HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Brimful of Asha" is a song by British
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Cornershop Cornershop are a British indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singe ...
from their third album, ''
When I Was Born for the 7th Time ''When I Was Born for the 7th Time'' is the third studio album by the British indie rock band Cornershop, released on 8 September 1997 by Wiiija. The album received high acclaim from music critics and features the international hit single "Brimf ...
'' (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 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 ...
in 1997. After a remixed version by
Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart and number 16 on the US ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
.


Background

This song is based on the history of film culture in India. Since their beginnings, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. The singing is almost always performed by background singers while the actors and actresses
lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
.
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
is a
playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
who has sung over 12,000 songs and is referred to as "Sadi rani" ( Punjabi for "our queen") at one point in the lyrics. In the slower, original album recording, playback singers
Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...
(her elder sister) and
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
(one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are mentioned. The lyrics in the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
contain a number of references to non-Indian music, including
Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...
' song "Les Amoureux des bancs publics",
Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He married singer Françoise Hardy on 30 March 1981 and together they have a son (manouche jazz) guitarist Thomas Dutronc, born 1973); they sep ...
,
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
,
Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Ar ...
and
Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...
.


Critical reception

British magazine ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' rated the song five out of five, adding that "the Asian-rock outfit deliver their most compulsive slice of pop to date, mixing a
Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...
-style groove with a truly ticklesome lyric, strings and a top tune." A reviewer from ''
NME ''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, "... Sadly not a song about the joys of chain-smoking, but in fact a celebration of the Asian music and films of our Tjinder's youth. The cognoscenti of the youth revolution will no doubt have heard this already on either its previous release or the album, but this may be the record to take the 'Shop into the crazy Global Hypermarket of the Top Ten. Not because it's a marvellously infectious good-time dance pop number, but because it repeats the line, "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow"."


Music video

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the song was directed by
Phil Harder Philip Harder is a music video director and commercial director represented by Bob Industries in Santa Monica, California.Bobcentra ...
and produced by
Harder/Fuller Films Harder/Fuller Films, Inc. was a film and video production house based in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1985 to 2005. Run by founders ( director) Phil Harder and ( producer) Rick Fuller, the firm concentrated mainly on artistic work, such as music ...
. It was filmed in a house in Lewisham, London.


Norman Cook remix

DJ
Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
(a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) was asked to remix "Brimful of Asha" by speeding it up and modulating the song to a higher key (halfway between B-flat and B, rather than in A). The remix saw major success as a number one single in February 1998. In 2003, ''
Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. '' ...
'' ranked the
Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
remix at number 840 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". In October 2011, ''
NME ''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 ...
'' placed it at number 105 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In August 2010, ''Pitchfork'' placed the remix at number 113 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". ''NME'' ranked the remix at number 2 in their list of "The 50 Best Remixes Ever", saying it "does what the truly great remixes do – render you unable to enjoy the original". The remix was included in ''Pitchfork''s 2010 list of "25 Great Remixes" of the 1990s. The remix is featured prominently on the French children's TV channel
Gulli Gulli (; stylised as gulli) is a French free-to-air television channel focused on kids programming for those aged 3 to 14. It was created as a result of a partnership between Lagardère Active and state-owned broadcaster France Télévisions. ...
, playing before each episode.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References


External links


Brimful Of Asha Meaning Explained
{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles 1998 singles Cornershop songs Music videos directed by Phil Harder Number-one singles in Scotland UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Big beat songs