"History Repeating" is a 1997 song written by Alex Gifford and originally performed by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo Propellerheads featuring Welsh singer

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

. It was released shortly before their only album, '' Decksandrumsandrockandroll'', released in 1998 by

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

in Europe and DreamWorks in the US and Japan. The single was a No. 1 hit on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

, and was also Bassey's first top ten appearance on any US chart since 1973's "Never Never Never", making No. 10 on the US Dance Club Songs chart. According to Bassey, Gifford wrote the song especially for her. The sleeve cover, an illustration by Duke D. Jukes, takes its inspiration from classic album sleeve from the Capitol 1957 release '' Just One of Those Things'' by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Composition

The song is a fusion of several different styles of

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

combined with the vocals of Bassey. It samples from the soundtrack of the 1968

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American filmmaker. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, wh ...

film '' Finders Keepers, Lovers, Weepers!''.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Adam Webb from '' Daily Herald'' stated, "Miss

's vocals keep "History Repeating"

y while the Propellerheads try to speed things up in the background." British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it five out of five, adding, "The next big thing? The Props certainly get hips swinging with their frantic beat and driving bass. Bassey's awesome diva vocals add the icing on the cake. Set to be massive in the wake of OHMSS." Also Brad Beatnik from their ''RM'' Dance Update rated "History Repeating" five out of five, picking it as Tune of the Week. He stated that "the Welsh wonder delivers a unique and commanding vocal over a frenetic guitar-riff, funky keys and beats groove". A reviewer from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "The 'Miss' is a sharp touch, the sleeve a masterpiece of retro-cool, and the whole notion something of a glam-pop wet dream in the making. Inevitably, alas, the end product isn't quite the ermine-upholstered, chandelier-hung ballroom full of

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

that it should have been. Sure, La Bassey laps up her imperious seen-it-all vocal like she's sucking down a mouthful of melted Belgian chocolate, but the Props seem too awestruck and reverential to provide anything but jaunty cha-cha-cha beats and some skittish

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

-lite for afters." ''

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. History The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), w ...

'' noted the singer's "passionate performance". Ian Hyland from ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'' gave the song eight out of ten, commenting, "Continuing their Bond obsession the 'heads enlist the not-bad vocal talents of Shirley Bassey in a corking

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

-meets-diva style."

Music video

The retro style of the song was also continued with the accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Pedro Romhanyi and filmed in monochrome. The opening of which is themed on a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV jazz show called ''Jazz 1200'', hosted by "Roger Humphries" (not to be confused with the jazz drummer Roger Humphries), clearly refers to music shows of the 1960s, such as Jazz 625. Scenes from the video shoot were included in the ''Divas are Forever'' DVD.

Track listing

* European 2-track CD single #"History Repeating" (Knee Length Mix) – 4:03 #"History Repeating" (Ankle Length Mix) – 5:49 * UK 3-track maxi CD single #"History Repeating" (Knee Length Mix) – 4:03 #"History Repeating" (Ankle Length Mix) – 5:49 #"History Repeating" (Hip Length Mix) – 4:14 * UK 12" vinyl single # "History Repeating" (Ankle Length Mix) – 5:49 # "History Repeating" (Knee Length Mix) – 4:03 # "History Repeating" (Hip Length Mix) – 4:14 * Track 1 only appears on side A

Charts

Personnel

– vocals *Will White and Alex Gifford – all instruments

Cover versions

The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by Matt Dusk on his album '' Back in Town'' (2006), by Reax on their album ''No Cover'' (2006) and Ukrainian pop singer

Jamala Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally as Jamala,. is a Ukrainian singer. She represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944 (song), 1944". In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 ...

in 2009.

In popular culture

An edit mix of the original is the theme or title music to the BBC's '' Later... with Jools Holland''. It featured on the original soundtrack of the film ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. The film features Cameron Diaz as the title character, while Ben S ...

'' (1998), and served as the opening theme tune to the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

show '' So Graham Norton''. In 1999,

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner (''née'' Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which ...

released her debut album '' Schizophonic'' with the lead single " Look at Me", which took creative influence from this song. In 2000, the song was used in a TV commercial for Jaguar automobiles. In 2000, the song was used in the ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom television series created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It centers on the titular character, D ...

'' episode "Psycho Therapy". In 2004, the song was featured in a TV promo for ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

''. In 2009, it was used in the movie '' It's Complicated'' starring

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

, and

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

. It was used in a Pantene Pro-V shampoo commercial. In 2010, the song by

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion "Regine" Ansong Velasquez-Alcasid ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer and actress. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

for the opening of GMA's 60th Anniversary entitled GMA @ 60: The Heart of Television. In 2011, the song featured in Series 3 of the Television series '' Being Human''. (Episode 7: Though the Heavens Fall). In 2011,

released her debut album '' For Every Heart'', using the song as a bonus track. In 2020, the song was used in the trailer for Netflix's second season promotion of '' The Politician''.

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Propellerheads songs Shirley Bassey songs Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Pedro Romhanyi UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles