"Anthem" is a song by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
electronic music group
N-Joi
NJOI is an English production duo from Southend, Essex, England, consisting of Nigel Champion and Mark Franklin, (who met at Alleyn Court Prep School) with vocalist/ front person Saffron. Champion went to Framlingham College and Franklin to ...
. The piano-driven track, which also served as part of their debut EP, has gone on to become one of the most famous signature songs in the act's career, as well as seeing it chart numerous times since its 1990 release.
Background
The song charted on both the UK and US charts. It was originally released in 1990 as a 6 track promo on white label, before being sold on to Deconstruction, where it was released on the EP, ''Music From A State Of Mind'', reaching number 45 on the UK Top 75 in November 1990.
Following much club play, "Anthem" was reissued in April 1991 reaching number eight on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, but in the United States it had better success on the ''
Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
chart, where it made two trips to the top 5, reaching number four in 1991 with the original mixes, and again in 1996, where it was re-released with new remixes as "The New Anthem" (under the expanded credited "N-Joi featuring Mark Franklin and Nigel Champion"). The updated version would be their second number one in the US, following "
Mindflux".
Although the single and the accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
(filmed in Shelleys Laserdome, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent) also features singer
Saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in ...
, who did the live performances for the act (and whose career would take off after this track with `Republica`), "Anthem" actually features samples of three songs: "Peanut Butter" by
Gwen Guthrie (using the lyrics "I'm in love with you / Want you to love me too..."; Saffron performs the same lyrics in the duo's live shows), "I Found Love" by Darlene Davis (using the lyrics "True love can be hard to find...") and "
Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) Back to Life may refer to:
Books
*''Back to Life: Poems from behind the Iron Curtain'', 1958, ed. Robert Conquest
* ''Back to Life'' (novel), 2004 novel by Wendy Coakley-Thompson
*''Back to Life, The Rachel Riley Diaries'', 2009 novel by Joanna Na ...
" by
Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
. Because of this, the artists (and their writers) also receive credits on the single.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from American magazine ''
Billboard'' wrote, "After receiving attention stateside as an import, duo offers frenetic, sample-happy
houser in mixes that should have been lengthened slightly, but will be warmly welcomed at numerous clubs regardless." In an 1996 review of new remixes, Flick commented, "A relic from the bygone
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
era is freshened up with time-sensitive
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
and house remixes by N-Joi,
Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
, and the increasingly hot
Richard "Humpty" Vission. Nearly every version wisely maintains the original track's mind-bending hook, which deserves to finally be heard on pop and crossover airwaves. Regardless of radio's reception, expect club DJs to embrace this still-shiny bauble with renewed passion."
In 1991, Peter Stanton from ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...
'' noted that "this bumping, thumping number is being given a second chance after their recent ''Adrenalin EP'' paved the way forward. Boys, it's spelt E-N-J-O-Y if you were having trouble." The magazine's
James Hamilton described "Anthem" as a "slow then bounding piano jangled jaunty raver" and "another deservingly reissued floorfiller".
Impact and legacy
In 1995, British DJ
Sister Bliss selected "Anthem" as one of "the tracks that mean most to her", saying, "And what an anthem it is! Eclipse had them on every week, it seemed – they didn't seem to do PAs anywhere else. They had these farts dancing with their tits out. It was quite amusing. That whole EP is fantastic, it's the sound of the time but it doesn't date. It's a reliable classic. It's always the last tune of the night – people must be bored with me playing it. it reminds me of driving around the
M25 looking for the
rave and ending up in a field with 10,000 smelly people."
The original version of "Anthem" is featured in the 2013 video game ''
Grand Theft Auto V'' and its accompanying soundtrack.
The song was featured in the iconic clubbing movie ''
Beats'' in 2019.
Track listings
1990 version
* 12", CD
# "Anthem" (The Original Mix) – (4:05)
# "Anthem" (The Mafia Mix) – (4:50)
# "Anthem" (The Six Day Nightmare Mix) – (4:28)
# "Malfunction" – (4:20)
* 12", CD
:A1: "Anthem" (N-Joi R Dub Mix) – (5:11)
:A2: "Anthem" (N-Joi R Dance Mix) – (5:20)
:A3: "Anthem" (N-Joi R Deepstrumental) – (4:07)
:B1: "Anthem" (Distant Run Mix) – (4:15)
:B2: "Anthem" (Original Mix Edit) – (4:20)
* 12", EP
:A1: "Anthem" (The Six Day Nightmare Mix) – (4:30)
:A2: "Anthem" (The Mafia Mix) – (5:02)
:B1: "Anthem" – (4:03)
:B2: "Manic" – (2:37)
:B3: "Techno Gangsters" – (3:33)
1996 version
* 12", MCD
Track listing at discogs.com
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# "Anthem" (Spike Club Mix) – (7:55)
# "Anthem" (Original Mix) – (4:03)
# "Anthem" ( Vission/Pete Lorimer Love Acid!) – (7:21)
# "Anthem" (The Mafia Mix) – (5:02)
# "Anthem" (The Six Day Nightmare Mix) – (4:30)
Charts
Anthem
The New Anthem
References
External links
Original music video for "Anthem"
from YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
N-Joi official web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthem
1990 singles
1991 singles
1996 singles
1990 songs
Deconstruction Records singles
House music songs
Techno songs
Songs written by Jazzie B