Human Nature (Gary Clail On-U Sound System song)

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"Human Nature"
Human Nature (Gary Clail On-U Sound System song).jpg
Variant for CD and vinyl editions
Single by Gary Clail On-U Sound System
from the album Emotional Hooligan
Released1991
Genre
Length3:40
Label
  • Perfecto
  • RCA
Songwriter(s)Gary Clail
Producer(s)Adrian Sherwood
Gary Clail On-U Sound System singles chronology
"Beef"
(1990) 		"Human Nature"
(1991) 		"The Emotional Hooligan"
(1991)
Music video
"Human Nature" on YouTube

"Human Nature" is a 1991 song performed by English singer and record producer Gary Clail. It is produced by Adrian Sherwood and features Lana Pellay on backing vocals. Released as the first single from his second album, Emotional Hooligan, it peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 3 on the UK Dance Chart. It was also the theme tune to BBC 2's TV-show "Snub". A music video was made to accompany the song.

It was originally intended to use a sample of a speech by Billy Graham on the track, however his representatives refused permission, so the song used portions of the speech re-recorded by Clail. However some promo 12" singles featuring the Billy Graham sample were pressed and distributed.[1][2]

Critical reception[]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media deemed it an "outstanding" song from the Emotional Hooligan album.[3] James Hamilton from Music Week called it a "bassily chugging angry roller".[4] James Brown from NME described it as "another electrifying club track that brings the old On-U Sound up to date and bullies the social conscience with its words. Boxheads will recognize its staple technique as being the Snub signature tune, but of course there's more. Comic strip-per Lana Pellay adds a Bacchanalian chorus call, and Sherwood and Oakenfold do the business at the controls. Light, tight, and destined to beat up the charts. The man has presence."[5] Record Mirror picked it as Single of the Week. Jack Barron wrote, "With all the momentum of a nailbomb explosion in the privates, Gary Clail spins once more into orbit riding on the back of a stellar keyboard riff, which you'll instantly recognise as the theme tune to 'Snub TV'". He added, "As a purely physical club experience, 'Human Nature' is like strapping yourself to a roller-coaster that suddenly leaves the rails."[6]

Chart performance[]

The single peaked at number 10 in the United Kingdom,[7] number 27 in Ireland,[8] and at number 69 in the Netherlands.[9] On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 29 in April 1991. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 38 in Australia.[10]

Track listing[]

7" single, UK & Europe (1991)
No.TitleLength
1."Human Nature" (On The Mix Edit) 
2."Human Nature" (Why Is It? Mix) 
12" single, Europe (1991)
No.TitleLength
1."Human Nature" (On The Mix)6:18
2."Rumours"4:40
CD single, UK & Europe (1991)
No.TitleLength
1."Human Nature" (On The Mix Edit)3:40
2."Human Nature" (On The Mix)6:18
3."Rumours"4:40

Charts[]

Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[10] 38
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 27
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[12] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 69
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 10
UK Dance Singles (Music Week)[13] 3

References[]

  1. ^ "Gary Clail On-U Sound System". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Gary Clail & On-U Sound System – Human Nature". Discogs. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Spotlight: Gary Clail" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 April 1991. p. 13. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Dance" (PDF). Music Week. 23 March 1991. p. 14. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Singles". NME. 23 March 1991. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. ^ Barron, Jack (23 March 1991). "Singles". Record Mirror. p. 14. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gary Clail On-U Sound System". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gary Clail On-U Sound System". imgur.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gary Clail On-U Sound System". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gary Clail On-U Sound System". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 20 April 1991. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Gary Clail On-U Sound System - Human Nature" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 March 1991. p. 26. Retrieved 27 September 2020.


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