Dirty Cash

Album: Adventures of Stevie V (1990)
Charted: 2 25
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Songfacts®:

  • Adventures Of Stevie V were an English dance music act who had four UK Top 75 hits in the 1990s. "Dirty Cash" was their most successful, charting at #2 in 1990. A new pack of re-mixes reached #69 in 1997. Assembled by producer Stevie Vincent, the group also included singer Melody Washington and multi-instrumentalist Mick Walsh.
  • "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" is a hip-house track blending dance, rap, and R&B. Lyrically, the song takes no prisoners in its critique of materialism and the relentless pursuit of wealth. Greed, corruption, and the compromises people make for money are all called out in the chorus:

    Money talks, money talks
    Dirty cash, I want you, dirty cash, I need you, oh
  • The vocalist, Melody Washington, was a music teacher from Georgia in the United States who was living in the United Kingdom. She was working as a music teacher for the US Air Force while moonlighting in local clubs. It was during one of these club gigs, not far from Stevie Vincent's home, that their paths crossed.
  • First released in 1989, "Dirty Cash" was re-released in 1990, when it truly made its mark. It cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at #25, topped the Billboard Dance chart and became a pan-European hit, particularly in the Netherlands, where it claimed the top spot.
  • In 2005, Liberty X gave the song a glossy pop makeover for their album X. Then in 2009, grime artist Dizzee Rascal put his own twist on the theme with "Dirtee Cash," which reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart. A year later, Dizzee teamed up with Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine at the 2010 BRIT Awards for a mash-up titled "You Got the Dirtee Love," blending her "You Got The Love" cover with his gritty reinterpretation. It was so well-received that the mash-up peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart shortly after its release.
  • The song got a new lease of life in 2024 thanks to London-based DJ and producer PAWSA, who collaborated with Stevie V for a revitalized version. Combining modern production techniques with the original's addictive energy, this new take brought "Dirty Cash" back to the UK Singles Chart.

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