"Goodbye Cruel World" is a song by British pop act

Shakespears Sister Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but became a duo ...

, released in September 1991 as the lead single from their second album, ''

Hormonally Yours ''Hormonally Yours'' is the second studio album by British pop-rock act Shakespears Sister, released on 17 February 1992 by London Records. The album went on to become a critical and commercial success, and is their best-selling album to date. ...

'' (1992). Initially, the song had little commercial impact, reaching #59 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 ...

. Following the success of the album, the song was re-released as a single in July 1992, slightly remixed, this time reaching #32.

Critical reception

Jean Rosenbluth from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' felt that the song "exhibit a slinky, funky feel that’s as seductive as a plate of fudge." Dave Jennings from ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "Good to se this sweetly vicious little item granted a second stab at the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. It'll succeed this time on the Sister's momentum alone, thus injecting another dose of sexy, sinister glamour into the impressionable minds of the nation's youth." He added, "Smooth and shiny, like a razorblade." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' found that the song "blends the muted oomph of " Ruby Tuesday"-era

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

with the exoticism of the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

Retrospective response

In 2007, the Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith stated that "Goodbye Cruel World" "sets the perfect mood" as the opening track of the ''

'' album. He added, "How they got the guitars to sound like bagpipes, I'll never be able to figure out." In an 2014 retrospective review, Pop Rescue noted that "this is pop with real drums and guitars and a great blend of scaling vocals."

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 "Goodbye Cruel World" was directed by British director

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...

, who had previously worked with the band on several videos for their first album. The video features Fahey and Detroit spoofing famous melodramas such as ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

'' and '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?''.

Track listing

*;1991 7" / Cassette single #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:06 #"Black Sky" — 4:18 *;1991 12" single (released with free poster) #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:06 #"Black Sky" (LP Version) — 4:16 #"Black Sky" (The Black Widow Mix) — 5:51 #"Black Sky" (The Black Dub) — 4:32 *;1991 CD single (released as a special "Magic Picture Pack") #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:07 #"Black Sky" (The Black Widow Mix) — 5:51 #"You're History" — 4:31 *;1992 7" / Cassette single #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:01 #"Moonchild" — 4:27 *;1992 UK Ltd. Edition CD single #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:01 #"Moonchild" — 4:27 #"Are We in Love Yet" (Live on BBC) — 3:42 *;1992 UK CD single #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:01 #"

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

" (Acoustic) — 3:46 #"Black Sky" (The Green Eyed Dub) — 5:53 #"

Break My Heart (You Really) "Break My Heart (You Really)", also known as "Break My Heart", is a song by British pop act Shakespears Sister, released in 1988 as the lead single from their debut album ''Sacred Heart''. "Break My Heart (You Really)" was released in most terri ...

" (Acidic Mix) — 6:23 *;1992 European CD single #"Goodbye Cruel World" — 4:01 #"Moonchild" — 4:27 #"Stay" (Acoustic) — 3:46

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye Cruel World (Shakespears Sister Song) Shakespears Sister songs 1991 singles 1992 singles Songs written by Siobhan Fahey Songs written by David A. Stewart 1991 songs Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) London Records singles