Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)

"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released as the lead single from the band's album The Best Years of Our Lives in 1975. Written by Harley, it reached the #1 spot on the UK chart, lasting within the Top 100 for nine weeks. The song received a UK Silver Certification in February 1975.[1]

More than a hundred and twenty cover versions of the song have been recorded by other artists, most notably Duran Duran and Erasure.[2]

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel version
 * 1.1 Background
 * 1.2 Recording
 * 1.3 Release
 * 1.4 Promotion
 * 1.5 Track Listing
 * 1.6 Critical reception
 * 1.7 Chart performance
 * 1.8 Personnel
 * 1.8.1 Additional personnel
 * 2 Duran Duran version
 * 3 Erasure version
 * 4 Other cover versions
 * 5 Chart successions
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

Background[edit]
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" was Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's biggest selling hit, selling over one million copies globally.[3] It was also the band's only number one hit, topping both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart[4] in February 1975.[5] In addition to this it was Harley's only charting entry in America, reaching #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976.[6] The song was the first release under the band name "Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel", as opposed to simply "Cockney Rebel".

In 1974 the original lineup of Cockney Rebel split, and Harley then revived the name by assembling a new line-up. The song itself described Harley's feelings on the split of the original lineup, after three band members walked out on him. In 1973 EMI Records had signed the band to record three albums, and with Harley being the sole songwriter for the group, he reaped the majority of the financial rewards. After a UK tour promoting the second album The Psychomodo, the other band members approached Harley insisting they too were going to write songs for the third album. However Harley felt this was unfair as he had been the one to originally hire the musicians for his group, and explained the deal to them at the time. The band split as a result, with only drummer Stuart Elliott joining Harley's second lineup of the group. In a television interview recorded in 2002, Harley described how the lyrics were vindictively directed at the former band members who, he felt, had abandoned him.[7][8]

On The One Show in October 2010, Harley called the lyric "a finger-pointing piece of vengeful poetry. It's getting off my chest how I felt about the guys splitting up a perfectly workable machine." When revealing the story behind the song he explained: "Three of them came to me in a little posse with several ultimatums. They wanted to write songs for the third Cockney Rebel album, and I said "Well you know I started the band, and I auditioned you, and I told you the deal at the time. We're not moving the goal posts here." They knew this, and they came to me demanding that they could write songs too, and just said "Well go and do it then." When describing the meaning behind the song title he revealed: "I wrote it saying "Look you'll learn how well we're doing here, we're doing well, why are you doing this?"[9] Harley began work on the song only days after the band split, and in January 2012 he told Uncut magazine that the first verse was probably written at four in the morning after a bottle of brandy, feeling sorry for himself.[10] On the One Show Harley added "I was in distress, there's no doubt at all, out of adversity I had to talk about it, I had to write about it. I had to say these things, I had to get it off my chest."[11]

In 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Steve Harley recalled the end of Cockney Rebel version 1: "We split up because they wanted to to take my leadership away. They wanted to dilute it and "Make Me Smile" is saying 'Come back one day and I'll laugh.' It was arrogant but I knew they were wrong - they didn't understand the group like I did."[12]

Recording[edit]
Harley initially had a different vision for the song, as he had written the piece as a slow blues track with a dark mood. On a day during November 1974 Harley arrived at Abbey Road Studios in London, to record material for The Best Years of Our Lives album, which was halfway through recording. Each day he was revealing a new song to the band for them to rehearse, and when debuting "Make Me Smile" it was performed as the slow blues version.[13] Harley recalled to Uncut in 2012: "It was a little dirgy, slower and a little pedestrian, very on the beat."[14] However producer Alan Parsons soon suggested speeding the song's tempo up, as he felt it would suit the song better. Harley recalled: "Suddenly it was swinging, and bopping, and ooh-la-la. We saw a hit record being built here, there was no doubt."[15]

Cregan's acoustic guitar break was recorded late at night in Abbey Road Studios in several takes. Amongst the other contributors, on backing vocals, was the future chart-topper Tina Charles, as well as Yvonne Keeley (Paay) and her sisterPatricia Paay.[16]

Release[edit]
The single was originally released via EMI on 7" vinyl in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Yugoslavia, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan.[17][18] Each release featured a different picture sleeve, usually featuring a photograph of Harley, or the band.[19] The song's B-Side was the non-album track "Another Journey", written solely by Harley.[20]

"Make Me Smile" has been reissued a number of times in the UK. In 1982 the single was re-issued on 7" vinyl by EMI, with "Sebastian" as the B-Side, to promote the compilation album The Best of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.[21] In 1983 it was issued again on 7" vinyl, by the Old Gold label, with Judy Teen as the B-Side.[22] Both re-issues failed to chart. In 1992, the song was released as a CD single and 7" vinyl by EMI. The re-issue reached #46 in the UK, remaining in the Top 100 for two weeks.[23] In 1995 the song was re-issued again on 7" vinyl and CD after it was used in a Carlsberg TV advertisement.[24] This release reached #33 in the UK, lasting in the Top 100 for three weeks.[25] In June 2005 a 30th Anniversary remix of the song was released as a single on 7" vinyl and CD. The CD version featured a taster track of Harley's 2005 studio album The Quality of Mercy. The single reached #55, lasting in the Top 100 for two weeks.[26][27]

The song has been used in the soundtracks of the films Rik Mayall Presents Dancing Queen (1993), 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 also featured in adverts for Furniture Village.

