Remember Me (Blue Boy song)


"Remember Me" is a song by British DJ Alexis "Lex" Blackmore under his pseudonym Blue Boy. It was first included on his 1996 extended play, Scattered Emotions. In January 1997, the track was released as a standalone single with original and remixed versions. Built around samples performed by American singer Marlena Shaw, the song peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997 and No. 2 on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart. It was a top-10 hit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the track reached No. 13.

Background

The track originally appeared on Mark Farina's remix album Mushroom Jazz Volume One. Jive Records acquired it and earmarked it for single release. The radio edit was remixed by Sure Is Pure, who were also responsible for a couple of top 20 remixes of Sister Sledge songs in 1993, released on the duo's Pharm sublabel imprint.
"Remember Me" is built around samples from "Woman of the Ghetto" by American jazz, blues and soul singer Marlena Shaw: "Remember me? I'm the one who had your babies" came from a live version, whereas the "ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging..." sample repeated throughout the song is the scat portion of the original song's refrain. Shaw had the following to say about it:

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "wickedly catchy dance anthem", noting further that "while the groove is appropriately aggressive and street-credible, the song is iced with accessible keyboards, and a loopy hook takes up permanent residence in the brain upon impact." Australian music channel Max included "Remember Me" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012. In 1996, Andy Beevers from Music Weeks RM Dance Update wrote that it is "wooing the jazz and funk crowd", placing a Marlena Shaw classic "over a very basic but very bouncy funk rhythm. It's blindingly simple, dead cheeky and undeniably effective". Later, in 1997, another editor James Hyman rated it five out of five, calling it a "ridiculously simple and thus ultra-catchy funker". He added that the samples "and the subsequent 'Remember me, I'm the one who had your babies' hook added to a sparse hip hop break and a gently throbbing bassline not only recalls another classic—the Young Disciples' 'Apparently Nothin'—but commands an instant top 10 chart placing."

Chart performance

In Europe, "Remember Me" was a top-10 hit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the single peaked at No. 8 during its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 9 February 1997. It also reached the top spot on both the UK Dance and UK R&B singles charts. Additionally, "Remember Me" was a top-20 hit in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 13 in June 1997. Outside Europe, it reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, number six on Canada's RPM Dance chart and No. 17 in Australia. The single was awarded with a gold record in Australia and the UK.

Track listings

  1. "Remember Me"
  2. "Remember Me"
  3. "Remember Me"
  4. "Remember Me"
  5. "Remember Me"
  1. "Remember Me"
  2. "Remember Me"
  • European maxi-CD single
  1. "Remember Me"
  2. "Remember Me"
  3. "Remember Me"
  4. "Remember Me"
  5. "Remember Me"
  6. "Remember Me"
  7. "Remember Me"
  • European 12-inch single
  • US CD single
  1. "Remember Me"
  2. "Remember Me"
  3. "Remember Me"
  • US maxi-CD single
  1. "Remember Me" – 3:49
  2. "Remember Me" – 7:27
  3. "Remember Me" – 3:51
  4. "Remember Me" – 7:02
  5. "Remember Me" – 6:47
  6. Mushroom Jazz sampler – 5:05
  1. "Remember Me" – 3:59
  2. "Remember Me" – 7:04
  3. "Remember Me" – 5:11
  4. "Remember Me" – 10:46
  5. "Remember Me" – 10:26
  6. "Remember Me" – 6:56

Cover versions and sampling

In late 2008, the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala started performing this song as part of their live sets, eventually recording a cover version of it as a B-side to the "Sundown Syndrome" single. This cover became quite popular in Australia, reaching No. 78 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2009.
In November 2012, British musician Daley sampled this song for his own composition "Remember Me", with the refrain sung by Jessie J.
In 2013, South African group Goldfish sampled the song for their track "Three Second Memory". TheSouthAfrican.com said of the song: "Where to start? Obviously the title track, which takes the vocal sample "Remember Me" and builds around it to a level which justifies its standing as the basis of the album."
In 2024, Puma sampled the song for its "FOREVER. FASTER" world-wide campaign.