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The Key the Secret

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"The Key the Secret" is the debut single by British group Urban Cookie Collective, released in June 1993 by Pulse 8 from the group's debut album, High on a Happy Vibe (1994). The song features vocals by British singer Diane Charlemagne and peaked at number one in the Netherlands. It was a top-5 hit also in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, and the UK, where it reached number two. Its music video was directed by Lindy Heymann, featuring the group in an indoor botanical garden.

"The Key the Secret"
Standard artwork for original 1993 release
Single by Urban Cookie Collective
from the album High on a Happy Vibe
Released28 June 1993 (1993-06-28)
GenreHouse[1]
Length3:40
LabelPulse 8
Songwriter(s)Rohan Heath
Producer(s)Chapter
Urban Cookie Collective singles chronology
"The Key the Secret"
(1993) 		"Feels Like Heaven"
(1993)
Music video
"The Key the Secret" on YouTube

Today, the song is widely regarded as one of the biggest dance music anthems of the '90s and has been remixed several times. A remix of the song was also included in episode 2 of the second series of Channel 4's drama series Queer as Folk in 2000. "The Key, The Secret" was more recently covered by Phobos & Deimos. And German pop singer Jasmin Wagner, better known as Blümchen, heavily sampled the chorus and the beat of the song in the German version as "Er ist so süß" in 2000, which was released on her fourth studio album, Die Welt gehört Dir.

The Intro of the song is also sampled by Grunge rock band Pearl Jam for the song "Wasted Reprise" in 2006

Background and release

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"The Key the Secret" was originally a track written at home by Rohan Heath in a soul and hip hop vein. It was released on the tiny Unheard Records label. After a subsequent re-mix provoked a massive club response it was picked up by the Pulse 8 record label and released on 28 June 1993.[2]

Chart performance

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In Europe, "The Key the Secret" peaked at number one in the Netherlands for one week and 4 weeks as number two.[3] It entered the top 10 in Austria (7),[4] Belgium (5),[5] Germany (5),[6] Ireland (4),[7] Switzerland (4),[8] and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 and European Dance Radio Chart by Music & Media.[9] In the UK, "The Key the Secret" peaked in its sixth week on the UK Singles Chart, on 8 August 1993, being held off reaching the top spot by Freddie Mercury's "Living On My Own"; it spent two weeks as number two and 16 consecutive weeks inside the UK top 75.[10] The song also peaked at numbers one and eleven on Music Week's Dance Singles and Airplay charts,[11][12] and number five on the Record Mirror Club Chart.[13] Additionally, it was a top-20 hit in Finland (11), Italy (16), and Spain (13), while peaking within the top 30 in Sweden (23). On the Eurochart Hot 100, "The Key the Secret" debuted as number 100 on 24 July,[14] after charting in the UK. It peaked six weeks later, at number ten.[15]

Outside Europe, the single reached number three on Canada's RPM Dance/Urban chart,[16] number four in Australia for three weeks with 21 weeks within the ARIA singles chart,[17] number ten in Zimbabwe,[18] number 26 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart,[19] and number 31 in New Zealand.[20]

In 1996, the track was remixed and again entered the UK charts peaking for one week at number 52. It was remixed again in 2004, this time peaking at number 31 in 2005.[21] An uptempo Eurodance remix was also made by DJ Dougal and Mickey Skeedale for Dancemania Speed in 1998.

Critical reception

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"It pretty much came off the top of my head. I've always had a real interest in songwriting and it just happened to be at the better end of a million ideas I had. I tend to put one hand on my keyboard, play a chord and see what comes out of my mouth. 'The Key The Secret' was actually about taking magic mushrooms, which a lot of people never really realised at the time."

