"Build Me Up Buttercup" is a song written by

Mike d'Abo Michael David d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs " Handbags and Gladrags" and " Build Me Up Bu ...

and

Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 an ...

, and released by

the Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band (m. 1967–1970). The group's background was: West Indian, White British, and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number ...

in 1968 with

Colin Young Colin Young (born 12 September 1944, Barbados) is a singer known for being a member of the British soul band the Foundations. Biography In the mid-1960s, Young came to England for a holiday with his father and decided to stay. He was a forme ...

singing lead vocals. Young had replaced

Clem Curtis Clem Curtis (born Curtis Clements; 28 November 1940 – 27 March 2017) was a Trinidadian British singer, who was the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group The Foundations. Background Family He was the father of seven children, six sons ...

during 1968, and this was the first Foundations hit on which he sang. It hit No. 1 on the '' Cash Box'' Top 100 and No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1969. It was also a No. 2 hit in the United Kingdom, for two non-consecutive weeks, behind " Lily the Pink" by

the Scaffold The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear (real name Peter Michael McCartney, the brother of Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. ...

. It was quickly certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

for sales of over a million US copies.

In popular culture

"Build Me Up Buttercup" is featured in the 1998 romantic comedy film ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men ...

'' and the episode "Art Imitates Art" from the fourth season of the CBS TV detective series ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

''. The track also features in the 2020 film ''

The Kissing Booth 2 ''The Kissing Booth 2'' is a 2020 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Vince Marcello and written by Marcello and Jay Arnold. As a direct sequel to the 2018 film ''The Kissing Booth'' and the second installment in the ''Kissing Booth' ...

'', as well as in a series of 202021

Geico The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

commercials.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

– vocals *

Alan Warner Alan Warner (born 1964) is a Scottish novelist who grew up in Connel, near Oban. His notable novels include ''Morvern Callar'' and '' The Sopranos'' – the latter being the inspiration for the play ''Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'' and its s ...

– lead guitar * Peter Macbeth – bass guitar * Tim Harris – drums, percussion * Tony Gomez – keyboards * Mike Elliott – tenor saxophone *

Eric Allandale Eric Allandale (born Eric Allandale Dubuisson 4 March 1936 – 23 August 2001) was a trombonist, songwriter, and bandleader. Early life A native of Dominica, West Indies, he moved to the U.K. in 1954 to complete his education. He joined the Ha ...

–

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

Mike D'Abo Michael David d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs " Handbags and Gladrags" and " Build Me Up Bu ...

– piano

Other versions

A version by British trio Partyboys reached No. 44 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 2003.

References

External links

CRITICAL BEATDOWN by Steven Shaviro
* {{authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles The Foundations songs Number-one singles in Australia Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Los Angeles Angels Songs written by Tony Macaulay Songs written by Mike d'Abo CNR Music singles Pye Records singles Uni Records singles