"Lifted" is a song written by British musical duo

Lighthouse Family Lighthouse Family were a British musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and initially remained active until the early 2000s. Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, a ...

for their 1995 debut album, '' Ocean Drive''. The track was produced by

Mike Peden Michael Peden is a British record producer, remixer and composer, best known for his work with the British musical duo Lighthouse Family. With his former band the Chimes, Peden had a hit single with their version of "I Still Haven't Found What I ...

and was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on 8 May 1995, reaching the top 75 in the UK. In January 1996, "Lifted" was re-released, reaching a new peak of number four in the UK and entering the top 40 in Austria, Iceland, and Ireland, as well as 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 ...

'' Adult Contemporary chart. In the UK, it was the most-played single on radio during the first quarter of the year.

Background and release

Songwriter Paul Tucker worked in a

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

club in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and had written a song called " Ocean Drive". After four years he decided to find a singer to sing it. A friend told him about singer

Tunde Baiyewu Tunde Baiyewu (born Emmanuel Babatunde Baiyewu, 25 November 1965) is a British singer and songwriter of Nigerian descent, best known as the vocalist of Lighthouse Family. In 2004, he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album ''Tunde''. In ...

from London and after singing the song, Tucker felt he was the right person to sing it. Tucker contacted several record companies and sent them the song on cassettes. Several labels showed interest and the duo signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

with only one song. The record company kept asking for more material. They brought in some musicians to record a few songs, but Polydor rejected the songs. "Lifted" came up in this process. The duo felt they needed some kind of spiritual lift. Tucker also remembered the tunes he had heard in the club where he worked, like "

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

" by

Joe Smooth Joseph Lorenzo Jr. Welbon (born May 9, 1964), known by the stage name Joe Smooth, is an American house music producer and DJ who gained international acclaim during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By the new millennium he held the reputation of ...

. He drew inspiration from these songs and has also stated that the song was inspired by a breakup back when he was living in Newcastle in the early 1990s. The duo had a lot of worries in the writing-process. They worried that the record company would drop them. These thoughts also fed into the lyrics of "Lifted". They sent a tape of the new song to Polydor and they loved it.

Critical reception

Ethan Alter from

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 ...

picked "Lifted" as one of two "best tunes" from the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, stating that it is "virtually guaranteed to buoy one's spirits." In ''

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 ...

'', the reviewer felt singer

's style was in some ways similar to that of

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

, calling the track a "wonderful British-soul single... With its shuffling,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

-derived beat and strumming melody."

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 ...

for

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

called it "wonderful". Pan-European magazine ''

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 ...

'' said, "Pop made from an adult angle, but finely tuning into the youngster's taste too by the clever

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

-inspired rhythm track, it will open up lots of radio possibilities." A reviewer 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 ...

'' rated it three out of five, writing, "Feelgood, radio friendly fare from the

duo which echoes the uplifting sentiments of

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

. A grower." Ralph Tee from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update deemed it a "wholesome guitar-tinged funky soul tune", noting that the original radio friendly version is mixed by British record producer, remixer and composer

. Another editor, James Hamilton described it as a "husky soulful superb

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenc ...

-ishly vocodered lovely languid strolling 96.8bpm song of hope".

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 the duo performing in

Zabriskie Point Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States, noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 mil ...

and

Death Valley Junction Death Valley Junction, more commonly known as Amargosa (Spanish for "Bitter"), is a tiny Mojave Desert unincorporated community in Inyo County, California, at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, in the Amargosa Valley and just east of Death ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The indoor scenes are filmed in

Amargosa Opera House and Hotel Amargosa Opera House and Hotel is a historic building and cultural center located in Death Valley Junction, in eastern Inyo County, California near Death Valley National Park. Resident artist Marta Becket staged dance and mime shows there from t ...

. It was shot on

35mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

, and the idea was to get something that looked more cinematic than a standard pop video.

Track listings

* UK CD1 (1995) # "Lifted" (extended mix) # "Beautiful Night" # "Absolutely Everything" # "Lifted" (7-inch instrumental) * UK CD2 (1995) # "Lifted" (7-inch version) # "Lifted" (Rokstone R&B mix) # "Lifted" (Rokstone instrumental) * UK cassette single (1995) # "Lifted" (7-inch version) # "Absolutely Everything" * European CD single (1995) # "Lifted" # "Beautiful Night" * UK and Australasian CD single (1996) # "Lifted" (7-inch mix) # "Lifted" (Linslee extended mix) # "Lifted" (Linslee instrumental) # "Lifted" (Nostalgia Freaks dub) * UK 12-inch single (1996) :A1. "Lifted" (Linslee extended mix) :A2. "Lifted" (Linslee instrumental) :B1. "Lifted" (Dekkard dub) :B2. "Lifted" (Nostalgia Freaks) * UK cassette single and European CD single (1996) # "Lifted" (7-inch mix) # "Lifted" (Linslee 7-inch mix)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

The song was used as the official campaign song for the British Labour Party under

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

in their successful 2001 election campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifted (Song) 1995 debut singles 1995 songs 1996 singles A&M Records singles British soul songs Lighthouse Family songs Polydor Records singles Songs written by Martin Brammer Songs written by Paul Tucker (musician) Songs written by Tunde Baiyewu