You're Not Alone

Album: Extra Virgin (1995)
Charted: 1 56
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Former Simply Red keyboard and trumpet player Tim Kellett was experimenting with sampling other people's vocals and making tape loops. While playing keyboards for the Durutti Column on a couple of gigs he came across a sample by Ruth-Ann Boyle. Around the same time he'd teamed up with dance programmer and ex-Nightmares On Wax member Robin Taylor-Firth to form Olive. The duo loved her voice, tracked Boyle down in a student union bar and asked her to join their recording project. They recorded some demos in Kellett's basement studio, including this song, which was released as Olive's debut single in 1996. However at first the British public failed to catch on to the track and it only reached #42 in the singles charts. Kellett recalled in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh: "We were very disappointed. The subject matter is something anyone can relate to and, unlike many bands we've been compared to, we don't shy away from writing songs with a beginning, a middle and an end." The song was re-released in 1997 with additional mixes by Paul Oakenfold, Roni Size and Nightmares On Wax and this time it climbed to #1 and also reached the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single "Outlaw" reached #14 in the UK, but Olive failed to trouble the charts again.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.