The song was later included as a playable song in Lego Rock Band (2009) for the Seventh Generation of Games consoles.

Promotion[edit]
Upon its original release, the band performed the song on UK music show Top of the Pops. The performance on the show featured mimed instrumental backing, with Harley performing a live vocal.[28] However during the appearance Harley was suffering from jet-lag, and subsequently forgot the lyrics to the majority of the second and third verses.[29]

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.

Track Listing[edit]

 * 7" Single
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:55
 * 2) "Another Journey" - 2:47
 * 7" Single (1982 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:55
 * 2) "Sebastian"
 * 7" Single (1983 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:58
 * 2) "Judy Teen" - 3:41
 * 7" Single (1992 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:59
 * 2) "Mr. Soft" - 3:19
 * CD Single (1992 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:59
 * 2) "Mr. Soft" - 3:19
 * 3) "Spaced Out" - 3:02
 * 4) "(Love) Compared with You" - 4:19
 * 7" Single (1995 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:59
 * 2) "Mr. Soft" - 3:17
 * CD Single (1995 UK reissue)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - 3:59
 * 2) "Mr. Soft" - 3:17
 * 3) "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" - 4:07
 * 4) "Another Journey" - 2:48
 * 7" Single (2005 UK 30th Anniversary Re-mix)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) 30th Anniversary Re-mix"
 * 2) "Judy Teen (Live)"
 * CD Single (2005 UK 30th Anniversary Re-mix)
 * 1) "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) 30th Anniversary Re-mix"
 * 2) "Judy Teen (Live)"
 * 3) "The Quality Of Mercy (Taster)"

Critical reception[edit]
In a review of The Best Years of Our Lives album, Donald A. Guarisco of Allmusic wrote "By his third album, Steve Harley had developed a strong grasp of how to combine his artistic ambitions with strongly crafted pop tunes that win the casual listener over to his artsy cause. The result was The Best Years of Our Lives, the most successful album of his mid-'70s heyday. The most impressive hit was "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)," a romantic pop tune that pairs Harley's clever wordplay with a clever pop tune that boasts an inventive stop-start arrangement and a lovely flamenco-styled acoustic guitar solo."[30] Guarisco also spoke of the song in a review of the American 1976 compilation album A Closer Look. He commented: "In the pop arena, the most memorable highlights are "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)," a catchy acoustic love song with a memorable flamenco guitar solo."[31] In a review of the 1987 compilation Greatest Hits he noted "Songs like "Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me)" and "Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean)" still sound fresh today thanks to their ability to mix insistent pop hooks into their mix of unconventional sounds and oblique lyrics."[32]

George Starostin reviewed The Best Years of Our Lives album for his website, and described the song as "an excellent mid-tempo pop-rocker with a glammy multi-vocal chorus and great use of the stop-and-start structure (as well as Beatlesque ooh-la-la-las all over the place). It's at the same time typical and atypical of the album. Typical, because it features the same type of enigmatic lyrics - on the surface, it's something like a misogynistic putdown, but what do you do with lines like 'How can you ignore my faith in everything/When I know what Faith is and what it's worth'? Atypical, because it's shorter, catchier and more concise than anything else on here, certainly chart-oriented at heart, but smart enough so as not to linger in the charts for too long."[33]

Personnel[edit]

 * Vocals, Guitar - Steve Harley
 * Guitar, Backing Vocals - Jim Cregan
 * Bass, Backing Vocals - George Ford
 * Keyboards - Duncan Mackay
 * Drums - Stuart Elliott

Additional personnel[edit]

 * Backing vocals - Tina Charles, Martin Jay, Yvonne Keeley, Linda Lewis, Liza Strike
 * Producers - Steve Harley, Alan Parsons
 * Mixer, Engineer - Alan Parsons
 * Mastering - Chris Blair
 * Tape Operator - Gary Edwards, Peter James
 * Writer of "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" - Steve Harley
 * Writer of "Another Journey" - Steve Harley

Duran Duran version[edit]
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.[46]

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 albumThank You.

Track Listing
 * 7" single (UK: EMI / DURAN2)

Erasure version[edit]
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.[47]

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 DVD single
 * UK: Mute / CDMUTE292
 * UK: Mute / LCDMUTE292
 * UK: Mute / DVDMUTE292

Other cover versions[edit]
Suzi Quatro covered the song on her Aggro-Phobia album in 1977.[48] Australian group, Nick Barker & the Reptiles' version reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart in November 1989.[49]

A version by The Wedding Present peaked in the UK Singles Chart at No. 25 in 1990,[50] 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."[2]

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.