Fastlove
Encyclopedia
"Fastlove" is a song by George Michael
, released by Virgin Records
in the United Kingdom
and Dreamworks Records
in the United States
in 1996.
to be taken from George's comeback album Older, which was his first studio album in six years and only the third of his solo career. "Fastlove" was an energetic tune about the need for gratification and fulfillment without concern for commitment.
A re-sung but otherwise identical chorus of the Patrice Rushen
hit "Forget Me Nots
", performed by Irish-British pop singer Siobhan Fahey
(who also appears in the music video), was used about 70% of the way through, although no co-writing credit was initially given. This problem was rectified in the liner notes of Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
.
Michael wrote the song based on a brief love affair with city banker Brett Charles whom he met in Kazakhstan while writing songs for the album.
device to "flip" through a variety of sexually virtual reality characters. George Michael appears in the black chair, which is equipped with speakers. At one point one of the dancers is shown wearing headphones displaying the word 'FONY' in the style of the Sony
corporate logo, a reference to the contractual dispute Michael was having at the time with the Sony record label to which he was signed. Throughout the video, there is a variety of men and women (who display a spectrum of characteristics, including one who is shy, another who is lustful, and another who is a complete emotional wreck) sitting in the chair and using the remote control to summon more sexual characters. As the video ends, George Michael is seen dancing while water rains down on him. The video ends with the same flickering virtual reality image that introduces to the video.
, where it stayed for three weeks. It also reached #1 in Australia
and Italy
.
In the U.S., "Fastlove" peaked at #8, and has since become a classic in George Michael's catalog. This would go on to be the last time that George Michael reached the top 40 in the U.S. charts. For the single's B-side, a remake of the Wham!
classic "I'm Your Man" was used. Entitled "I'm Your Man '96", it was an update of one of their last singles, a decade on.
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, released by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Dreamworks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1996.
History
The song was the second of six singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
to be taken from George's comeback album Older, which was his first studio album in six years and only the third of his solo career. "Fastlove" was an energetic tune about the need for gratification and fulfillment without concern for commitment.
A re-sung but otherwise identical chorus of the Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
hit "Forget Me Nots
Forget Me Nots
"Forget Me Nots" is a 1982 hit recording by R&B singer songwriter Patrice Rushen.Originally deemed by record label executives as a "flop", Rushen released the song and the song became a Top 40 pop, Top 5 R&B, and Top 5 dance hit on the Billboard charts and is the hit she's most notable for...
", performed by Irish-British pop singer Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey is an Irish musician and founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning musical outfit Shakespears Sister.-Career:Fahey was born the eldest of three daughters to Helen and...
(who also appears in the music video), was used about 70% of the way through, although no co-writing credit was initially given. This problem was rectified in the liner notes of Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael is a greatest hits collection released by George Michael in 1998.The collection of 28 songs are separated into two halves, with each CD of the double set containing music of a particular theme and mood...
.
Michael wrote the song based on a brief love affair with city banker Brett Charles whom he met in Kazakhstan while writing songs for the album.
Music video
The music video begins with a flickering virtual reality image of a woman on a bed followed by a man sitting in a black chair using a high-tech remote controlRemote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
device to "flip" through a variety of sexually virtual reality characters. George Michael appears in the black chair, which is equipped with speakers. At one point one of the dancers is shown wearing headphones displaying the word 'FONY' in the style of the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
corporate logo, a reference to the contractual dispute Michael was having at the time with the Sony record label to which he was signed. Throughout the video, there is a variety of men and women (who display a spectrum of characteristics, including one who is shy, another who is lustful, and another who is a complete emotional wreck) sitting in the chair and using the remote control to summon more sexual characters. As the video ends, George Michael is seen dancing while water rains down on him. The video ends with the same flickering virtual reality image that introduces to the video.
12": UK / Virgin VST 1579
- "Fastlove" (Part II) [Fully Extended Mix] – 9:27
- "I'm Your Man '96" – 4:04
- "Fastlove" (Part I) – 5:23
CD: UK / VSCDG 1579
- "Fastlove" (Part I) – 5:23
- "I'm Your Man '96" – 4:04
- "Fastlove" (Part II) [Fully Extended Mix] – 9:27
- "Fastlove" (Part II) mixes "Fastlove" into the new version of "I'm Your Man" to make one 'fully extended mix'.
CD: US / Dreamworks DRMDS-59001
- "Fastlove" [Full version] – 5:24
- "I'm Your Man '96" – 4:04
- "Fastlove" [Summer Mix] – 4:40
- "Full version" is the album version.
Chart performance
The song reached the #1 spot in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where it stayed for three weeks. It also reached #1 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In the U.S., "Fastlove" peaked at #8, and has since become a classic in George Michael's catalog. This would go on to be the last time that George Michael reached the top 40 in the U.S. charts. For the single's B-side, a remake of the Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
classic "I'm Your Man" was used. Entitled "I'm Your Man '96", it was an update of one of their last singles, a decade on.
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
13 |
| Belgian Flanders Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
25 |
| Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
8 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
4 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
14 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 5 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
10 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
25 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
5 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
11 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
7 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
13 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
8 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 8 |
| US Billboard Adult Pop Songs | 14 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
43 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
44 |
| US Billboard Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
14 |
| US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... |
10 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Platinum |
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Silver |
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |