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Charly (song)

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Not to be confused with Charlie § Songs.

"Charly"
Single by the Prodigy
from the album Experience
B-side
  • "Pandemonium"
  • "Your Love"
  • "Energy Flow (G-Force Part 1)"
Released12 August 1991 (1991-08-12)[1]
StudioC.W.S. (Essex, England)
Genre
Length
  • 3:56 (original version)
  • 5:27 (Alley Cat Mix)
  • 3:38 (Alley Cat 7-inch edit and video version)
  • 5:13 (Trip into Drum & Bass version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Liam Howlett
Producer(s)
  • Liam Howlett
  • Chaz Stevens
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Charly"
(1991) 		"Everybody in the Place"
(1991)
Music video
"Charly" on YouTube
Alternative cover
Digital cover

"Charly" is the debut single released by the British electronic act the Prodigy, later included on their debut album, Experience (1992), although the version featured on the album is the significantly different "Trip into Drum & Bass" remix.

It was released in the UK on 12 August 1991 through XL Recordings on vinyl, CD and cassette tape format. Almost a year later, it was released as a double A-side single with "Everybody in the Place" in the United States on 18 June 1992 through Elektra Records on CD, digipak and maxi-single format.

On 22 November 2004 the single was released on digital download format.[5] On 1 October 1992, "Charly" had sold over 200,000 copies in the UK which in turn enabled it a Silver BPI certification.[6] The Alley Cat Mix of "Charly" features as track number three on the expanded disc two of the band's debut album Experience. "Charly" appears on the band's compilation album Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005 as track number nine.

Background

[edit]

"Charly" was written and produced by band frontman Liam Howlett, together with Chaz Stevens as an additional producer. The single's cover art was designed by Jay McKendry Jenkins. The song samples the 1970s BBC Public Information Film, Charley Says, (from "Double Deckers" of ITV's "Say No to Strangers" campaign), in which a small child is shown with his cat. This sample later resulted in the band being unsuccessfully sued for plagiarism.

The band was criticised by the dance music magazine Mixmag for inspiring a glut of copycat rave songs which also sampled children's programming, including "Sesame's Treet" by Smart E's and "A Trip To Trumpton" by Urban Hype.[7][8]

Reception

[edit]

The song received generally mixed reviews from critics, despite its popularity. Dooyoo.co.uk described "Charly" as "An infamous song which was played at very loud volumes for weeks and its music video turned it into one of the controversial songs of its time."[9] NME named it Single of the Week,[10] writing, "A pretty damn naughty techno track which cleverly uses a catch line from an old public information film. Charly says you should always tell your mummy before you go off somewhere, is the line you're going to be hearing over the next few weeks. This could be a good or bad thing as hundreds of bedroom samplers go scouring old BBC soundtrack films/records for all sorts of gems. Let's hope it gets people thinking about their tracks as well. A charter without a doubt."[11]

Popmatters.com described "Charly" as an electronic track developed in such a way that it would ensure boredom avoidance.[12] Stylusmagazine.com interpreted the song as "All teenage rampage and suckingly vacant insurgency".[13] Regardless of "Charly"'s mixed critical reception, the track has still genuinely managed to garner a rather widespread cult following over the years for its innovative use of sound, as it has been considered by many fans to be one of the main turning points in electronic music history, if not the overall rave scene in general.[citation needed][original research?]

Alexis Petridis, writing for The Guardian in 2020, listed "Charly" at number 16 in his list of his 25 best early '90s breakbeat hardcore tracks.[14]

Music video

[edit]

A music video directed by Russell Curtis features live footage of one of the costume-wearing Prodigy's early performances with other visual effects. The video contrasts the song's lyrics and "infamous" sample by playing a clip of a government warning to always tell your parents where you were going. The cartoon figure used was a young child, named Tony, who had a ginger cat named Charley; "Charley Says" was a short series of informational cartoons produced for children during the 1970s dealing with everyday issues such as not playing with matches and not talking to strangers.

Track listings

[edit]
  • UK 12-inch single[15]
A1. "Charly" (Alley Cat mix) – 5:24
A2. "Pandemonium" (original mix) – 4:25
B1. "Your Love" (original mix) – 6:00
B2. "Charly" (original mix) – 3:56
  • UK digital download (2004)[5]
  1. "Charly" (original mix) – 3:56
  2. "Pandemonium" – 4:25
  3. "Your Love" – 6:00
  4. "Charly" (Alley Cat mix) – 5:27

Chart performance

[edit]

On 24 August 1991, "Charly" debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks later it rose to a peak position of number three where it stayed for two consecutive weeks. The single re-entered the chart almost five years after release at number sixty-six on 20 April 1996. The single re-entered again, a further eight years on from its previous re-entry due to a digital download release of the single. This time at number 73 on 4 December 2004. Altogether it spent a total of six weeks within the top ten and twelve weeks within the top seventy-five.

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 August 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ "XL Recordings: The American Chapter". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  3. ^ "9 of the most 90s things that ever happened to music - BBC Music". BBC.co.uk. 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ Crawford, David (2015). "The Prodigy - "Out of Space". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 690.
  5. ^ a b "XL Recordings Shop: The Prodigy - Charly 12" Vinyl". Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Mixmag August 1992 The Prodigy did "Charly Kill Rave?"". It's All About Flyers.com. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Mixmag apologise about Charly killed rave". Nekozine. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005 - The Prodigy Music Album product reviews and price comparison". Dooyoo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  10. ^ Lamacq, Steve (3 August 1991). "Singles". NME. p. 16. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. ^ Sherman at the Controls (3 August 1991). "Groove Check". NME. p. 19. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Music Reviews, Features, Essays, News, Columns, Blogs, MP3s and Videos - PopMatters". Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  13. ^ "The Prodigy - Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005 - Review - Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  14. ^ "The greatest hardcore rave tracks – ranked!". The Guardian. 27 August 2020.
  15. ^ Charly (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 1991. XLT-21.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 9 November 2015". Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015 – via Imgur.
  17. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 38. 21 September 1991. p. 25. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Charly". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 August 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  21. ^ "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  22. ^ "British single certifications – Prodigy – Charly". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
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