"Buddy X" is a song by Swedish musician

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...

, released as the third and final single from her second album, '' Homebrew'' (1992). It was a top 40 hit in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 1993, peaking at numbers 23 and 35, respectively. The song also charted in the United States, reaching No. 43, and in Canada, where it reached No. 28.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt that the song is "way-hip", adding that on this " hip-hop-derived romp", Cherry "further proves that her double talent for singing and rhyming comes in mighty handy, as she swerves from sassy street kid-to worldly chanteuse with ease." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' said, "She speaks for all those who've been jacked around by that special someone in their life. Her message really cuts through, thanks to a catchy

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

woven into not only the chorus, but the entire track."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

commented in his weekly UK chart commentary, "The latest is unlikely to progess much further either, a far cry from the days of

Buffalo Stance "Buffalo Stance" is a song by Swedish singer Neneh Cherry, released from her debut album, '' Raw Like Sushi'' (1989), in November 1988. The song peaked at 3 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it reached No. 1 in ...

and Manchild". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote that "intrinsically this is a slow song, but it has the drive of a real mean stomper. When Neneh sings "yeah yeah" you automatically join in and your feet start itching." Dave Piccioni from the '' RM'' Dance Update stated that the singer "drops the home girl stuff just long enough for us to discover that there's been a good voice in there all along." Adam Higginbotham from '' Select'' viewed it as "a fine, simple song — Neneh's voice is laid over bubbling clarinet, scalding backing vocals, and simple R&B guitar lick." Sian Pattenden from ''

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 ...

'' gave "Buddy X" three out of five, adding that "this tune seems boring at first but is a "grower". It has a nice beat and some friendly backing sorts who croon "yeah yeah yeah"."

Music video

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 ...

was produced to promote the single. It was directed by French fashion photographer and music video director

Jean-Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Sting, Björk, Don Henley, Neneh Cherry, Axel Bauer and Les Ri ...

1999 remix

In 1999, "Buddy X" was remixed by

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

trio the

Dreem Teem The Dreem Teem are a British DJ, music production and remixing trio consisting of DJ Spoony, Mikee B, and Timmi Magic. They formed in 1996 through pirate radio, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented radio show ...

and retitled "Buddy X 99". This version was a top-twenty hit, peaking at No. 15 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. 1 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record s ...

. Other mixes on the single include the Original Dreem Teem Edit, the Dreem Teem Vocal Mix and the Original Dreem Teem Dub Mix.

Track listing

* CD single # "Buddy X 99" (Dreem House Edit) - 3:21 # "Buddy X 99" (Original Dreem Teem Edit) - 3:33 # "Buddy X 99" (Dreem Teem Vocal Mix) - 5:02 # "Buddy X 99" (Original Dreem Teem Dub Mix) - 5:32

Charts

Original version

1999 remix

References

{{authority control 1992 songs 1993 singles 1999 singles Neneh Cherry songs UK garage songs Songs written by Neneh Cherry Songs written by Cameron McVey Song recordings produced by Cameron McVey Song recordings produced by Jonny Dollar Virgin Records singles Music videos directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino