I'm Too Sexy

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"I'm Too Sexy"
ImTooSexy.jpg
Single by Right Said Fred
from the album Up
Released15 July 1991
GenreDance-pop[1]
Length2:50
Label
  • Tug (United Kingdom)
  • Charisma (United States)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)TommyD
Right Said Fred singles chronology
"I'm Too Sexy"
(1991) 		"Don't Talk Just Kiss"
(1991)
Right Said Fred singles chronology
"Where Do You Go to My Love?"
(2006) 		"I'm Too Sexy 2007"
(2007) 		"I'm a Celebrity"
(2008)
Music video
"I'm Too Sexy" on YouTube

"I'm Too Sexy" is the debut single by British group Right Said Fred. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "I'm Too Sexy" topped the charts in seven countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United States.

Composition and recording[]

The idea for the song came about when the Fairbrass brothers were running a gym in London where, according to Richard, there was "lots of narcissism and posing". One day, he took his shirt off and started singing "I'm too sexy for my shirt" in front of a mirror as a joke. The band originally recorded it as an indie rock song.

It was rejected by multiple record companies before they played it to radio plugger Guy Holmes. He was initially unimpressed after playing it on his car stereo, but his passengers latched onto the song's "I'm a model, you know what I mean" hook and Holmes asked the band if they could rework it as a dance track.

DJ TommyD, an acquaintance of Richard Fairbrass, programmed electronics around the original vocal, whilst guitarist Rob Manzoli added a riff borrowed from the Jimi Hendrix song "Third Stone from the Sun".[2]

In the clubs, many people imitated their "catwalk" dance as seen on the video clip by January 1992.[3]

Release[]

The single was released on 15 July 1991.[4] It equalled the record for the most weeks at number two on the UK Singles Chart without ever topping the chart, staying at number two for six weeks in a row while held back by Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (this equalled the previous record set by Father Abraham's 1978 hit "The Smurf Song").

In May 1992, the song was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Best Selling 'A' Side.[5] "I'm Too Sexy" was the act's first of several hits, particularly in the United Kingdom. They went on to have a number one single on the UK Singles Chart with "Deeply Dippy" in April 1992. In April 2008, the song was rated No. 49 on "The 50 Worst Songs Ever! Watch, Listen and Cringe!" by Blender.[6]

Critical reception[]

AllMusic editor Stephen Schnee described the song as a "humorous yet misunderstood swipe at self centered male bodybuilders and models."[7] David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter called it "a campy send-up of the fashion world."[8] In November 1991, Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Thoroughly fun and goofy ditty recently heated up international dance floors and radio airwaves. Fred cheekily boasts about his physical attributes over a festive pop/house groove, which should have no trouble duplicating its success here."[9] Andy Kastanas from The Charlotte Observer stated, "This midtempo "techno/house" beat has a catchy hook and unusual deep male vocals (a la Elmer Fudd on steriods) that'll put a meltdown on any ladies in the vicinity. You'll dance whether you like it or not and the lyrics are sure to give you some chucks when you sing along (and you WILL sing along)... "I'm too sexy for my car, too sexy for your party, too sexy for this song, too sexy it hurts" and on and on."[10] Music Week deemed it a "eccentric"[11] and "amusingly muttered 121.7bpm pop rattler".[12] Matt Stopera and Brian Galindo from BuzzFeed ranked it at number 90 in their list of The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s in 2017, commenting, "Yes, this song is cheesy as hell, but it doesn't ever try to be anything other than what it is: a fun, catchy, campy dance song."[13] Cashbox said, "Here is a fun, tongue-in-cheek dance tune that should get lots of club play." They added that the group "have put together a clever dance/club put-down of what could only be the whole fashion-model "poser" attitude that's so much in vogue."[14] People Magazine noted it as a "dopey dance tune mocking fashion models and voguers—but it'll keep you moving."[15]

In June 2007, the song was voted No. 80 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[16] In April 2011, it was voted No. 2 on VH1's 40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '90s.[citation needed]

Track listing[]

UK CD (CD SNOG 1)
  1. "I'm Too Sexy" (Betty's mix)
  2. "I'm Too Sexy" (7" mix)
  3. "I'm Too Sexy" (12" instrumental)
  4. "I'm Too Sexy" (Italian version)
UK 7" (SNOG 1) / cassette (CA SNOG 1)
  1. "I'm Too Sexy"
  2. "I'm Too Sexy" (instrumental)
UK 12" (12 SNOG 1)
  1. "I'm Too Sexy"
  2. "I'm Too Sexy" (7" version)
  3. "I'm Too Sexy" (12" instrumental)
U.S. Single
  1. "I'm Too Sexy" (7" version)
  2. "I'm Too Sexy" (Extended Club Mix)
  3. "I'm Too Sexy" (Betty's Mix)
  4. "I'm Too Sexy" (Instrumental)
  5. "I'm Too Sexy" (Catwalk Mix)
  6. "I'm Too Sexy" (Tushapella)
  7. "I'm Too Sexy" (Spanish version)

Chart positions[]

Covers and adaptations[]

See also[]

References[]

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  2. ^ Simpson, Dave (4 April 2017). "How we made Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Spotlight: Right Said Fred" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9 no. 3. 18 January 1992. p. 21. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "British single certifications – Right Said Fred – I'm Too Sexy". British Phonographic Industry.
  5. ^ "The Ivors 1992 > Best Selling 'A' Side". Theivors.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. ^ "The 50 Worst Songs Ever! Watch, Listen and Cringe!". Blender. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010.
  7. ^ Schnee, Stephen. "Right Said Fred – Up". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  8. ^ Taylor-Wilson, David (2 April 1992). "View from the Top". Bay Area Reporter. 22 (14). p. 26. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  9. ^ Flick, Larry (16 November 1991). "Single Reviews > New and Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. p. 81.
  10. ^ Kastanas, Andy (4 December 1991). "Sounds of Progress". The Charlotte Observer. p. 10.
  11. ^ "Export of the Year: Right Said Fred" (PDF). Music Week. 26 December 1992. p. 10. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Dance" (PDF). Music Week. 3 August 1991. p. 8. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  13. ^ Stopera, Matt; Galindo, Brian (11 March 2017). "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. ^ Clark, Randy; DeVaney, Bryan (21 December 1991). "Music Reviews > Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. LV no. 19. p. 5. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Prime Cuts". People. Vol. 37 no. 5. 10 February 1992. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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  21. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2043." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
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  23. ^ "Discos más populares en Mexico". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 24 May 1992. p. 56. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  24. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
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  56. ^ Fawthrop, Peter. "Alvin & the Chipmunks – Club Chipmunk: The Dance Mixes". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
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External links[]

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