Brimful of Asha

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"Brimful of Asha"
Single by Cornershop
from the album When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Released 18 August 1997 (1997-08-18)
Recorded 1997
Genre Indie rock
Length 5:17 (album version)
4:07 (single version)
Label Wiiija
Writer(s) Tjinder Singh
Producer(s) Cornershop
Cornershop singles chronology
"Good Ships"
(1997)		 "Brimful of Asha"
(1997)		 "Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)"
(1997)

"Brimful of Asha" is a 1997 single by British alternative rock band Cornershop, which originally reached number 60 in the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version by Norman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one in the UK chart in February 1998[1] and #16 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyrics are a tribute to Asha Bhosle.[2]

Background

This song is based upon the history of film culture in India. Since their introduction, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. Almost always, the singing was performed by background singers while the actors and actresses lip-sync. Asha Bhosle is one of these playback singers who has sung over 12,000 songs and is referred to as "Sadi rani" (Punjabi for "our queen") at one point in the lyrics. In the slower, original album recording, playback singers Lata Mangeshkar (her older sibling) and Mohammad Rafi (one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are mentioned. The lyrics in the bridge contain a number of references to non-Indian music, including Georges Brassens' song "Les Amoureux des bancs publics", Jacques Dutronc, Marc Bolan, Argo Records and Trojan Records.[3]

DJ Norman Cook ("Fatboy Slim") was asked to remix the track, speeding it up and in a higher key (B rather than A), and it became a major success as a number 1 single.

Music video

The music video directed by Phil Harder for the song was produced by Harder/Fuller Films.[4]

Norman Cook remix

"Brimful of Asha
(Norman Cook remix)"
Single by Cornershop
remixed by Norman Cook
from the album The Greatest Hits – Why Try Harder by Fatboy Slim'
Released 16 February 1998 (1998-02-16)
Recorded 1997
Genre Big beat
Length 4:03 (single version)
7:35 (extended version)
Producer(s) Tjinder Singh
Cornershop
remixed by Norman Cook singles chronology
"Brimful of Asha" (1997) "Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook remix)"
(1998)		 "Sleep on the Left Side" (1998)

In October 2011, NME placed the Fatboy Slim remix at number 105 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[5] In August 2010, Pitchfork Media placed the remix at number 113 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[6] NME ranked the remix at number 2 in their list of "The 50 Best Remixes Ever", saying it "does what the truly great remixes do – render you unable to enjoy the original".[7] The remix was included in Pitchfork Media's 2010 list of "twenty-five great remixes" of the 1990s.[8]

Parodies

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer reprised their roles as the surreal folk duo Mulligan and O'Hare for an advert for their fictional Tittybiscuits album in an episode of Bang! Bang! It's Reeves and Mortimer (1999). One of the tracks they are shown performing in the advert is announced as an instrumental version of "Brimful of Asha", although the instruments they play are surreal, comically avant-garde non-musical objects which create nothing resembling the original, nor do they create music.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 35
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[10] 5
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 20
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 84
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 3
Italy (FIMI)[14] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 83
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 26
Norway (VG-lista)[17] 18
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 36
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 1
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[20] 16

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Platinum 600,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Cornershop: Brimful of Asha" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". VG-lista. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Cornershop – Brimful of Asha". Singles Top 60. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1998-02-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Cornershop – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Cornershop. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Brimful of Asha in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

Preceded by UK Singles Chart number-one single
22–28 February 1998		 Succeeded by
"Frozen" by Madonna
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