Positivity (Suede song)

"Positivity" is the first single from the album A New Morning by Suede, released on September 16, 2002 on Columbia Records. Although it received mixed reviews from critics and fans, the song became one of the band's final hit singles, reaching number one in Denmark, number 12 in Spain, number 15 in Finland and Norway, and number 16 in their native United Kingdom.

This article is about the Suede song. For the Ashley Tisdale song, see Headstrong (Ashley Tisdale album).

"Positivity"
Single by Suede
from the album A New Morning
Released	September 16, 2002
Recorded	2002
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	2:55
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Suede
Producer(s)	John Leckie, Stephen Street, Suede, Ken Thomas, Dick Meaney, Alex Silva
Suede singles chronology
"Can't Get Enough" (1999) "Positivity" (2002) "Obsessions" (2002)

Background

The single is a big departure from the sleazy rock characteristic of the previous two albums, and has a far more warm and acoustic sound to it. The single had various producers: "Positivity" was produced by John Leckie, "One Love", "Superstar" and "Colours" were produced by Stephen Street, "Simon" was produced by Suede and Ken Thomas, "Cheap" was produced by Suede and Dick Meaney while "Campfire Song" was produced by Suede and Alex Silva.

Initially Brett Anderson liked the song and considered it one of his favourites on the album prior to its release. However, his views on the song would later change, saying: "When I first wrote it I thought it was a masterpiece but soon realized that many people were genuinely offended by it."[1] On the meaning of the song, Anderson said it's about "someone who's really close to me, who doesn't have much in life but manages to deal with it incredibly well."[2] The video for the title song was directed by Julian Gibbs.

Critical reception

The single garnered mixed reviews from fans and critics. Paul McNamee of NME felt that the song lacked the "affected social commentary" of the songs from Coming Up and that Anderson's lyrics were of a lower standard. In conclusion, he offered the band the following advice: "For the love of God chaps, you still have fans. Go quietly now, and they'll remain true."[3] Ben Gilbert of Dotmusic rated the song four out of ten. He wrote: "'Positivity' finds Anderson, who now looks more like a body builder than a smack-infested rock'n'roll poet, using credit card as a rather desperate metaphor for love. There is precious little here to suggest Suede have anything left in the tank, amidst a lame swathe of breezy strings."[4] Julie MacCaskill of the Daily Record contrasted the single with their earlier material, which she described as being "so miserable they had a black cloud following them all the way up the charts." However, her views on "Positivity" were more promising, saying: "the band return with an altogether more upbeat approach to life, the universe and music. As the title suggests this is a substantially chirpier Suede, and it's a very welcome reinvention."[5]

Despite the negativity surrounding the song, "Positivity" reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number one in Denmark,[6][7] making it the third European number-one single by the band after "Trash", which topped the Finnish Singles Chart in August 1996;[8] and "Beautiful Ones", which topped the Icelandic Singles Chart in November 1996.[9]

Track listings

CD1

1. "Positivity" (Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes, Simon Gilbert, Mat Osman, Neil Codling)
2. "One Love" (Anderson, Oakes, Osman, Tony Hoffer)
3. "Simon" (Anderson, Codling)
4. "Positivity" [video] (Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling)

CD2

1. "Positivity" (Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling)
2. "Superstar" (Anderson, Oakes, Codling, Gilbert, Osman, Alex Lee)
3. "Cheap" (Anderson, Oakes)

DVD

1. "Positivity" [video] (Anderson, Oakes, Gilbert, Osman, Codling)
2. "Colours" (Anderson)
3. "Campfire Song" (Anderson, Codling)

Charts

Chart (2000–2001)	Peak position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[10]	13
Denmark (Tracklisten)[7]	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11]	15
Germany (Official German Charts)[12]	99
Ireland (IRMA)[13]	44
Italy (FIMI)[14]	24
Norway (VG-lista)[15]	15
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[16]	23
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[17]	12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18]	32
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6]	16

References

1. Post by Brett Anderson on Nov 8, 2007 Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine. brettanderson.co.uk.
2. "Cred Music!". NME. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
3. McNamee, Paul. "Suede : Positivity". NME. Archived from the original on 11 June 2004.
4. Gilbert, Ben (September 2002). "Positivity - Suede". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 13 March 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
5. MacCaskill, Julie (20 September 2002). "192: The Em Factor". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 July 2013 – via The Free Library.
6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
7. "Danishcharts.com – Suede – Positivity". Tracklisten.
8. "Hits Of The World". Billboard: 49. 21 September 1996. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
9. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (28.11. – 04.12 '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 29 November 1996. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
10. "The London Suede Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
11. "Suede: Positivity" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Suede – Positivity". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
13. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Suede". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
14. "Italiancharts.com – Suede – Positivity". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Suede – Positivity". VG-lista.
16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
17. "Spanishcharts.com – Suede – Positivity" Canciones Top 50.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Suede – Positivity". Singles Top 100.