"Female of the Species" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

, released as their fourth single and second single proper from their debut album, ''

Spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

'' (1996), on 27 May 1996. The song reached number 14 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 earned a silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) in October 2019. It became the band's only charting single in both the United States and Canada.

About the song

Written and sung by frontman Tommy Scott in tribute to his late father, who reportedly disliked his son's taste of music, "Female of the Species" is a funky, upbeat, Latin-flavoured number with feel-good-sounding vibes and vocals, reminiscent of lounge singers such as

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, combined with keyboardist

Franny Griffiths Francis Griffiths (1 July 1966, Liverpool, England) is a keyboardist, producer and remixer, who is best known for being a member of the band, Space (UK band), Space. He also plays guitar, melodica and piano. His main influences are Kraftwerk, Hi ...

' trademark sound effects and Scott's darkly humorous lyrics. The song borrows to some extent, both thematically and in overall aesthetic, from

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an United States, American pop music, pop musical ensemble, group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker), John Walker (musician), Jo ...

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the 1967 film ''

Deadlier Than the Male ''Deadlier Than the Male'' is a 1967 British adventure crime mystery film. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already established detective fiction hero, Bulldog Drummond. Richard Johnso ...

''. When the song was performed at later concerts, Scott usually walked into the audience to shake them by the hand. The song's distinctive style and lyrics led to it being used in TV and film. It was the theme song to the UK drama ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

'' and appeared in the 1997 film ''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extende ...

'' starring Janeane Garofalo, as well as during the end credits of the popular movie '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (in the so-called 'Fembot Mix', available on the Original Soundtrack), and in the ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, ...

'' episode "College Bored". It gained further popularity in the UK when used in a 1998 advert (with a cameo appearance by

Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt; – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well-known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of ...

) for the body spray "''

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

''". The song's name is a reference to the 1911

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

poem " The Female of the Species", which has as its

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

: "The female of the species is more deadly than the male."

Chart performance

"Female of the Species" debuted at number 15 on the

on 2 June 1996 and reached its peak of number 14 the following week. On 11 October 2019, the

(BPI) awarded the song a silver

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

for sales and streams of over 200,000 units. It became the band's only entry on any music chart in the United States and Canada, peaking at number 15 on the US ''

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 ...

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, number four on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Alternative 30 chart, and number 68 on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. In Australia, "Female of the Species" entered the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

on 11 May 1997, peaking at number 80 in June.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

"Female of the Species" article
{{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Festival Records singles Space (English band) songs