Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Stop! (Sam Brown song)

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Released
  
1988 (1988)

Recorded
  
1988 (1988)

B-side
  
"Poor Frank", "Blue Soldier", "Bones"

Format
  
7" single 12" single CD single

Genre
  
Blue-eyed soul R&B blues

Length
  
4:02 (single edit) 4:55 (album version)

"Stop!" is a song by the English female singer-songwriter Sam Brown, written by Brown, Gregg Sutton, and Bruce Brody. It appears on her debut album of the same name.

Contents

"Stop!" only reached number 42 in the UK charts when it was first released. The follow-up single from the same album "This Feeling", faired even worse peaking at 91. However, "Stop!" was re-released in 1989 and reached number 4, becoming Brown's biggest hit to date, and spending 12 weeks on charts. It was also subsequently a hit in eleven other countries and was responsible for bringing Brown to greater public attention. Additionally, it was the 35th best-selling single of 1989 in the UK. The song was featured in the soundtrack of the 1992 film Bitter Moon.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

  • Sam Brown – lead vocals; string arrangements
  • Jakko Jakszyk – guitar
  • Gavin Harrison – drums
  • Ed Poole – bass guitar
  • Kevin Malpass – Hammond organ; string arrangements
  • Bob Andrews – Hammond organ solo
  • Andy Price – 1st violin
  • Mark Walton – 2nd violin
  • Kate Musker – viola
  • Peter Esswood – cello
  • Vicki Brown – backing vocals
  • Margo Buchanan – backing vocals
  • Edyta Górniak live version

    In 1989, aged 16, Edyta gave her first public appearance on a Polish television talent show where she won with Sam Brown's hit song "Stop!" She is regarded as the best cover of this song,even not losing to Sam Brown. In 1999, Edyta began a tour through Poland and released internationally the concert album Live '99 in September 1999. "Stop!" was recorded in this live album. Live '99 is the first Live album by polish singer Edyta Górniak.

    Jamelia version

    Jamelia covered the song after the makers of the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason approached her to record it to illustrate an integral part of the film. Jamelia instantly accepted the offer and explained how much she was a fan of the character and of the first film. Her cover version was met with critical acclaim, especially for her vocal performance on the track. The exclamation mark at the end of the title was dropped for the Jamelia release.

    "Stop" was released as a double A-side with the song "DJ" on 1 November 2004, one of the busiest release weeks of the year competing with Eminem (who got number one with "Just Lose It"), Destiny's Child (who got number two with "Lose My Breath"), Britney Spears (who got number three with "My Prerogative"), Christina Aguilera (who got number four with "Car Wash" featuring Missy Elliott) and Usher (who got number five with "My Boo", a duet with Alicia Keys). However, the single still managed to get a UK top ten place at number nine, despite the stiff competition and became her fourth consecutive top ten hit, spending twelve weeks inside the UK Singles Chart, one week longer than "See It in a Boy's Eyes", despite having a lower peak. The single also became her fourth consecutive top forty hit in Australia, peaking at number thirty-seven there.

    The formats of "DJ" and "Stop" received a staggered release. On 1 November 2004 the two-track CD one was released along with the "DJ" CD release. Due to time constraints, the "Stop" music video (directed by Alex Hemming) could not be added in time to make the 1 November release date and so the CD two was released a week later on 8 November 2004. This was also the first DVD single release from Jamelia. It is rumoured that the DVD single was released because the "DJ" video was not finished in time to be added to the Thank You – Live DVD release. The single release also contained a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".

    Charts

    1 "Stop"/"DJ".

    Other versions

  • It was covered by Polish singer Edyta Górniak in 1989, at age 16, when she gave her first public appearance on a Polish television talent show of which she won
  • It was covered by blues rocker Joe Bonamassa in 2009, whom recorded a seven-minute version of the song for inclusion on his album The Ballad of John Henry
  • It was covered by Norwegian singer Ane Brun in 2005, whom released a version (as a duet with Liv Widell) on her album Duets
  • It was covered by Icelandic singer Hafdís Huld, whom recorded an a cappella version which was used for a pan-European TV commercial for Mercedes-Benz in the summer of 2008. A fully instrumented version was released as a single in Iceland on 24 October 2008 with a full iTunes release on 24 November via Red Grape
  • It was covered by Vietnamese singer Mỹ Tâm on her album 10 Years Anniversary Liveshow 2011: Mỹ Tâm Melodies of time
  • It was covered by Paul Dempsey, frontman of the Australian group Something for Kate, as a bonus track on the deluxe version of the band's 2012 album Leave Your Soul to Science
  • It was covered by Italian singer Andrea Faustini in week 7 of the live show on The X Factor 2014 after ending up in the bottom two with Stevi Ritchie.
  • It was covered by Four Of Diamonds in the six chair challenge on The X Factor 2016.
  • References

    Stop! (Sam Brown song) Wikipedia