"Best Friend" is a song by British

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

/ new wave band the Beat, released on 8 August 1980 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album ''

I Just Can't Stop It ''I Just Can't Stop It'' is the debut studio album by British ska band the Beat, released on 23 May 1980 by Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom. It was released the same year in the United States on Sire Records under the band name "The Englis ...

''. It was released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with a

dub version Dub is an electronic music, electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered so ...

of "

Stand Down Margaret "Stand Down Margaret" is a song by British ska/ new wave band the Beat, released as a double A-side single with " Best Friend" in August 1980. It is one of the band's most political songs, referring to the want for the then Prime Minister Marga ...

". The single wasn't as successful as the band's previous singles and only peaked at number 22 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 ...

. The band raised 14 thousand pounds from the sales of the single, which went to the Anti-Nuclear Campaign and the

CND The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

Meaning and reception

Dave Wakeling David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. Career Wakeling began his professional career ...

said that he was "singing it to myself in the same mirror that " Mirror in the Bathroom" was written in" and that the song is about "singing a song to a reflection, you know, I just found I'm your best friend – you". Reviewing the song for ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'',

David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer and publishing industry analyst who was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the journalist, editor and b ...

wrote "more efficient than a Japanese watch factory, these boys continue to crank out hit product". This is another perfectly levelled 45, crisp, economical and punchy, the usual cleverly varied arrangement shifting the emphasis around a song so simple it's almost a cretin". "Like "Mirror in the Bathroom", it has an insistence to it which is further proof of The Beat's quite incredible sureness of touch". Martyn Sutton for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' described "Best Friend" as in many ways, their most commercial cut yet. The

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and ska influences are not so apparent and the whole, attractive sound could well be labelled "Pure Pop". Fabulous rhythm, excellent guitar work and a compulsive hook". On the other hand, reviewing for '' Sounds'', Sandy Robertson was not impressed, writing that "apart from horns, this tune could almost be a lame version of that other Beat from LA".

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles The Beat (British band) songs Songs written by David Steele (musician) Songs written by Ranking Roger Song recordings produced by Bob Sargeant