"You're Not Alone" is a song written by Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth and performed by British trip hop group Olive on their debut album, Extra Virgin (1996). First released as a single in August 1996, it found greater success in 1997 in a remixed version, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart that May. It won one of the Ivor Novello Awards in the category of Best Dance Music. Three different music videos were filmed for "You're Not Alone". The song has been covered by a number of artists, most notably by German trance DJ and producer ATB in 2002 and Danish singer-songwriter Mads Langer in 2009.
Critical reception
Barry Walters for The Advocate remarked that the song "in its original rendition resembles recent Everything But the Girl and now comes across as every other perfect pop-turned-disco masterpiece."[2]Larry Flick from Billboard described "You're Not Alone" as a "lush, ambient tune that has the dark and torchy texture of Everything But the Girl, but with a far more mainstream-friendly, classic-soul flavor." He complimented singer Ruth-Ann Boyle that "brings a rich, smoky quality to the song, while musicians Robin Taylor-Firth and Tim Kellett underline her performance with sweet, swirling strings and jittery breakbeatstyled percussion."[3] Scottish Daily Record called it a "hypnotic dance chart-topper", noting that features former Simply Red "keyboard wiz" Kellett.[4] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian felt "the single's summery lilt was balanced by a majestic keyboard riff".[5] Jennifer Nine from Melody Maker wrote, "A Nightmares On Wax guy, a Simply Red sideman and a girl with no last name (of course) have accomplished, quite handily, what they evidently set out to do. A shuffly and vulnerable downbeat, vaguely melancholy—if somewhat fatally unmysterious—Top Shop version of the Massive-Nicolette-Everything But the Girl-you know who end of things."[6]
A reviewer from Music Week gave the 1996 version four out of five, saying, "Weirded-out production and a good tune, this provides the perfect preview of an excellent album."[7] In 1997, they rated the remix three out of five, describing it as a "sparkling pop groove [that] ought to do the chart business and already has strong club support thanks to remixes from the likes of Oakenfold and Roni Size."[8] Jeremy Helligar from People magazine wrote, "Its soothing lyrics are punctuated by rumblings of tense, stuttering drum and bass, hinting at some darker obsession."[9] Ian Hyland from Sunday Mirror gave it eight out of ten, commenting, "No, not the greasy woman out of 'On The Buses' but a top dance groove techno type group who sound a bit European but have turned up this pearler of a club monster all the same. Remixes galore make it hard to ignore but if you are a Friday nighter, you'will have heard it already."[10] David Sinclair from The Times noted that "strangely out-of-phase dance production gives this haunting tune a distinctive edge."[11]
Music video
Three entirely different music videos were filmed for "You're Not Alone". The first video features all three band members Ruth-Ann Boyle, Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth appearing in spectral forms in a hotel room. The second video is the version which is seen the most and is set in a dark night-time setting in France. It features all three band members and includes scenes in a public toilet, and by a road with glowing headlights of cars. A third video (which also includes elements from the second) is a montage of the band members in dark, moody urban settings. This video only features the remaining two band members, Boyle and Kellett.
Impact and legacy
In 2017, Billboard ranked "You're Not Alone" number 64 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997", praising it as "one of the year's most striking pop singles, with club energy and trip-hop atmospherics, based around Olive's soulful siren call and synths that streak across the production like an electrical storm."[12] Same year, BuzzFeed ranked it among "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[13] In 2018, Mixmag ranked it among "The 15 Best Mid-90s Trance Tracks", naming it "a track of life-affirming proportions" and "a defining slice of trance." Mixmag editor James Ball added, "Olive's vocals offer a comfort blanket to weary ravers in between sharp synth stabs and floaty breaks."[14] In 2020, RedBull.com ranked it number one in their list of "10 Underrated Dance Songs from the 1990s That Still Sound Amazing".[15] In 2022, Classic Pop ranked it number 20 in their list of the top 40 dance tracks of the 90's, praising it as "a monumental dream-house smash hit and one of the most gorgeous melodies to sweeten the UK charts during the era."[16]
German trance producer and disc jockey ATBcovered the song and released it as a single on 15 April 2002 in Germany. The US CD release by Radikal Records had a cover misprint indicating the identical 4 track list as the 12-inch record release, however the CD contained 5 tracks.
Danish singer-songwriter Mads Langer released a cover version of the song on 14 December 2009. The song charted in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and the Netherlands. The cover version was later included on Langer's first international studio album, Behold which was released on 9 May 2011.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Other versions
In 2009 the song was sampled by British rapper Tinchy Stryder on the song "You're Not Alone". It was released as a single from his second studio album, Catch 22 on 26 October 2009.
In 2017, a version by Scotty Boy and Lizzie Curious went to number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart.[81]
A singer under the name Astræa (Jennifer Ann) released a version for the 2018 Lloyds TV advert.[82]
In 2020, progressive rock band Esoterica released a cover of the song on their fourth studio album, In Dreams.
^You're Not Alone (UK CD1 liner notes). Olive. RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 1997. 74321473232.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^You're Not Alone (UK CD2 liner notes). Olive. RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 1997. 74321473252.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^You're Not Alone (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Olive. RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 1997. 07863 64905-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
