Remembering the First Time

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"Remembering the First Time"
Single by Simply Red
from the album Life
Released4 December 1995 (1995-12-04)
GenrePop
Length4:44
LabelEastWest
Songwriter(s)Mick Hucknall
Producer(s)Mick Hucknall[1]
Simply Red singles chronology
"Fairground"
(1995) 		"Remembering the First Time"
(1995) 		"Never Never Love"
(1996)
Music video
"Remembering the First Time" on YouTube

"Remembering the First Time" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by frontman Mick Hucknall, it was featured on their fifth album, Life (1995), and released by EastWest in December 1995 in a new remix for the single. It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Club Chart. The song also peaked at number seven in Iceland, number 19 in Spain, and number 23 in the Netherlands. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 80. The music video for the song was directed by Irish filmmaker Michael Geoghegan.[2]

Critical reception[edit]

AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann complimented the song as "promising".[3] Swedish Expressen said it "is like browsing a tribute book about modern soul music; - Chic guitar, Dr. Dre synth, house piano and a breath-taking wind instrument arrangement that is sent down from the sky with Federal Express."[4] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian noted the song's "oscillating keyboard note".[5] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times declared it as a "pseudo funky pop choon".[6] A reviewer of Music Week gave it top score with five out of five, stating that it "is bound to follow in the footsteps of its successor, with the same up-beat melody and a refrain to stir heartstrings nationwide."[7]

Calvin Bush from Muzik complimented Mick Hucknall for picking the right remixer for the track, writing, "Here, Dave Valentine's Self Preservation Society bin Mick's vocals, put their heads down and happily march to acid house land aimed with lancing beats and smokescreen strings".[8] Dele Fadele from NME wrote, "'Remembering the First Time' is down to earth and direct, when it could have been more metaphorical."[9] In an 2014 retrospective review, Pop Rescue described it as "upbeat", with some piano and bassline "carrying Mick's vocals along."[10] Brad Beatnik from the Record Mirror Dance Update gave it four out of five, saying that "it might not be as immediate" as "Fairground", but "is still a convincing combination of club class and commercial hooks."[11]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1995–1996) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 80
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 55
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[14] 7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[15] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 30
Scotland (OCC)[18] 23
Spain (AFYVE)[19] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 22
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[21] 3

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 4 December 1995
  • CD
  • cassette
 EastWest [22]
Japan 21 December 1995 CD EastWest Japan [23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mick Hucknall – Simply Red – Official Site » Remembering The First Time".
  2. ^ "Remembering The First Time (1995) by Simply Red". IMVDb.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  3. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Simply Red - Life". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. ^ Expressen. 6 October 1995.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (13 October 1995). "Your essential guide to the week's CD releases". p. 14. The Guardian.
  6. ^ Courtney, Kevin (13 October 1995). "Rock". Irish Times.
  7. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 25 November 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Singles" (PDF). Muzik. 1 February 1996. p. 74. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  9. ^ Fadele, Dele (7 October 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Review: "Life" by Simply Red (CD, 1995)". Pop Rescue. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ^ Beatnik, Brad (2 December 1995). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 9. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Simply Red – Remembering the First Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  14. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.11.1995–01.12.1995)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 25 November 1995. p. 60. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Simply Red - Remembering The First Time" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Simply Red – Remembering the First Time" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. ^ "Simply Red – Remembering the First Time". Top 40 Singles.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  19. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  21. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 13 May 1995. p. 6. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  22. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 48. Retrieved 30 June 2021. Misprinted as 3 December. The albums section uses the correct date.
  23. ^ "リメンバリング・ザ・ファースト・タイム | シンプリー・レッド" [Remembering the First Time | Simply Red] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
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