"One Goodbye in Ten" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Shara Nelson Shara Nelson (born 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, '' What Silence Knows'', was shortlisted for the Mercury ...

, released in September 1993 by

Cooltempo Records Cooltempo, the dance music imprint of Chrysalis Records, was revived in May 2018. The label released albums by artists such as Kenny Thomas, Milli Vanilli, Adeva, Shara Nelson, Mica Paris and Innocence. History Cooltempo emerged at the end o ...

as the second single from the singer's first solo album, '' What Silence Knows'' (1993). Written by her with British band Saint Etienne and produced by Michael Peden, the song received critical acclaim and peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, it was a top-30 hit in Austria and a top-50 hit in the Netherlands.

Background

In an interview with ''

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 ...

'', Nelson told about making the song, "I heard what they aint Etiennedid to "

Only Love Can Break Your Heart "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. It has been covered by many other artists. Genesis and recording The song is the third track on Neil Young's album ''After the Gold Rush''. ...

" and thought 'Oooh, that's interesting'. I liked the mood they created. I told them I wanted something on a

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

verge and they agreed and did some backing tracks. We got together in a room and that was it. The song came very quickly. The words suddenly popped into my head."

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

wrote, "Shara Nelson follows up July's No.19 hit ' Down That Road' with a song which is a vast improvement on its predecessor. 'One Goodbye in Ten' shows off her voice to dramatic effect, a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

in the classic

sense, strings and all. If there was any justice this would be a massive hit. Sadly I fear most record buyers will be too insular to appreciate the brilliance of this track."

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

from ''

'' named it Single of the Week, saying, "She sings like singing is the purest joy of all. 'One Goodbye in Ten' has one simple, wonderful trick. It sounds like two dozen other Sixties

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

stormers, and that is an art not to be sneered at. It brings happiness to my table." John Harris 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 ...

'' named it "Big Relief Single of the Week", stating that it "is full of unrequited love, secret glances, and tears on lonely pillows". He added that the song is "every bit as full of quality, profundity and wonder. This, in a rather cutting nutshell, is the best thing

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and Wiggs have ever been involved with."

Adam Higginbotham Adam Higginbotham (born 1968) is a British journalist who is the former U.S. correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph Magazine and former editor-in-chief of '' The Face''. He has also served as a contributing writer for'' The New Yorker'', ''Wired ...

from '' Select'' praised it as "gorgeous" and "a dream-ticket Saint Etienne-style pastiche of top-form Bacharach & David '60s soul". Gavin Reeve 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 four out of five, writing, "Once again Shara takes us down that road to a time when singers could actually sing and musical instruments didn't go bleep. A real jeans commercial of a record that holds your hand and whispers "come on, you know you want to". Mellow with a capital mmm..." Jonathan Bernstein from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' remarked that Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs from Saint Etienne contribute on the single, describing it as "almost perky" with its "early-60s

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She was ...

pop-soul stylings."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "One Goodbye in Ten" was directed by English filmmaker and artist

John Maybury John Maybury (born 25 March 1958) is an English filmmaker and artist. He first came to prominence as the director of the music video for the Pet Shop Boys 1984 single "West End Girls". In 2005 he was named as one of the 100 most influential gay ...

and produced by Chiara Menage for Limelight Films. It was released on 6 September 1993 and features moody black-and-white aerial shots of Shara Nelson walking around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Track listings

* European CD single (7243 8 80913 2 9) # One Goodbye in Ten (album mix) – 4:09 # One Goodbye in Ten (Simon Law mix) – 5:17 # One Goodbye in Ten (Funky Ginger club mix) – 6:54 # One Goodbye in Ten (Underdog mix) – 5:13 * UK CD single (7243 8 80884 2 8) # One Goodbye in Ten (album mix) – 4:09 # One Goodbye in Ten (Simon Law mix) – 5:17 # One Goodbye in Ten (Funky Ginger club mix) – 6:54 # One Goodbye in Ten (Original demo) – 5:13 # One Goodbye in Ten (Underdog mix) – 4:21

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Cooltempo Records singles Music videos directed by John Maybury Music videos shot in London Shara Nelson songs Songs written by Bob Stanley (musician) Songs written by Pete Wiggs Songs written by Shara Nelson