"Beautiful People" is a song by Scottish rock band

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

, which was released in 1991 as the second and final single from their fifth studio album '' No Place Like Home''. It was written by

Stuart Adamson William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...

and produced by Pat Moran. "Beautiful People" reached No. 72 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 ...

, and No. 36 on the BBC's Heavy Metal/Rock chart.

Background

Speaking to the Big Country fanzine ''Inwards'' in 1991, Adamson said of the song: "This is about how you can find cool things in the most fucked-up places."

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Roger Pomphrey and was shot in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, Peter Kinghorn of ''

Newcastle Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'' described "Beautiful People" as a "gently rolling singalong tune" with "plinking banjo and piano".

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, reviewing the single for ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', commented, "It sounds like

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was "In the Summertime ...

. My dad would have described it as half-baked piffle and he'd have been right. Sorry, Stuart." For the same magazine,

Stuart Maconie Stuart Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark ...

added, "Gone, now, the tear-jerking bagpipe skirls that inspired a million poly students to jump on tables in the Union bar. In common with most of their 'established rock band' ilk, Big Country now aspire to the condition of impoverished negro bluesmen or busking tramps. This is miserable." In a review of ''No Place Like Home'', Craig McLean of '' Vox'' felt the song's piano "honks and tonks agreeably". Steve Stewart of '' The Press and Journal'' considered the album to present "a different style of music" from Big Country. He commented, "There is a slower, more relaxed feel to their sound, as displayed in 'Beautiful People'." In a review of one of the band's 1991 concerts, David Sinclair of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' noted the song's "honky-tonk piano, mandolin and mellow sentiments". In a retrospective review of the single, JT Griffith of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

felt "Return to the Two Headed King" and "Fly Like An Eagle" were "unimpressive", with "Beautiful People" being "by far hestrongest song".

Track listing

;7" and cassette single #"Beautiful People" - 3:23 #"Return to the Two Headed King" - 4:27 ;12" single #"Beautiful People" - 3:23 #"Return to the Two Headed King" - 4:27 #"Fly Like An Eagle" - 4:46 #"Rockin in the Free World" (Live) - 6:35 ;CD single #"Beautiful People" - 3:23 #"Return to the Two Headed King" - 4:27 #"Fly Like An Eagle" - 4:46 #"Rockin in the Free World" (Live) - 6:35

Personnel

Big Country *

- vocals, guitar * Bruce Watson - guitar * Tony Butler - bass Production * Pat Moran - producer, engineer * Big Country - producers of "Return to the Two Headed King" * Bruce Watson - producer of "Fly Like An Eagle" and "Rockin in the Free World" * Nigel Luby - mixing on "Fly Like An Eagle" and "Rockin in the Free World" Other * Zarkowski Designs - design, artwork

Charts

References

{{authority control 1991 songs 1991 singles Vertigo Records singles Phonogram Records singles Big Country songs Songs written by Stuart Adamson