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Brimful of Asha

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"Brimful of Asha"
Single by Cornershop
from the album When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Released18 August 1997 (1997-08-18)
Genre
Length
  • 5:17 (album version)
  • 4:07 (single version)
LabelWiiija
Songwriter(s)Tjinder Singh
Producer(s)Cornershop
Cornershop singles chronology
"Good Ships"
(1997) 		"Brimful of Asha"
(1997) 		"Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)"
(1998)
Music video
"Brimful of Asha" on YouTube

"Brimful of Asha" is a song by British alternative rock band Cornershop from their third album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version by Norman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart[3] and number 16 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to Asha Bhosle.[4]

Background

This song is based on the history of film culture in India. Since their beginnings, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. The singing is almost always performed by background singers while the actors and actresses lip sync. Asha Bhosle is a playback singer who has sung over 12,000 songs and is referred to as "Sadi rani" (Punjabi for "our queen") at one point in the lyrics. In the slower, original album recording, playback singers Lata Mangeshkar (her elder sister) and Mohammed Rafi (one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are mentioned. The lyrics in the bridge contain a number of references to non-Indian music, including Georges Brassens' song "Les Amoureux des bancs publics", Jacques Dutronc, Marc Bolan, Argo Records and Trojan Records.[5]

Critical reception

British magazine Music Week rated the song five out of five, adding that "the Asian-rock outfit deliver their most compulsive slice of pop to date, mixing a Velvet Underground-style groove with a truly ticklesome lyric, strings and a top tune."[6] A reviewer from NME commented, "... Sadly not a song about the joys of chain-smoking, but in fact a celebration of the Asian music and films of our Tjinder's youth. The cognoscenti of the youth revolution will no doubt have heard this already on either its previous release or the album, but this may be the record to take the 'Shop into the crazy Global Hypermarket of the Top Ten. Not because it's a marvellously infectious good-time dance pop number, but because it repeats the line, "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow"."[7]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Phil Harder and produced by Harder/Fuller Films. It was filmed in a house in Lewisham, London.[8]

Norman Cook remix

"Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)"
Single by Cornershop
from the album The Greatest Hits – Why Try Harder
Released16 February 1998 (1998-02-16)
GenreBig beat[9][10]
Length
  • 4:03 (single version)
  • 7:35 (extended version)
LabelWiiija
Songwriter(s)Tjinder Singh
Producer(s)Tjinder Singh
Cornershop singles chronology
"Brimful of Asha"
(1997) 		"Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)"
(1998) 		"Sleep on the Left Side"
(1998)
Music video
"Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)" on YouTube

DJ Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) was asked to remix "Brimful of Asha" by speeding it up and modulating the song to a higher key (halfway between B-flat and B, rather than in A). The remix saw major success as a number one single in February 1998.[3]

In 2003, Q Magazine ranked the Fatboy Slim remix at number 840 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[11] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 105 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[12] In August 2010, Pitchfork placed the remix at number 113 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[13] NME ranked the remix at number 2 in their list of "The 50 Best Remixes Ever", saying it "does what the truly great remixes do – render you unable to enjoy the original".[14] The remix was included in Pitchfork's 2010 list of "25 Great Remixes" of the 1990s.[15] The remix is featured prominently on the French children's TV channel Gulli, playing before each episode.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] 2× Platinum 634,000[37]

Release history

Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom Original 18 August 1997 (1997-08-18)
  • 7-inch
  • CD
 Wiiija [39]
United States 16 December 1997 (1997-12-16) Contemporary hit radio Warner Bros. [40]
United Kingdom Norman Cook Remix 16 February 1998 (1998-02-16)
  • 7-inch
  • CD
  • cassette
 Wiiija [41]

References

  1. ^ Pitchfork Staff (27 September 2022). "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 October 2022. ...she offered the silky, languorous indie-pop Cornershop song as a reference...
  2. ^ Bill Cummings, "Great Britpop Songs#19: Cornershop - Brimful of Asha", God Is In The TV, 24 February 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 616. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ "Cornershop". One-Hit Wonders at the BBC. 17 April 2015. BBC Four.
  5. ^ "Cornershop". Users.globalnet.co.uk. 28 December 1998. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 9 August 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Singles Archive 14/2/98". NME. Archived from the original on 31 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  8. ^ Scholtes, Peter (22 August 2007), "Seen Your Video", City Pages, archived from the original on 16 February 2009
  9. ^ "The best No 1 records: Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". the Guardian. 31 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Great Britpop Songs #19: Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha - God Is In The TV". 24 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)".
  12. ^ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101 | Features". Pitchfork. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  14. ^ "The 50 best remixes ever". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Staff Lists: A Feature About Nothing: The 1990s in Lists | Features". Pitchfork. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  17. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  18. ^ Danish Singles Chart 15 May 1998
  19. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 10. 7 March 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Cornershop: Brimful of Asha" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 21. 23 May 1998. p. 22. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (5.3 – 12.3. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 6 March 1998. p. 26. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Brimful of Asha". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  25. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 18. 2 May 1998. p. 13. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  27. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  28. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". VG-lista. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  30. ^ "Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  31. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  32. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  33. ^ "Cornershop Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  34. ^ "Cornershop Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100 – Vinsælustu Lögin '98". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1999. p. 34. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  36. ^ "Best Sellers of 1998 – Singles Top 100". Music Week. 16 January 1999. p. 7.
  37. ^ "Wonderwall by Oasis leads the UK's Official Top 50 best-selling Britpop songs". Official Charts Company. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  38. ^ "British single certifications – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  39. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 16 August 1997. p. 35. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  40. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1227. 12 December 1997. p. 48.
  41. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 14 February 1998. p. 35. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
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