"So Macho" is a song by American-British singer

Sinitta Sinitta Malone (born 19 October 1963), known mononymously as Sinitta, is an American-born British singer, actress and television personality. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single "So Macho" and had several ot ...

. The song was released in 1985 as her self-titled début album's second single.

Song information

Sinitta was both

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

's and

Fanfare Records Fanfare Records was a British record label that was founded by Iain Burton (dancer in The Young Generation, manager of Arlene Phillips and co-founder of Hot Gossip) and Simon Cowell (which made Cowell's first break in the music industry). Burt ...

' first signing. Cowell had contacted record producer and songwriter

George Hargreaves George Hargreaves (born November 12, 1952) is a landscape architect. Under his design direction, the work of his firm has received numerous national awards and has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. He was an artist in res ...

, who in turn provided the song "So Macho". Armed with a highly infectious pop record, Sinitta looked poised for success; however, Iain Burton changed his mind and called Cowell to advise he was pulling the plug on Fanfare Records. Convinced "So Macho" was destined to be a hit, Cowell persuaded Burton to give him £5,000 to release the record. The single was first released in late July 1985 and, like Sinitta's début single " Cruising", it quickly gained popularity in the gay clubs and on the

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

dance scene. Although the single failed to chart, it continued to sell throughout the summer, including 15,000 copies on import. The song's popularity led Cowell to make the decision to delete the single at the end of October 1985 to let demand build up again. As Christmas approached, the song found renewed popularity in straight clubs and discos. The single was re-released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with "Cruising" on 17 February 1986. The record's sleeve was changed from an image of Sinitta to a cartoon macho man, in an effort to make clear to radio programers that it was a pop record, and not R&B or soul. The re-release was not an immediate success as it remained in the lower reaches of the charts. It was not until four months later that the single started gaining airplay and entered the top 40, upon which it quickly rose to number two in 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 ...

. The song's belated video was recorded for £500 in a London flat belonging to one of Cowell's friends, in the hope of gaining TV exposure. Sinitta supplied her own wardrobe, and there was no budget for hair or makeup. It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the BPI, and has sold 585,000 copies. Iain Burton's initial £5,000 investment became a profit of £1,000,000 and paved the way for Fanfare's future.

Formats and track listings

; 7" Single #"So Macho" – 3:25 #"Showdown" – 3:33 ; 12" Single #"So Macho" (Extended Club Mix) – 6:34 #"Showdown" (Special Dance Mix) – 5:22 ; 12" Single – 1986 release #"So Macho" (Extended Club Mix) – 6:34 #"Cruising" (Remix) – 7:29

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Sinitta 1985 singles 1986 singles Hi-NRG songs Sinitta songs Songs written by George Hargreaves (politician) 1985 songs Fanfare Records singles