"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single in the United Kingdom for Yazz and the Plastic Population. The song is used as the theme tune to the popular ITV2/ITVBe

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series '' The Only Way Is Essex''.

Otis Clay version

The song was written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson. It was first recorded by Otis Clay and released as a single by Echo Records in 1980. Though not a hit, the song became the title track of Clay's album ''The Only Way Is Up'', released in Japan in 1982 and then North America in 1985. It is also included on his 2012 album ''Truth Is''.

Yazz version

The Yazz version was produced by

Jonathan More Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

and Matt Black (better known as dance duo Coldcut, who had worked with Yazz on their hit single " Doctorin' the House"). "The Only Way Is Up" was Yazz's first solo single, credited to her under the name Yazz and the Plastic Population. Released as the first single from her debut album, '' Wanted'' (1988), the song became an instant smash hit, spending five weeks at number one in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and ultimately becoming the second biggest selling single of the year. Also 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 soared to the number one position. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

it reached number two on the ''Billboard'' dance chart, although only making number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A 2009 remix was released in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2009.

Background and release

After leaving school, Yazz got a job in a nightclub in Soho and got into her first band called The Biz. She then met the managers of English musical duo Wham! who would be her managers. She took singing lessons and made demo songs that was introduced to electronic music duo Coldcut. Together, they wrote " Doctorin' the House" which incorporates samples from various sources, mainly TV and film dialogue. It reached number six 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 March 1988 and was very popular in the clubs. Their second single was the pumping house version of "The Only Way Is Up". It was released in July 1988 and become a huge hit in the clubs and on the charts.

Chart performance

Yazz' cover of "The Only Way Is Up" was very successful globally. In Europe, it peaked at number-one in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the last of these, it hit the top spot in its third week at the

, on 31 July 1988. The single spent a total of five weeks on the top of the chart, becoming the second biggest selling single of the year. It made it to the top 10 also in Austria, Finland, France, West Germany, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, where it peaked at number two. It was held off reaching number-one by Koreana's " Hand In Hand". On the

, the song hit number one in September 1988. Outside Europe, "The Only Way Is Up" went to number-one in New Zealand, while it hit number two in Australia. On the ''

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 ...

'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States, it peaked at number two. It earned a gold record in Australia and the UK, with a sale of 50,000 and 400,000 singles. And in France, it earned a

silver record Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...

, after 200,000 units were sold there.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' wrote, "Produced by Coldcut, this is an electro-soul number with more than a touch of

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

influences. A good, radio-friendly, dance song."

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 was later published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in August 2018. By September 2020, the video had more than three million views.

Formats and track listings

* 7" single / CD single / cassette # "The Only Way Is Up" — 4:02 # "Bad House Music" — 4:28 * 12" maxi # "The Only Way Is Up" — 6:44 # "Bad House Music" — 7:07 * 12" maxi # "The Only Way Is Up" (UK extended club mix) — 6:45 # "The Only Way Is Up" (the up up up mix) — 7:01 # "The Only Way Is Up" (acid dub) — 5:50 * 12" US Promo vinyl # "The Only Way Is Up" (UK extended club mix) — 6:43 # "The Only Way Is Up" (Lp version) — 4:01 # "The Only Way Is Up" (the popstand remix) — 6:57 # "The Only Way Is Up" (acid dub) — 5:50 # "The Only Way Is Up" (the up up up mix) — 7:01 * CD maxi # "The Only Way Is Up" (7" edit) — 4:02 # "The Only Way Is Up" (12" version) — 6:48 # "The Only Way Is Up" (speng) — 6:01 # "Bad House Music" — 3:00 * 12" maxi – Remixes # "The Only Way Is Up" (the Bam Bam remix) — 7:24 # "The Only Way Is Up" (the up up up mix) — 7:24 # "Bad House Music" — 4:28

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Only Way Is Up, The 1980 singles Otis Clay songs 1988 debut singles Yazz songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Sweden UK Singles Chart number-one singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Songs about poverty Songs written by George Jackson (songwriter) Big Life Records singles The Only Way Is Essex 1980 songs Acid house songs English house music songs