"Killin' Time" is the debut single by British singer, songwriter and former model

Tina Cousins Tina Patricia Cousins (born 20 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and former model. She has had five singles in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with others, including "Mysterious Times" wit ...

, released on 9 June 1997 from her debut album, '' Killing Time'' (1999). The song was written by Mark Topham and Karl Twigg, and initially charted at number 80 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 1999, German DJ

Sash! Sash! (; stylised as SASH!) is a German DJ/production team, fronted by Sascha Lappessen (born 10 June 1970) who works in the recording studio with Ralf Kappmeier, Karl Xander, and Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke. They have sold over 22 million albums w ...

, who had collaborated with Cousins on "

Mysterious Times "Mysterious Times" is a song by German production group Sash! featuring British singer Tina Cousins. It was released on 1 August 1998 as the second single from their second album, '' Life Goes On'' (1998). The song peaked at number two in the Uni ...

", remixed "Killin' Time" for its re-release on 15 March 1999. "Killin' Time '99" peaked at number 15 in the United Kingdom, number 16 in Finland, and number 17 in Spain.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor MacKenzie Wilson described the song as a "jaunty pop tune twisted into a trance-like vibe". Michael Paoletta 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 ...

'' complimented it as a "buoyant" hit. In 1999, a reviewer from ''

Birmingham Evening Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire ...

'' wrote, "The voice of

Sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

's "

", Cousins has returned to the

dance pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

sounds of the keyboard master for her second solo release. A relentless electronic beat underpins the sensual vocals which should prove a staple in the clubs leading up to the summer season." Chuck Campbell from ''

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'' deemed it as "dark-tinged" in his review of '' Killing Time''. Talia Jackson from ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' said, "Brightening an otherwise familiar electronic

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

setting, tracks such as "Killin' Time" and "Mysterious Times" mesh with her vocals." Chris Finan from ''

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 ...

s ''RM'' gave the 1997 version four out of five, remarking that the Fishead mix "really is very good". ''

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 ...

'' declared it as a "hard hittin' floor filler", adding that it is "setting feet and booties moving in clubs everywhere. Tina has a huge voice." An editor from ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' felt that "this is pure Saturday night

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

", saying, "Where's my stilettos?"

Chart performance

"Killin' Time" was a top-10 hit in Scotland and a top 20 hit in Finland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 15 on the

on 21 March 1999; the single had previously charted at number 80 on its first release in 1997. During its second run on the chart, "Killin' Time" spent four weeks in the top 100. The single also peaked at number 12 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 ...

and number four on the

UK Indie Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. In the

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

region of Belgium, it spent nine weeks on the

Ultratop 50 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

, peaking at number 30 in May 1999. In the Netherlands, "Killin' Time" also was a top-30 hit, peaking at number 23 on both the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

and

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

charts in August 1997. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, it reached number 57 on 3 April 1999. The song also charted in Romania, ranking in at number 64 on the country's year-end chart for 1999.

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 features Cousins alone in a room, performing the song. In between, there are black-and-white scenes from a party at the same place. Here, the singer is seen dancing and having fun with other people. Other scenes also shows Cousins sitting alone in a couch, while people are walking by or around.

Track listings

* UK CD single (1997) # "Killin' Time" (radio edit) – 3:59 # "Killin' Time" (Fishead club mix) – 6:50 # "Killin' Time" (W.I.P. dub) – 6:22 # "Killin' Time" (Rhythm Masters Murder Mix) – 7:00 * UK 12-inch single (1997) :A1. "Killin' Time" (Fishead club mix) – 6:50 :AA1. "Killin' Time" (Rhythm Masters Murder Mix) – 7:00 :AA2. "Killin' Time" (W.I.P. dub) – 6:22 * European CD single (1997) # "Killin' Time" (radio edit) – 3:59 # "Killin' Time" (Fishead club mix) – 6:50 * UK CD single (1999) # "Killin' Time" ('99 radio edit) – 4:05 # "Killin' Time" (original) – 3:59 # "Killin' Time" (

radio edit) – 3:30 # "Killin' Time" (

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's filthy dub) – 5:23 * UK 12-inch single (1999) :A1. "Killin' Time" (Sash! maxi mix) – 4:55 :A2. "Killin' Time" (

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

's club vocal) – 5:22 :B1. "Killin' Time" (Rhythm Masters Murder) – 7:02 * UK cassette single (1999) # "Killin' Time" ('99 radio edit) – 4:05 # "Killin' Time" (Sash! maxi mix) – 4:53 * European CD single (1999) # "Killin' Time" ('99 radio edit) – 4:05 # "Killin' Time" (original) – 3:59 * European maxi-CD single (1999) # "Killin' Time" (Sash! radio edit) – 3:30 # "Killin' Time" ('99 radio edit) – 4:05 # "Killin' Time" (original) – 3:59 # "Killin' Time" (Nelson's filthy dub) – 5:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 debut singles 1999 singles Jive Records singles Songs written by Karl Twigg Songs written by Mark Topham Tina Cousins songs