"A Girl Like You" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter
Edwyn Collins from his third solo studio album, Gorgeous George (1994). The song samples the drum track of
Len Barry's single "
1-2-3" (1965).[2] It was released as a single in December 1994 by
Setanta Records and became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in
Flanders and Iceland and peaking within the top 10 in several countries, including Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In North America, "A Girl Like You" reached number 16 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, number 32 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 and number 28 on the US
Cash Box Top 100. There were different versions of the music video made for the song, directed by
John Flansburgh and Gavin Evans. NME ranked "A Girl Like You" number 38 in their list of "NME Writers' Top 50 Singles of 1995".[3]
Background and production
Collins said the song was about a "mystical girl".[4] The
Sex Pistols drummer
Paul Cook performed on the recording.[5] The song had started out as "a more thrashy kind of guitar thing" and there had been a suggestion that
Iggy Pop might record a version for the US market but before that could happen Collins' version was gaining
airplay.[6]
Critical reception
Steve Baltin from Cash Box felt that Collins "has one of the year’s more surprising hits with this very
Bowie-esque song that’s been all over
Modern Rock for the past month." He added, "Slightly funky and very catchy, “A Girl Like You” is a track that will get under your skin."[7] In his weekly UK chart commentary,
James Masterton declared it as "magical", noting that here "hardcore
Northern Soul meets the 1990s to delicious effect."[8]Cathi Unsworth from Melody Maker viewed it as a "
John Barry-spiked thriller" and a "little mystery", where "Collins sings with demonic relish over creepy jazz piano and fretful guitars. Overtly cool."[9] A reviewer from Music Week gave it four out of five, commenting, "Ignored by the UK last November but scoring throughout the rest of Europe, the white-soul-swinging track gets a timely re-release."[10] Keith Cameron from NME called it a "flared nostril
Motown-patented stomp".[11]
Another NME editor, Mark Sutherland, wrote, "So while, to us, the chart success of "A Girl Like You" may seem but a curious sideshow to the whole
Britpop fandango, to Edwyn it must surely be glorious vindication: proof positive that the world will listen. Even if Belgium, where "A Girl Like You" reached Number One FIRST time around, has to lead the way." Sutherland also felt that its "mix of pop classicism and indie off-kilterness is a great deal more at home in a Top 40 where something as bonkers as
Robson & Jerome rules the roost."[12]Charles Aaron from Spin commented that here, Collins "opens his throat (and maybe even his heart), crooning with what sounds like aching conviction, "You've made me acknowledge the devil in me / I hope to God I'm talkin' metaphorically." The production is irresistibly off-beat with
Spectorish drums, tinkling vibes, laconically searing fuzz guitar and squishy faux-turntable scratches. Plus, I love the way he pronounces "protest singers" (rhymes with "Miss Otis lingers")."[13]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.