"Who Do You Think You Are" is a song written by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Des Dyer Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), severa ...

and Clive Scott. It was first recorded by English

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Candlewick Green Candlewick Green were a five-piece English pop group, formed in the 1970s. It is best known for its song, "Who Do You Think You Are" (1974), also recorded by artists such as Jigsaw and Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. The group's name is an allus ...

and released in late December 1973. The song peaked at #21 in the United Kingdom in February 1974.

Candlewick Green version

Info and background

The single had been released in the United States on

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

19193.

Track listings

* 7" vinyl - Decca Records # "Who Do You Think You Are?" (Dyer, Scott) # "Fingers In Your Ears" (Dyer, Scott)

Charts

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods version

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, "Billy Don't Be a Hero" and "Who Do You Think You Are". History The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader, Robert W ...

covered "Who Do You Think You Are" in 1974. Their version became a hit in both the United States and Canada. It peaked at #15 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and #13 on ''Cash Box''. It was a bigger hit in Canada, where it reached #11. It was also an Adult Contemporary hit in both nations.

Track listings

* 7" vinyl - ABC Records # "Who Do You Think You Are?" (Dyer, Scott) # "Fool's Way Of Lovin'" (Michael Price, Dan Walsh)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Saint Etienne version

British

indie dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure t ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

Saint Etienne In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

released an

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure ...

-pop arrangement of "Who Do You Think You Are" on their first compilation album, '' You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone'' (1993). This version featured Debsey Wykes as co-lead vocalist, sometime backing singing for the band and former singer of

Dolly Mixture Dolly Mixture were an English rock band, formed in 1978 by the bassist and vocalist Debsey Wykes, guitarist and vocalist Rachel Bor, and drummer Hester Smith. They had a taste of top 40 success performing backing vocals for the Captain Sensib ...

. It peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart as a double A-side with "

Hobart Paving "Hobart Paving" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne from their second album, ''So Tough'' (1993). It was released by Heavenly Records on 11 May 1993 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Who Do You Think You Are", originally re ...

Critical reception

Stewart Mason 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 ...

felt that "Who Do You Think You Are" is "one of St. Etienne's most groove-oriented tunes."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "English modern-pop act delves into Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods' pop evergreen with fanciful,

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 ...

-minded results. Singer Debsey offers a soft, sugar-coated vocal with a pleasant, cushiony

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

groove resting beneath." He added, "Far more interesting and effective than the group's previous releases." 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 ...

found that it's "a completely new track, a superbly crafted bit of pop which should be Top 10 if there is any justice in the world. We shall see."

Taylor Parkes Taylor Parkes (born 30 April 1972) is a British journalist. He is best known for his music journalism which appeared in ''Melody Maker'' from 1993 to 1998. Parkes was a champion of Saint Etienne, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers and the Romo scen ...

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 ...

'' declared it as "tuppeny-ha' penny Seventies bubblegum dipped in class and delivered deadpan".

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

and Alex James of Blur reviewed the song for ''

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 ...

'', naming it Best New Single and giving it five out of five. Albarn said, "I like the idea of this. I think they are getting a lot better. I think this is their most complete song. I think the radio will almost certainly play this and it will easily be a Top 20 hit. It's wonderful shopping mall music. It's shopping mall music with attitude. That's what it is."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It was later made available on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in May 2012.

Track listings

All tracks written and composed by Dyer and Scott; except where indicated. * 7" - Heavenly Records / HVN 29 (UK) (also available on MC (HVN 29C)) # "

" (

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) ...

, Wiggs) – 4:54 # "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53 * 12" - Heavenly Records / HVN 29-12 (UK) # "

" (

, Wiggs) – 4:54 # "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (

, Wiggs) – 4:12 # "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 * 12" - Heavenly Records / HVN 29-12P (UK) (UK promo. Labelled "Aphex Twin Remixes") # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 # "Your Head My Voice" (Voix Revirement) (

, Wiggs) – 4:12 * CD - Heavenly Records / HVN 29CD (UK) # "

" (

, Wiggs) – 4:54 # "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 # "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (

, Wiggs) – 4:12 * 12" - Warner Bros. Records / 0-40910 (US) # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Tilt Dub) – 6:00 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46 # "

" (UK single version) (

, Wiggs) – 4:54 * 2x12" - Warner Bros. Records / PRO-A-6254 (US) (US 2x12" promo) # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Tilt Dub) – 6:00 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 # "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (

, Wiggs) – 4:12 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Radio Remix) – 4:39 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Bonus Beats Down) – 4:55 * CD - Warner Bros. Records / 9 40910-2 (US) # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Album Version) – 3:52 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08 # "

" (UK single version) (

, Wiggs) – 4:54 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59 # "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" – 4:12 # "Who Do You Think You Are" (Radio Remix) (

, Wiggs) – 4:39

Charts

Other cover versions

* In 1974, Dyer and Scotts's

Jigsaw recorded the song as an album track on their 1974 studio album; ''I've Seen The Film, I've Read The Book''. * In 1975,

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

adapted the song into French under the title "On est qui, on est quoi" ("Who are we, what are we").

References

{{Saint Etienne British pop songs Saint Etienne (band) songs Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods songs 1973 singles 1974 singles 1993 singles 1973 songs Decca Records singles BASF (record label) singles Heavenly Recordings singles Songs written by Clive Scott