Elegant Slumming

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Elegant Slumming
Studio album by
Released4 October 1993
RecordedJanuary - May 1993
Studio
  • Milo, London
  • Roundhouse
    , London
  • Strongroom, London
Genre
Length55:04
LabelDeconstruction
ProducerM People
M People chronology
Northern Soul
(1991)
Elegant Slumming
(1993)
Bizarre Fruit
(1994)
Singles from Elegant Slumming
  1. "One Night in Heaven"
    Released: 14 June 1993
  2. "
    Moving on Up
    "

    Released: 13 September 1993
  3. "Don't Look Any Further"
    Released: 22 November 1993
  4. "Renaissance"
    Released: 28 February 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NME
7/10[6]
The Observer(favorable)[7]
Smash Hits[8]
Spin(favorable)[9]
The Village VoiceA[10]

Elegant Slumming is the second album by the British dance band M People. It was released on 4 October 1993 charting and peaking at number 2 on the UK Album Chart and spent 87 weeks in the Top 75. It re-entered the chart three times in October 1996 and March and September 1997. Its overall sales stand at 759,000 as of September 2020.[11]

The four singles released from the album were all UK Top 10 hits: "

Moving on Up" (#2), as well as a cover version of the Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett song "Don't Look Any Further", which reached No. 9 in the UK. A fourth hit, "Renaissance
", reached No. 5 in the same chart.

The US version was released in 1994 in a separate deal on the

Hot Dance Club Play
.

The original British album won the 1994 UK

Mercury Music Prize
.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from

Moving on Up" is a funky dancefloor filler and "La Vida Loca" could make your cucumber rumba."[8] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin said, "Don't wrinkle your nose in that unbecoming fashion. That stench to which you're so unused is called class and these U.K. clubland monarchs just reek of it."[9] Music critic of The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album an A.[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."
Moving on Up"
 5:29
3."Renaissance" 5:20
4."You Just Have to Be There" 5:26
5."Love is in My Soul" 6:15
6."Don't Look Any Further"Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert, Duane Hitchings5:28
7."Natural Thing" 5:04
8."Little Packet" 5:19
9."La Vida Loca" 4:32
10."Melody of Life" 4:44
Total length:55:04
2005 Re-release bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."
Moving on Up
" (Roger S Moving Mix)
 6:28

US CD & European cassette version

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."
Moving on Up"
 5:29
3."Excited" 5:04
4."Renaissance" 5:20
5."Colour My Life (Part One)"Pickering5:38
6."How Can I Love You More?" 3:20
7."Don't Look Any Further"Golde, Lambert, Hitchings5:28
8."You Just Have to Be There" 5:26
9."Little Packet" 5:19
10."Love is in My Soul" 6:15

Note The U.S. vinyl edition contains eight tracks, omitting Little Packet & Love is in My Soul. In addition to this, Colour My Life is placed as track eight.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Gold 35,000^
Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] 3× Platinum 900,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Farley, Keith. "Elegant Slumming – M People". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  3. ^ Jones, Anderson (15 July 1994). "Elegant Slumming". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. ^ Thompson, Ben (31 October 1993). "Records". The Independent.
  5. ^ a b Jones, Alan (9 October 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 19. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. ^
    NME
    . p. 35. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Pop Releases". The Observer. 10 October 1993.
  8. ^ a b Stanton, Pete (29 September 1993). "New Albums: Best New Album". Smash Hits. p. 56. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 16. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (17 January 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. ^ Copsey, Rob (22 September 2020). "Mercury Prize: The best-selling winning albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – M People – Elegant Slumming" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – M People – Elegant Slumming" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  15. GfK Entertainment Charts
    . Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. ^ "M People Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 21 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  23. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  24. GfK Entertainment
    (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1994". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  26. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (M People; 'Elegant Slumming')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  28. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – M People – Elegant Slumming". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  29. ^ "British album certifications – M People – Elegant Slumming". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2021.