—Rohan Heath talking about how the song was made.[22]

British DJ Graham Gold named "The Key the Secret" one of his favourites in 1995, saying, "I don't care who dissed it – or if it crossed over into the charts. The vocal was so up and positive it made me feel how music should make you feel – good."[23] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton viewed it as "a rather weak-kneed piece of girlie dance".[24] David Bennun from Melody Maker complimented it as a "mellifluous delight".[25] Andy Beevers from Music Week rated it three out of five, describing it as a "poppy house tune with catchy female vocals".[1] Upon the release of the 1996 remix, a reviewer of the magazine gave it four out of five, commenting, "A seemingly superfluous reissue remix of the 1993 number two hit. Nevertheless, the song maintains its effervescent hook of housey piano and celebratory vocal, and could well be a hit again."[26] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update declared it as a "Charlemagne cooed raving galloper".[27] Mark Frith from Smash Hits complimented it as a "corking" single in his review of the High on a Happy Vibe album.[28]

Australian music channel Max included "The Key the Secret" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.[29]

Music video

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The accompanying music video of "The Key the Secret" was directed by British director and assistant director Lindy Heymann.[30] It features the band performing the song in what appears to be an indoor botanical garden. Singer Diane Charlemagne sings between the plants. Several dancers also appear in the video, with body painting in gold. The colours of the video repeatedly fade out into black-and-white or the opposite. Some scenes also show the dancers looking into or they are seen through a glass sphere. "The Key the Secret" received heavy rotation on MTV Europe in November 1993.[31]

Track listing

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"We picked up the remix of this single which we thought had enormous crossover potential. The Key: The Secret was a great success initially in the clubs and when a chart position followed, the popularity spread to younger record buyers. We ended up with a very wide spectrum of record buyers from very young kids to people in their late '20s and this is now being reflected in Europe. (...) Because the first single is very much a one liner, there was a lot of resistance from radio at first. We had to get a Top 40 position to get airplay. We only made a video for the single when we achieved a Top 20 position-we turned it over in five days and got a terrific reaction from TV, which made the single shoot up the charts."

—Pulse-8 MD Frank Sansom talking to Music & Media about the song.[32]

  • 7-inch single, Belgium (1993)
  1. "The Key the Secret" (Glamourously Developed Edit) – 3:41
  2. "The Key the Secret" (Kamoflage Club Edit) – 4:24
  • 12-inch single, UK (1993)
  1. "The Key the Secret" (Glamourously Developed Mix) – 6:16
  2. "The Key the Secret" (Regressive Mix) – 6:01
  3. "The Key the Secret" (Kamoflage Club Mix) – 6:40
  4. "The Key the Secret" (Kamoflage Dub) – 7:30
  • CD single, UK (1993)
  1. "The Key the Secret" (Glamourously Developed Edit) – 3:40
  2. "The Key the Secret" (Glamourously Developed Mix) – 6:16
  3. "The Key the Secret" (Regressive Mix) – 6:01
  4. "The Key the Secret" (Kamoflage Club Mix) – 6:40
  5. "The Key the Secret" (Hungarian Deli Mix) – 5:16
  6. "The Key the Secret" (Shute The Flute Mix) – 5:45
  • CD single, Scandinavia (1993)
  1. "The Key the Secret" (Glamourously Developed Edit) – 3:42
  2. "The Key the Secret" (Glamorously Developed Mix) – 6:16

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] Platinum 70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[48] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Gold 400,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Beevers, Andy (26 June 1993). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 10. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 26 June 1993. p. 27.
  3. ^ a b "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Key the Secret". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 39. 25 September 1993. p. 28. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 July 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 18 September 1993. p. 30. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 26 June 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 30. 24 July 1993. p. 19. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 35. 28 August 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2338." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  18. ^ a b * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  19. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Urban Cookie Collective – The Key: The Secret". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  21. ^ British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition
  22. ^ "Whatever happened to... Urban Cookie Collective?". digitalspy.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Jock On His Box" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 7 January 1995. p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  24. ^ Masterton, James (18 July 1993). "Week Ending July 24th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  25. ^ Bennun, David (12 March 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 40. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 July 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  27. ^ Hamilton, James (3 July 1993). "Djdirectory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 2. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  28. ^ Frith, Mark (16 March 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits. p. 54. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Top 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time – 2012". Max. 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  30. ^ "Lindy Heymann". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 45. 6 November 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  32. ^ Watson, Miranda (26 March 1994). "Urban Cookie Collective Find Key To Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 13. p. 1/28. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  33. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 41. 9 October 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  34. ^ Week 41, 1993.
  35. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 30 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Urban Cookie Collective".
  36. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  37. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1993". ARIA. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  38. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1993" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  39. ^ "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. 18 December 1993. p. 15. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  41. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  42. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 24.
  44. ^ "Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved 12 December 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  45. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 289.
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