"Testify" is the eighteenth overall single from British band M People. It is the lead single from their greatest hits albums, ''

The Best of M People ''The Best of M People'' is the first greatest hits album by English dance music band M People, released in 1998. The album contains seventeen tracks, including ten UK top 10 hits and three new songs: "Testify (M People song), Testify", "Dreamin ...

'' and, in North America, ''

Testify In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

''. It was written by Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small, and produced by M People. The single was released on 26 October 1998 and peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number 10 in Scotland and number 66 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 ...

in November 1998.

Critical reception

Jose F. Promis from AllMusic called the song "soulful". Chuck Taylor 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

Small Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...

's "

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

-like diva wailings". ''

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 ...

'' wrote that it is a "warm, soothing, ballad, which, unsurprisingly, suits Heather Small's voice perfectly. The combination of those distinctive vocals and some well-written material has been the real strength of M People in the past, and it's something which has made the band radio favourites with a broad range of stations across the continent." ''

Wicklow People Mediahuis Ireland (formally Independent News and Media (INM) )) is a media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites including Independent. ...

'' stated that the song is "delivered with style by the powerful Heather Small.""Trawling the back catalogues". ''

''. 12 November 1998. p. 87. Retrieved 28 November 2020.

Chart performance

On physical release, the midweek charts indicated that "Testify" would chart at number 10 and give them their eleventh UK Top 10 single, however, with four higher new Top 10 entries that week, the single would be pushed down to number 12 where it finally entered and peaked on the chart. It spent six weeks on the chart descending briskly from 12 to 25 to 37 to 51 to 63 to 67.

Music video

To support the release of this single, the band filmed their most expensively produced video on 10 September 1998 in London and was created with a budget of £750,000 and directed by New Zealand-born Gregory Rood who, had worked with Heather on the Perfect Day promotional video for the BBC and produced by William Oakely for 'Pop @ Paul Weiland', the Music Video division of the Paul Weiland Film Company. Heather stands in the middle of a forest with snow on the ground singing all alone and all covered up in a Red Riding Hood-style cape only to then reveal as the wind blows, halfway through the song, that she's wearing an eye-catching £250,000 diamond necklace and bodice in the middle of this (computer-generated) arctic wonderland with the snow falling and steam coming out of Heather's mouth as she sings. Meanwhile, in the surrounding blocks of ice, band mates Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Shovell are all encased and motionless.

Airplay

A week after filming the single was serviced to radio and entered the Airplay chart that first week at 134 moving to 75 to 32 and to number 24. Radio did not pick up the single as fast as previous lead singles, " Just for You" (No. 1), "

Sight for Sore Eyes "Sight for Sore Eyes" is the tenth overall single from British band M People from their third album, '' Bizarre Fruit'' (1994). Written by bandmembers Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Heather Small, and produced by M People, it was released as ...

" (No. 2) and " One Night in Heaven" (No. 1). Despite the fact that Capital Radio had A-listed the single,

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

pledged their typical support and made it their "Single of the week". In the week of release the single climber as high as number 14, being the lowest placed M People single on Airplay for six years since "Excited" in 1992. It remained on the airplay chart for eight weeks in total.

Remixes

The success of the single on other charts was down to both

D'Influence D'Influence (also D-Influence and D*Influence) is a British production team and acid jazz band. Formerly of The Echo Label, they founded their own label, Freakstreet Records. Original members include Kwame Kwaten, Sarah-Ann Webb, Ed Baden-Powell, ...

, Ronin (for the "Big String Remix") and in particular

Rae and Christian Rae & Christian are an English production duo, consisting of Mark Rae and Steve Christian. They are also founders of the Grand Central Records label. History In 1995, Mark Rae fulfilled a long-term dream by founding Grand Central Records in Ma ...

who really exploited the RnB sound to its fullest and used the extra backing vocalist ad-libs to really form the sound and help the single go top 5 and stand up as a genuine record on the RnB Chart. So much so that it was a top 5 hit on the R&B chart, a much bigger success than on other charts.

Track listings

; CSS # Testify (Radio Edit) 4.01 # Last Night 10,000 (Live) 5.22 ; CD1 # Testify (Radio Edit) 4.01 # Angel St (Live) 5.20 # Last Night 10,000 (Live) 5.22 ; CD2 # Testify (Radio Edit) 4.12 # Testify (Rae and Christian Remix) 8.45 # Testify (D Influence Remix) 7.45 # Testify (Big String Remix) 6.08 ; 12" Maxi # Testify (D Influence Remix) 5.30 # Testify (Big String Remix) 6.08 # Testify (Rae and Christian Remix) 5.32 # Testify (Rae and Christian Dub) 6.11

Charts

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2014 M People songs 1998 singles 1998 songs Songs written by Mike Pickering Songs written by Heather Small Songs written by Paul Heard