Sit Down (song)

"Sit Down"
Single by James
B-side "Sky Is Falling"
Released June 1989, March 1991, November 1998
Format 7" single, cassette and CD single
Recorded Autumn 1988
Genre Madchester
Length 7:39 (original)
4:05 (re-release)
Label Rough Trade/Mercury
Songwriter(s) Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, Tim Booth, Gavan Whelan
Producer(s) Gil Norton
James singles chronology
"Ya Ho"
(1988)		 "Sit Down"
(1989)		 "Come Home"
(1989)

"Ya Ho"
(1988)		 "Sit Down"
(1989)		 "Come Home"
(1989)
Re-release cover
Cover of the 1991 release on Mercury
James re-release singles chronology
"Lose Control"
(1990) Lose Control1990		 "Sit Down" (Re-recording)
(1991) String Module Error: Match not found1991		 "Sound"
(1991) Sound1991
James Late 1990s singles chronology
"Runaground"
(1998) Runaground1998		 "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 Mix)
(1998) String Module Error: Match not found1998		 "I Know What I'm Here For"
(1999) I Know What I'm Here For1999

"Sit Down" is a song by English band James, originally released in 1989 by Rough Trade Records. The song's lyrics were written in the autumn of 1988 as a homage to author Doris Lessing and singer Patti Smith, who had inspired Tim Booth. In its seven-and-a-half-minute original form, the song only reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart (although it did make number eight in John Peel's Festive Fifty of that year). Due to this unimpressive performance, their record label's managing director, Geoff Travis, told the band they were not a viable commercial proposition beyond an audience of 20,000.

After experiencing success as part of the Madchester music scene, a new version was released in March 1991 that was shorter and with new lyrics. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks there. It was the 20th best-selling single of 1991 in the UK.[1]

After the release of their 'Best Of' album, the song was remixed by Apollo 440 and released as a single for a third time in November 1998, reaching number seven, making it their biggest hit since the 1991 release.

The band had to sell the rights to the song to Mercury Records to help pay off debts to the record company.

In 2006, Sit Down was used as a featured song in BBC Three's Manchester Passion, in which lead singer, Tim Booth, also appeared as Judas Iscariot. Darren Morfitt in the role of Jesus sang a less upbeat rendition of the piece to his resting disciples while the presenter signalled the audience to sit down. Booth sang the song in an encore after the credits.

In 2013, the song placed 4th in a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number one spot in the UK charts.[2] In the same year, James performed the song with Peter Kay for Comic Relief. On March 30, 2017 a version of the song was used in the promo of the seventh season of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.[3]

Track listing

1989 original release

  1. "Sit Down" (7" and 8:31 extended version on 12")
  2. "Goin' Away" (12" and CD)
  3. "Sound Investment" (12" and CD)
  4. "Sky Is Falling" (7", 12" and CD)

1991 release

  1. "Sit Down" (new version) (7", 12" and CD)
  2. "Tonight" (12" and CD)
  3. "Sunday Morning" (Canadian CD)
  4. "Sit Down" (live at G-Mex) (7", 12" and CD)

Sit Down '98

CD1:

  1. "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 remix)
  2. "Sit Down" (original)
  3. "China Girl" (Radio One Iggy Pop tribute)

CD2:

  1. "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 remix)
  2. "What For" (Glr Session)
  3. "Sit Down" (Glr Session)

12" promo:

  1. "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 Remix)
  2. "Sit Down '98" (Oh Zidane Oh Zidane)

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 400,000double-dagger

double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Premier League club Liverpool rewrote the lyrics of this song in 2018. The new lyrics were about the 2017-18 Premier League Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah.

References

  1. 1 2 "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  2. ↑ "Ultravox's Vienna tops 'number two' poll". BBC News.
  3. ↑ Roots, Kimberly (March 30, 2017). "Game of Thrones: Watch the Haunting First Season 7 Teaser Trailer Now". TVLine. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – James – Sit Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – James – Sit Down". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sit Down". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – James – Sit Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "James Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "British single certifications – James – Sit Down". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 September 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Sit Down in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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