1988 single by Sam Brown
"Stop!" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sam Brown from her debut studio album of the same name (1988). It was released in May 1988 by A&amp;M, and written by Brown, Gregg Sutton and Bruce Brody. "Stop!" reached number 52 on the UK Singles Chart when it was first released. Following its re-release on 23 January 1989, the song peaked at number four, becoming Brown's highest-charting single, and spending 12 weeks on the chart. Additionally, "Stop!" topped the charts in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway, while reaching the top five in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Ireland and Switzerland. The song was featured in the soundtrack to the 1992 film "Bitter Moon".
Critical reception.
Pan-European magazine "Music &amp; Media" named "Stop!" Single of the Week, complimenting "an impressive new talent whose striking debut single leaves us with no doubts about her future." They added that "her commanding vocals fare well in this emotional and powerful ballad, suitable for all types of radio formats." Adrian Thrills from "NME" commented, "Fair stab at an atmospheric "pop noir" ballad, 'Stop!' comes complete with another orchestral quartet, a tinkling ivory and some strained, pained vocals. Mildly startling, if a little studied. A Hammond organ even helps to re-create a smokily authentic '60s feel as the melodrama slowly unfolds, but the strings are the thing." Upon the 1989 re-release, Betty Page from "Record Mirror" wrote, "Second time lucky, please, for Sam's powerful R&amp;B-ish ballad (out first time last year) from her cruelly overlooked debut LP. It's a barnstormer of a vocal performance — gutsy but strangely vulnerable at the same time. What a woman. She's made it big in Europe already, so it's about time you lot out there woke up to her considerable talents." David Cavanagh of "Sounds" described the song as "absolutely corking" and "solid gold". He added, "Sam's obviously a sucker for Dusty Springfield and is equipped with a startlingly good voice."
A. "Stop!" (edit)
B. "Blue Soldier"
A1. "Stop!" (album version)
A2. "Poor Frank"
B1. "Blue Soldier"
B2. "Bones"
Credits and personnel.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Stop!"
Charts.
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Jamelia version.
English singer Jamelia covered "Stop!" after the makers of the 2004 film "" 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. 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. The single peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and became Jamelia's fourth consecutive top-10 entry, spending 12 weeks on the chart. It also became her fourth consecutive top-40 single in Australia, peaking at number 37.
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. The single release also contained a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".
Charts.
All entries charted as "DJ" / "Stop" unless otherwise noted.
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References.
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