erasure 41 years ago

Yazoo | Situation (1982)

"Situation" is a 1982 single by British synth-pop band Yazoo.

The song was originally released in the UK as the B-side to Yazoo's debut single, "Only You", which went to number two on the UK Singles Chart. Released as a single in North America, the song peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, and hit the top 40 in Canadian charts, peaking at number 31.


In late-summer 1982 it became Yazoo's first song to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, remaining at number one on this chart for four weeks. It also crossed over to the Black Singles chart, peaking at number 31.


Its most well-known version is the US 12-inch remix by François Kevorkian. This version was included on the US version of Yazoo's debut album, Upstairs at Eric's (1982), and is the version of the song which receives the most radio airplay in the United States (where the song, despite its modest showing on the Hot 100, is still played on alternative, variety-hits and dance-oriented radio stations).


In 1990, and again in 1999, the song was remixed by several noted DJs, including Peter Rauhofer and Richard "Humpty" Vission. The 1999 remixes were released to dance clubs. In October of that same year, this renewed interest in the song sent "Situation" to number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for a second time.


In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked the song at number 64 in their list of the "100 Greatest Dance Songs".


The song was heavily sampled for The Saturdays' 2008 debut single "If This Is Love".


Erasure
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