"Positivity" is the first single from the album ''

A New Morning ''A New Morning'' is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and single ...

'' by

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

, released on 16 September 2002 through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Although it received mixed reviews from critics and fans, the song became one of the band's final hit singles, reaching number one in Denmark, number 12 in Spain, number 15 in Finland and Norway, and number 16 in their native United Kingdom.

Background

The single is a big departure from the sleazy rock characteristic of the previous two albums, and has a far more warm and acoustic sound to it. The single had various producers: "Positivity" was produced by

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

, "One Love", "Superstar" and "Colours" were produced by

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...

, "Simon" was produced by Suede and

Ken Thomas Kenneth, Ken or Kenny Thomas may refer to: * Kenneth Thomas (chess player) (born 1938), Chief Financial Officer of the United States Chess Federation * Ken Thomas (trade unionist) (1927–2008), Welsh trade unionist and General Secretary of the Civi ...

, "Cheap" was produced by Suede and Dick Meaney while "Campfire Song" was produced by Suede and Alex Silva. Initially Brett Anderson liked the song and considered it one of his favourites on the album prior to its release. However, his views on the song would later change, saying: "When I first wrote it I thought it was a masterpiece but soon realized that many people were genuinely offended by it." On the meaning of the song, Anderson said it's about "someone who's really close to me, who doesn't have much in life but manages to deal with it incredibly well." The video for the title song was directed by Julian Gibbs.

Critical reception

The single garnered mixed reviews from critics. Paul McNamee of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' felt that the song lacked the "affected social commentary" of the songs from '' Coming Up'' and that Anderson's lyrics were of a lower standard. In conclusion, he offered the band the following advice: "For the love of God chaps, you still have fans. Go quietly now, and they'll remain true." Ben Gilbert of ''

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 ...

'' rated the song four out of ten. He wrote: "'Positivity' finds Anderson, who now looks more like a body builder than a smack-infested rock'n'roll poet, using credit card as a rather desperate metaphor for love. There is precious little here to suggest Suede have anything left in the tank, amidst a lame swathe of breezy strings." On the other hand, ''

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 ...

'' called it "a heartfelt song which sounds catchy enough for mainstream radio." Despite the negativity surrounding the song, "Positivity" reached number 16 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 number one in Denmark, making it the third European number-one single by the band after "

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", which topped the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...

in August 1996; and "

Beautiful Ones "Beautiful Ones" is the second single from the album '' Coming Up'' (1996) by Suede, released on 14 October 1996 through Nude Records. The song became a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight, and reached number one in Icelan ...

", which topped the Icelandic Singles Chart in November 1996.

Track listings

CD1 # "Positivity" (

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

, Richard Oakes, Simon Gilbert,

Mat Osman Mathew David Osman (born 9 October 1967) is an English musician and author, best known as the bassist in the rock band Suede. Osman and singer Brett Anderson are the only remaining founding members left in Suede, and along with the drummer Sim ...

Neil Codling Neil John Codling (born 5 December 1973) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the keyboardist, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and co-songwriter for the alternative rock band Suede. Early life Neil Codling was raised in Str ...

) # "One Love" (Anderson, Oakes, Osman,

Tony Hoffer Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer. Career Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...

) # "Simon" (Anderson, Codling) # "Positivity"

ideo IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environ ...

(Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling) CD2 # "Positivity" (Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling) # "Superstar" (Anderson, Oakes, Codling, Gilbert, Osman, Alex Lee) # "Cheap" (Anderson, Oakes) DVD # "Positivity"

(Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling) # "Colours" (Anderson) # "Campfire Song" (Anderson, Codling)

Charts

References

{{Authority control Suede (band) songs 2002 singles Number-one singles in Denmark Song recordings produced by John Leckie Songs written by Brett Anderson Songs written by Mat Osman Songs written by Neil Codling Songs written by Richard Oakes (guitarist)