Lifted (Lighthouse Family song)

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"Lifted"
Lighthouse Family Lifted.jpg
Single by Lighthouse Family
from the album Ocean Drive
B-side"Absolutely Everything"
Released1995
StudioBattery
GenreBritish soul[1]
Length4:31
Label
  • Wildcard
  • Polydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mike Peden
Lighthouse Family singles chronology
"Lifted"
(1995) 		"Ocean Drive"
(1995)
Alternative cover
Second re-released cover of "Lifted", released 4 June 1999
Second re-released cover of "Lifted", released 4 June 1999
Music video
"Lifted" on YouTube

"Lifted" is a song written by British duo Lighthouse Family, for their debut album Ocean Drive (1995). It is produced by Mike Peden and was released as the lead single in 1995, reaching the top 70 in the UK. On 29 January 1996, the song was re-released,[2] reaching a new peak of number four in the UK and reaching the top 40 in Austria, Iceland, and Ireland, as well as on the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary chart. In 1999, "Lifted" was again re-released but with a different single cover.

Background and release[]

"When we were writing Lifted, we were worried that the record company was going to drop us, and had these deep, intense discussions – "What is life anyway? What is love?" – which fed into the lyrics. For me, it's about being in the darkness, looking for that spiritual thing to lift you out of something. People seemed to connect with it emotionally, mentally, even politically."

—Tunde Baiyewu talking about the song.[3]

Songwriter Paul Tucker worked in a house music club in Newcastle and had written a song called "Ocean Drive". After four years he decided to find a singer to sing it. A friend told him about singer Tunde Baiyewu from London and after singing the song, Tucker felt he was the right person to sing it. Tucker contacted several record companies and sent them the song on cassettes. Several labels showed interest and the duo signed to Polydor Records with only one song. The record company kept asking for more material. They brought in some musicians to record a few songs, but Polydor rejected the songs. "Lifted" came up in this process. Tucker and Baiyewu felt they needed some kind of spiritual lift. Tucker also remembered the tunes he had heard in the club where he worked, like "Promised Land" by Joe Smooth. He drew inspiration from these song into the new song. The duo had a lot of worries in the writing-process. They worried that the record company would drop them. These thought also fed into the lyrics of "Lifted". They sent a tape of the new song to Polydor and they loved it.[4]

Critical reception[]

Ethan Alter from AllMusic picked "Lifted" as one of two "best tunes" from the album, stating that it is "virtually guaranteed to buoy one's spirits."[5] Larry Flick from Billboard felt singer Tunde Baiyewu's style drew similarities to Seal; and called it a "wonderful British-soul single... With its shuffling, funk-derived beat and strumming melody."[6] Pan-European magazine Music & Media said, "Pop made from an adult angle, but finely tuning into the youngster's taste too by the clever Soul II Soul-inspired rhythm track, it will open up lots of radio possibilities."[7] Music Week gave it three out of five, writing, "Feelgood, radio friendly fare from the Newcastle duo which echoes the uplifting sentiments of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. A grower."[8] Ralph Tee from the magazine's RM Dance Update deemed it a "wholesome guitar-tinged funky soul tune", noting that the original radio friendly version is mixed by British record producer, remixer and composer Mike Peden.[9] Another editor, James Hamilton described it as a "husky soulful superb Roger Troutman-ishly vocodered lovely languid strolling 96.8bpm song of hope".[10]

Track listings[]

Charts and certifications[]

In popular culture[]

The song was used as the official campaign song for the British Labour Party under Tony Blair in their successful 2001 election campaign.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ Taylor, Chuck, ed. (21 June 1997). "Reviews & Previews – Singles: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Vol. 109 no. 25. p. 73. Retrieved 17 November 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 January 1996. p. 37. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ Simpson, Dave (12 November 2019). "Lighthouse Family: how we made Lifted". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  4. ^ Simpson, Dave (12 November 2019). "Lighthouse Family: how we made Lifted". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  5. ^ Alter, Ethan. "Lighthouse Family – Ocean Drive". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. ^ Flick, Larry (21 June 1997). "Reviews & Previews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 73. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  7. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 24 June 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 29 April 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. ^ Tee, Ralph. "Hot Vinyl". Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 3 June 1995. p. 14.
  10. ^ Hamilton, James (3 February 1996). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Lighthouse Family – Lifted" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9888." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 8. 24 February 1996. p. 16. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Lighthouse Family – Lifted" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Nr. 165: Vikuna 13.4. – 19.4. '96". Dagblaðið Vísir. 13 April 1996. p. 38. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lifted". Irish Singles Chart.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lighthouse Family – Lifted" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Lighthouse Family Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 25.
  26. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1996 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  27. ^ "British single certifications – Lighthouse Family – Lifted". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Labour campaign lifts off on song". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 August 2019.

External links[]

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