Get Down (Gilbert O'Sullivan song)

"Get Down"
Single by Gilbert O'Sullivan
from the album I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter
B-side"A Very Extraordinary Sort of Girl"
Released9 March 1973[1]
Recorded1973
GenrePop Rock
Length2:39
LabelMAM
Songwriter(s)Gilbert O'Sullivan
Producer(s)Gordon Mills
Gilbert O'Sullivan singles chronology
"Out of the Question"
(1973) 		"Get Down"
(1973) 		"Ooh, Baby"
(1973)
Official audio
"Get Down" on YouTube

"Get Down" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, from his 1973 album I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter. Released as a single, it spent two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in April 1973,[2] was also a number-one hit in Ireland for three weeks and was a top-ten hit in the United States and Canada. The song was originally used by O'Sullivan as a piano warm-up tune,[3] but was eventually extended into a full song and released as a single; O'Sullivan recorded and released the song as a change from his more melancholy pieces.

Believed to be an order from O'Sullivan to his dog ("Get Down!"), the singer is actually referring to a girl in the song behaving as a dog jumping on him, hence the request to "get down".[4]

The distinctive electric piano riff was performed by Laurie Holloway.[5]

In 2006 British dance group Malibu Sneakers recorded a dance version of the song entitled "Get Down Again".[6] In 2008 it was released as a vinyl 12", including a vocal remix by Raul Rincon.[7]

The song was used in the 2013 film The Harry Hill Movie.[8]

According to Rick Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, the song was the inspiration for the 1975 disco hit "Get Down Tonight".[9]

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1973) Peak
position
Argentina[10] 6
Australia (KMR)[11] 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 3
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[13] 2
Canada (RPM) Top Singles[14] 3
Canada (RPM) Adult Contemporary[15] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten) 4
France (SNEP)[16] 8
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 1
Italy (FIMI)[18] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 3
New Zealand (Listener)[20] 7
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 4
South Africa (Springbok)[22] 3
Spain (AFYVE)[23] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 1
U.S. (Billboard Hot 100)[26] 7
U.S. (Billboard Easy Listening)[27] 3
U.S. (Cash Box Top 100)[28] 4
West Germany (GfK)[29] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1973) Rank
Australia[11] 34
Canada[30] 67
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 38
Switzerland[32] 5
UK[33] 14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[34] 66
U.S. Cash Box[35] 40

Maison Ikkoku

This song, along with another one of O'Sullivan's songs, "Alone Again (Naturally)", were featured as the opening and ending for episode 24 of the Japanese anime hit Maison Ikkoku. At the time, O'Sullivan was signed to production company Kitty Film's associated record label, Kitty Records, which wanted to use the anime's popularity as a way to promote the singer's career in Japan. According to series director Kazuo Yamazaki, the reason the songs were dropped after only one episode was that they were unpopular with viewers; due to copyright issues, they were not included on the English-language American release of the anime, replaced by the previously used Japanese theme songs. The anime was based upon the popular manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi.

References

  1. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan - Get Down". 45cat.com.
  2. ^ "GILBERT O'SULLIVAN | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan | In Print". Gilbertosullivan.net. 2 August 1973. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Gilbert O: He Knows He's A Mechanical Man". Gilbertosullivan.net. 2 August 1973. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  5. ^ Bletchly, Rachael (7 July 2015). "Gilbert O'Sullivan - I was bigger than Elton John, but I don't miss the fame". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Malibu Sneakers - Get Down Again". Discogs. 2008.
  7. ^ "Malibu Sneakers – Get Down Again". Discogs. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  8. ^ "The Harry Hill Movie (2013)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Rick Finch : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Latin American Hit Parade - Argentina" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Record World. 23 June 1973. p. 49.
  11. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Forum – 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan – Get Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  13. ^ "get down – gilbert o'sullivan". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  14. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan – Get Down" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  17. ^ "Chart Track: Week 9, 1973". Irish Singles Chart.
  18. ^ "I singoli più venduti del 1973". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Creative Commons. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
    10. Get Down – Gilbert O'Sullivan [#10]
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Gilbert O'Sullivan" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. ^ "flavour of new zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan – Get Down". VG-lista.
  22. ^ "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  23. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 1973). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  24. ^ "Gilbert O'Sullivan – Get Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 411. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  26. ^ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 2 August 1973. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  27. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 187.
  28. ^ "Top 100 1973-08-11". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gilbert O'Sullivan – Get Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 February 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Gilbert O'Sullivan"
  30. ^ "Best of 1973 songs and music, on MusicAndYears.com!". Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  31. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1973". Top40.nl. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  32. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1973 - swisscharts.com". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  33. ^ "Top 100 1973 – UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  35. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1973". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2016.