toy Boy" (Instrumental) - 4:56
  1. "Toy Boy" (The Extended Bicep Mix) - 7:36
  2. "Toy Boy" (The Extended British Mix) - 7:00

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Toy Boy"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. pwl-empire.com Archived 2009-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 25: Toy Boy on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  3. Cowell, Simon (2004). I Don't Mean To Be Rude But.... Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-189828-1.
  4. Bell, Max (30 January 1988). "Albums". Number One. p. 33. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. Farran, Maggi (18 July 1987). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 22. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
  6. "Sinitta: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  7. "British single certifications – Sinitta – Toy Boy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  8. "Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 23 January 1988. p. 36. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Toy Boy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  10. "Sinitta – Toy Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 4. 21 January 1988. p. 22. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 4 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  12. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sinitta – Toy Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  14. "Sinitta – Toy Boy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. "Sinitta – Toy Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. "Sinitta – Toy Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 39. 3 October 1987. p. 14-15. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 4 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
  18. "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 36. 12 September 1987. p. 4. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 4 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
  19. "Dance Club Songs Chart". Billboard.
  20. "Sinitta – Toy Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  21. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 276. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. discogs.com
  23. discogs.com
  24. discogs.com
  25. discogs.com
  26. Danish Singles Chart. 30 October 1987.
  27. "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 12 September 1987. p. 10. Retrieved 11 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
  28. "European Charts of the Year 1987 > Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 34. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  29. Jones, Alan (18 February 1989). "Chartfile compiled by Alan Jones" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 35. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 25 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.