When You Wasn't Famous

"When You Wasn't Famous" is a single by English rapper and producer Mike Skinner under the music project The Streets. It is the first single from their third studio album, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. Released on 30 March 2006, it went straight to number 8 in the UK and number 26 in Ireland. The song's chorus is about how Skinner finds it easier to have sexual relations with non-famous women now that he's famous, but how things are just like they used to be when attempts to sleep with a similarly famous woman.

"When You Wasn't Famous"
Single by The Streets
from the album The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living
Released30 March 2006 (2006-03-30)
GenreHip hop
Length3:18
Label679
Songwriter(s)Mike Skinner
Producer(s)Mike Skinner
The Streets singles chronology
"Could Well Be In"
(2004)		 "When You Wasn't Famous"
(2006)		 "Never Went to Church"
(2006)

The song's verses recount Skinner's unsuccessful attempt to seduce a female pop star. The lyrics are purportedly autobiographical, but Skinner has never confirmed the identity of the pop star (who at one point is described "smok[ing] crack") in question. He has, however, categorically denied rumours that it is Cheryl Cole[1] or Rachel Stevens.[2] The song contains the lyric "Considering the amount of prang you've done, you looked amazing on CD:UK" and a reference to MTV's children's appeal.[3]

The reference to the television show CD:UK in the song is quite notable because the show was axed just two days after "When You Wasn't Famous"' was released.

The video features Mike Skinner as a patient at a celebrity detox clinic, trying to avoid exposure by the paparazzi. An alternative video was made featuring a remix of the song by Professor Green. The original video was released on the DVD for the 2007 Brit Awards whilst the Professor Green remixed version was included on the DVD single for the following release Never Went to Church.

The B-side of the 7" was a cover of the track by Bromheads Jacket.

Charts
Chart performance for "When You Wasn't Famous"
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 67
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 74
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6] 4
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 26
Scotland (OCC)[8] 7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 60
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 8
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[11] 3

References
  1. "Mike Skinner Denies Crack Girl is Cheryl Tweedy".
  2. "Mike Skinner Reveals That Rachel Stevens Was Not His 'Drug-Taking Lover'". 26 March 2012.
  3. The Word, Issue 39, May 2006
  4. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 269.
  5. "The Streets – When You Wasn't Famous" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  6. "The Streets – When You Wasn't Famous" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  7. "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Streets". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  8. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  9. "The Streets – When You Wasn't Famous". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  11. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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