"Join Our Club" is a song by English musical group Saint Etienne, released by

Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

in May 1992 as a double-A side with "People Get Real". Saint Etienne wrote the song after the label refused to release "People Get Real" as a single. The band deliberately tried to write the most commercial song they could, and it ultimately reached number 21 in the UK Top 40. The lyric alludes to a number of other songs, some recent hits at the time it was written (e.g. "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...

", “ Justified and Ancient,” “

We Got a Love Thang "We Got a Love Thang" is a song by American singer-songwriter CeCe Peniston, released on December 30, 1991 by A&M Records as the second single from her debut album, '' Finally'' (1992). The song was co-written by Chantay Savage and produced by S ...

”), others older favourites of the group (including

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's "

Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released as the third single from his sixteenth studio album, ''Innervisions'' (1973). It spent fifteen weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at n ...

" - coincidentally, a hit

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

for

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

the following month - and

The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...

's " Do You Believe in Magic", which like "Join Our Club" itself is a celebration of the pleasure of listening to music, and whose title is used as a recurring hook). In the UK, it was a between-album single, released between ''

Foxbase Alpha ''Foxbase Alpha'' is the debut studio album by English band Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, released on 16 September 1991 by Heavenly Recordings. The album was recorded in a style which drew on the club culture and house music of the time ...

'' and ''

So Tough ''So Tough'' is the second studio album by British band Saint Etienne, released in 1993. It is their highest-charting album to date, reaching No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. ''So Tough'' is the first Saint Etienne album to feature Sarah Crack ...

''. "Join Our Club" appeared on the US version of ''So Tough'' (the announcer’s intro mention the “Chicken Soup Mix” with a chuckle), while "People Get Real" appeared on the US release of ''Foxbase Alpha''. Both later were included on '' You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone'', a b-side collection in the UK. In 2001, "Join Our Club" was remixed for its inclusion on '' Smash The System: Singles and More'' as the original sounded too 'muddy'. This version also appears on the 2005 version of the same album and '' London Conversations''.

Critical reception

Tim Sendra from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the original mix of "Join Our Club" as "a soaring, joyous

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

track that is musically and lyrically wide open." He also said that the Chemically Friendly Zoom Mix "tethers the exuberance to a rock-hard beat and throws in some sped-up heavy metal guitar riffs, salacious talk-overs from

Sarah Cracknell Sarah Jane Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the electronic music band Saint Etienne. Career Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Followin ...

, and some chopped-up diva vocals." Jim Arundel from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' felt the song "is a damn sight swingier than their previous compositions." ''

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 ...

'' ranked "Join Our Club" number 45 in their list of "Singles of the Year" in December 1992.

Mark Frith Mark Frith (born 22 May 1970, in Sheffield) is a British journalist, music critic, and editor. He has been a writer and editor for magazines such as ''Smash Hits'', '' Time Out'' and ''Heat''. He has since branched into TV and radio presenting, ...

from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave it five out of five and named it Best New Single, commenting, "Hang on a sec. Check outside the window. Is it summer yet? If it is, grab your swimming cossie, crack open the

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it wa ...

, organise a beach party, get some peanuts in, crack open another Lucozade, jig about a bit and listen to this 14 times. Cool, lush and a thing of great beauty. Readers, love these people."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{authority control Saint Etienne (band) songs 1992 singles Songs written by Bob Stanley (musician) Songs written by Pete Wiggs 1991 songs Heavenly Recordings singles