"Can We Fix It?" is the name of the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

from the British preschool animated television programme ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...

''. It was written by

Paul K. Joyce Paul Kevin Joyce (born July 1957) is a British composer, producer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor. He is known for his music for theatre and television, including the 2005 BBC TV film ''The Snow Queen'' and the 2008 British TV film ''Cla ...

and produced by Hot Animation. The song's title is derived from the catchphrase of the programme's

titular character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

, and the chorus of the song features this phrase prominently, as well as the response, "Yes we can!" Vocals on the song are provided by

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in '' Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' ...

, who voiced Bob at the time of the track's recording. It was released as a single on 4 December 2000 in the United Kingdom. "Can We Fix It?" became the UK Christmas number-one single of 2000, beating

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

's " What Makes a Man" to the top spot. It was the biggest-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom, appearing 10th on the decade-end chart and 80th on the all-time UK best-sellers list. The song has sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom according to the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. On 13 August 2001, the song was released in Australia and reached number one that September, becoming the ninth-best-selling single of the year there. A second single by Bob the Builder, "

Mambo No. 5 "Mambo No. 5" is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 and released the next year. German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under ...

", with the lyrics adapted from

Lou Bega David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage name Lou Bega, is a German singer. His 1999 song " Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached number 1 in many European countries and was ...

's 1999 hit version, also reached number one on the UK chart in September 2001. An album entitled ''The Album'' followed, which debuted at number four on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Critical reception

The song was rated 8/10 by ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'', saying "kids TV themes getting to number one is a thing to be savoured, especially when a), it stops pretentious tosh like " Stan" from reigning at the top of the charts and b), when it actually has a much better

2-step Two-step or two step may refer to: Dance *Two-step (dance move), a dance move used in a wide range of dancing genres * Country-western two-step, also known as the Texas Two-step * Nightclub Two Step, also known as the California Two-step *2-step ...

beat than any of the

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

number ones from the previous 18 months."

Track listings

UK and Australian CD single # "Can We Fix It?" # "Bob's Line Dance" # "Can We Fix It?" (karaoke version) # "Can We Fix It?" (video) UK cassette single # "Can We Fix It?" # "Bob's Line Dance"

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the UK cassette single sleeve. *

– writing *

– vocals * Grant Mitchell – production, arrangement * Graham Dickson – mixing, engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2000 debut singles BBC Records singles Bob the Builder songs Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom English children's songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Scotland Songs from animated series Animated series theme songs Children's television theme songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Universal Music Australia singles Songs about occupations