"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single for Yazz and the Plastic Population. The song is used as the theme tune to the popular ITV2/ITVBereality television seriesThe Only Way Is Essex. The song was a favourite of M People's, who would frequently play it on their live tours. The band's lead singer, Heather Small, has described it as her favourite song, and once explained that, should she ever be anywhere, this is the song that she would sing.
Otis Clay version
The song was first recorded by Otis Clay and released as a single on the Echo label in 1980. Though not a hit at the time, the song became the title track of Clay's 1982 LP, The Only Way Is Up.
Yazz version
The Yazz version was produced by Jonathan More and Matt Black. "The Only Way Is Up" was Yazz's first solo single, credited to her under the name Yazz and the Plastic Population. Released as a single in July 1988, the song became an instant smash hit, spending five weeks at number one in the United Kingdom, and ultimately becoming the second biggest selling single of the year. In the United States it reached number two on the Billboard dance chart, although only making number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. The cover version's opening horn blast is a sample from Sharon Redd's 1982 dance classic "Beat the Street". A 2009 remix was released in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2009.
Background and release
After leaving school, Yazz got a job in a nightclub in Soho and got into her first band called The Biz. She then met the managers of English musical duoWham! who would be her managers. She took singing lessons and made demo songs that was introduced to electronic music duoColdcut. Together, they wrote "Doctorin' the House" which incorporates samples from various sources, mainly TV and film dialogue. It reached number six on the UK Singles Chart in March 1988 and was very popular in the clubs. Their second single was the pumping house version of "The Only Way Is Up". It was released in July 1988 and become a huge hit in the clubs and on the charts. It spent five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became the second biggest selling single of the year. "The Only Way Is Up" also reached number-one in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden. Additionally it peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Austria, France, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
