"Perfect" is the debut single by the English folk and

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

band Fairground Attraction, written by Mark E. Nevin. Released on 21 March 1988 by RCA, the single reached number one in the United Kingdom on 8 May 1988, where it stayed for one week. It also reached number one in Australia, Ireland, and South Africa. In the United States, the song peaked at number 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Perfect" won the award for British Single of the Year at the Brit Awards 1989 and was nominated for the Ivor Novello 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically' award.

Release

In the UK, "Perfect" was released as a 7-inch single,

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

, and

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

. The song was included on the band's debut studio album, '' The First of a Million Kisses'', released later the same year. A version of the song with a different vocalist was used in television advertising for the British supermarket chain

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was re-released as a single in 1993 after it had reappeared on the compilation album ''Celtic Heart'' but this time included "Captured" by Brian Kennedy in the tracklisting.

Critical reception

Tony Reed 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 ...

'' wrote, " Acoustic folky

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

, and a brilliant, brilliant woman singing it. A minor triumph, to be sure, but for what it is — perfect." Neil Taylor 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 ...

'' said, "Pop seems to be the order of the day in this pile and this single is one of the best. Eddi Reader's confident, strident vocal sounds like a mish-mash of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and high glitz, but a strong backbeat pulls the record into the safety zone of rock."

Track listings

* 7-inch single * 12-inch and CD single *# "Perfect" – 3:33 *# "Falling Backwards" – 2:25 *# "Mythology" – 4:30 *# "Mystery Train" – 1:40 * 7-inch single (1993) * CD single (1993) *# "Perfect" *# "Walkin' After Midnight" *# "You Send Me" *# "Captured" (Brian Kennedy)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Baillie & the Boys version

American country music group Baillie & the Boys released their version in April 1990 as the first single from their third studio album '' The Lights of Home''. The song reached number 23 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perfect (Fairground Attraction Song) 1988 songs 1988 debut singles 1990 singles Fairground Attraction songs Baillie & the Boys songs Bertelsmann Music Group singles Brit Award for British Single Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in South Africa RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Songs written by Mark Nevin UK singles chart number-one singles