"Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" is a song by Norman Cook's

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

group Freak Power, released in October 1993 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

and 4th & Broadway as the debut single from their first album, '' Drive-Thru Booty'' (1994). The song features a smooth

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

sound and the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

vocals of lead singer Ashley Slater. The single originally charted at number 29 in the United Kingdom. However, two years later, the song was used in the popular

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advertisement "Taxi", and it was re-released on 6 March 1995. This time, the single was a success, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart and becoming the group's only top-20 hit. The song was also a moderate hit in western Europe and New Zealand.

Critical reception

Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described the song as "a cynical post-modern shopping anthem with a dash of singalong

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

." In October 1993, in his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

stated that the song had "the potential to be a major hit". Upon the 1995 release, a reviewer from ''

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 We ...

'' commented, "

ads have a habit of spawning Top 10 hits and Freak Power's groovy number is set to become the latest." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s review said, "Stuffed with vocals that croakily doff their cap to

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

, wah-wah guitar and a chorus that seems to be fully aware of its '70s-crazed ludicrousness, it's an insidious rare groove drip-feed that'll soon be connected to the veins of thousands." Andy Beevers wrote in the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update, "With his excellent Mighty Dub Cats and Pizzaman projects, Norman Cook has been sending out low-key signals that something is stirring down in

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. Now comes the real deal. The best starting point is the Radio Mix which emphasises the wonderfully mellow and husky male vocal. The weird trippy lyrics, which are nowhere as corny as the title would suggest, are set against a great bassline and plenty of funky touches. The whole thing has a very Seventies feel but it is done with a great deal more understanding and intelligence than all the current

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

pastiches." Another ''Record Mirror'' editor,

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, described it as "Norman Cook's Gil Scott Heron-ishly crooking jaunty excellent

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

' The Ghetto' based" in his weekly dance column. Garry Mulholland from '' Select'' wrote, "Their 'Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out' provides the low-slung funk backing for ''that'' ad's shameless exploitation of shock-horror transexuality."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" was directed by Nigel Simpkiss and produced by Ted Thornton for Swivel Productions. It was released on 4 October 1993 and in the video a fleet of beach buggies cruise the surf in Camber Sands.

Track listings

* CD maxi 1, 12-inch maxi 1 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (radio mix) – 4:21 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" ( Pizzaman mix) – 6:51 # "Getting Over the Hump" – 4:12 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (Play-Boys fully loaded vocal) – 7:27 * CD maxi 2 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (radio mix) – 4:20 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (T-empo's club mix) – 7:35 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (Playboys reloaded dub) – 6:22 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (T-empo's piano dub) – 8:25 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (Pizzaman mix) – 6:50 * 12-inch maxi 2 # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (album version) # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (T-Empo's club mix) # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (Play-Boys reloaded dub) # "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" (T-Empo's piano dub) * 7-inch single, CD single, cassette # "Tune On, Tune In, Cop Out" (radio mix) – 4:19 # "Getting Over the Hump" – 4:12

Personnel

* Writer – Norman Cook * Backing vocals – Lucy the Fly * Bass – Jesse Graham * Bongos – Bongo Pete * Drums – James Carmichael Jr * Guitar – Norman Cook * Organ – Eddie Stevens * Photography – Tynan the Skyman * Trombone, vocals – Ashley Slater * Producer – Norman Cook

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1993 songs 1993 debut singles 1995 singles Freak Power songs Island Records singles 4th & B'way Records singles Music videos directed by Nigel Simpkiss Music videos shot in the United Kingdom Songs written by Norman Cook