"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song written and recorded by Steve Harley. It was originally recorded by his band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel on the album The Best Years of Our Lives and released as a single in 1975. In a television interview recorded in 2002, Harley described how the lyrics are vindictively directed at the former band members, whom he felt had abandoned him.[1][2]
More than a hundred and twenty cover versions of the song have been recorded by other artists, most notably Duran Duran and Erasure.[3]
Contents[]
[hide] *1 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel version
- 2 Duran Duran version
- 3 Erasure version
- 4 Other cover versions
- 5 Chart successions
- 6 References
- 7 External links
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel version[edit][]
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" was Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's biggest selling hit, selling over one million copies globally.[4] It was their only number one hit, topping both theUK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart[5] in February 1975.[6]
"Make Me Smile" has been reissued three times in the UK: a 1992 release reached number 46;[7] a 1995 release reached number 33 after being used in the Carlsberg TV advertisement;[8]and a 30th Anniversary remix of the song, released as a single in June 2005, taking the track to number 55.[9]
The acoustic guitar solo by Jim Cregan is widely believed to have been recorded during a sound check that was captured on tape and later used when it was realised it added to the song.[2]However Cregan's acoustic guitar break was recorded late at night in Abbey Road Studios in several takes. Amongst the other contributors was Marc Bolan on acoustic rhythm guitar and onbacking vocalists was the future chart-topper, Tina Charles.[10]
According to the EMI producer of the single Tony Clark, it was Marc Bolan who made the phone call to 'Top of the Pops' and had Harley in the BBC studio that same evening of the recording.
The song was used in the soundtracks of the films The Full Monty (1997), Velvet Goldmine (1998), Best - The George Best Story (2000), Saving Grace (2000), and Blackball (2003). It was also used in a 2006 Marks & Spencer advertisement and during the opening of episode 3 of Phoenix Nights series 1 (2001).
The song was later included as a playable song in Lego Rock Band (2009) for the Seventh Generation of Games consoles.
The song also featured in adverts for Furniture Village.
Track Listing
- 7" single (UK)
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" | Steve Harley | 3:55 | |||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Another Journey" | Steve Harley | 2:47 | |||||||
Chart performance[edit][]
| Chart | 1975 | 1976 | 1989 | 1990 | 1992 | 1995 | 2003 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1[11] | - | 30[12] | - | - | - | - | - |
| Danish Singles Chart | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19[13] | - |
| Dutch GfK chart | 5[14] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dutch Top 40 | 6[15] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| German Singles Chart | - | - | - | - | - | - | 58[16] | - |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1[5] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Swedish Singles Chart | - | - | - | - | - | - | 51[17] | - |
| UK Singles Chart | 1[6] | - | - | 25[18] | 46[6] | 33[6] | 14[19] | 55[6] |
| US Billboard Pop Singles | - | 96[20] | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Duran Duran version[edit][]
| "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1]
12" single cover of "The Reflex" | ||||
| Single by Duran Duran | ||||
| A-side | "The Reflex" | |||
| Released | 16 April 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 16 November 1982 at theHammersmith Odeon, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:54 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Harley | |||
| Duran Duran singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
A live cover version of "Make Me Smile" was released as the B-side to Duran Duran's 1984 number one single "The Reflex". On the label and sleeve, the song's original title was reversed and listed as "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)". The band frequently covered the song during their early 1980s concerts, and this recording was made during a 16 November 1982 live performance for the BBC College Concert series. The entire concert was released on the live CD/DVD Live at Hammersmith '82! in September 2009.
After dropping the song from their set list for over twenty years, the reunited Duran Duran brought the song back as a surprise encore at their 28 May 2005 homecoming gig at the Birmingham Football Ground to an audience of 25,000 fans. Harley was invited to perform with them, but was unable to attend.[21]
The Duran Duran version of the song appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Threesome (1994), and as a bonus track on the double CD single for "Perfect Day", from their 1995 covers album Thank You.
Track Listing
- 7" single (UK: EMI / DURAN2)
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "The Reflex" | Duran Duran | 4:20 | |||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" (live) | Steve Harley | 4:54 | |||||||
Erasure version[edit][]
| "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [2] | ||||
| Single by Erasure | ||||
| from the album Other People's Songs | ||||
| B-side | "Oh L'amour"
"Walking in the Rain" "When Will I See You Again" "Can't Help Falling in Love" | |||
| Released | 7 April 2003 | |||
| Format | CD, DVD | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 3:58 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Harley | |||
| Producer(s) | Gareth Jones, | |||
| Erasure singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
British pop duo Erasure included "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" on their cover versions album Other People's Songs. After the UK Top 10 success of their previous single "Solsbury Hill", Erasure charted well again when "Make Me Smile" hit number fourteen.[22]
A live performance recorded in Copenhagen on 9 June 2003 is included on the DVD The Erasure Show - Live in Cologne.
The music video sees Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell in the midst of computer-generated special effects and graphics. The statue in the video also appears in their 2005 video for "Breathe".
Erasure's version appeared in the first episode of season one of the television show My Name Is Earl in 2005.
Track Listing
CD single
- UK: Mute / CDMUTE292
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (Dave Bascombe Edit Mix) | Steve Harley | 3:27 | |
| 2. | "Oh L'amour" (Acoustic, recorded live at the Sirius National Broadcast Studios in New York on 14 January 2003) | Vince Clarke, Andy Bell | 3:28 | |
| 3. | "Walking in the Rain" (37b Remix) | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector | 2:48 |
- UK: Mute / LCDMUTE292
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (Dan Frampton Radio Mix) | Harley | 3:32 | |
| 2. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix) | Harley | 7:30 | |
| 3. | "When Will I See You Again" (37b Remix) | Gamble and Huff | 2:26 |
DVD single
- UK: Mute / DVDMUTE292
| Audio tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (Album version) | Harley | 3:56 | |||||||
| 2. | "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Acoustic, recorded live at the Sirius National Broadcast Studios in New York on 14 January 2003) | George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore | 3:12 | |||||||
| Video tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 3. | "Solsbury Hill" (Music video, directed by Vince Clarke) | Peter Gabriel | 4:20 | |||||||
Other cover versions[edit][]
Suzi Quatro covered the song on her Aggro-Phobia album in 1976. Australian group, Nick Barker & the Reptiles' version reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association(ARIA) Singles Chart in November 1989.[12]
A version by The Wedding Present peaked in the UK Singles Chart at #25 in 1990,[18] as a track on the 3 Songs EP. Steve Harley was very positive about this version: "There are 120 cover versions of Make Me Smile, but only The Wedding Present have done it differently. They did a punk version and made it kick. They understood the venom in the lyrics."[3]
Robbie Williams recorded a medley of "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and "Land of 1000 Dances" as a B-side to "Let Me Entertain You" in 1998.
Chart successions[edit][]
| Preceded by | UK number one single
22 February 1975 – 7 March 1975 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by
"If" by Telly Savalas |
| Ireland number one single
6 March 1975 – 19 March 1975 (2 weeks) |