The One and Only (song)

"The One and Only" is a song written by Nik Kershaw, and recorded by the British singer Chesney Hawkes.

"The One and Only"
Single by Chesney Hawkes
from the album Buddy's Song
B-side	"It's Gonna Be Tough" "Say Mama"
Released	February 1991[1]
Recorded	1990
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:40
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)	Alan Shacklock and Nik Kershaw
Chesney Hawkes singles chronology
"The One and Only" (1991) "I'm a Man Not a Boy" (1991)
Music video
"The One and Only" on YouTube

Produced by Kershaw and Alan Shacklock, and recorded and mixed by Gareth Cousins, Hawkes' recording was featured in the 1991 film Buddy's Song which starred Hawkes as the eponymous Buddy and Roger Daltrey as his father. The film performed moderately well at the UK box office, but the song was a hit in that country's music charts, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in March and April 1991.[2][3]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "Sugar-coated pop rocker by U.K. male vocalist, who was discovered by Roger Daltrey, is beginning to duplicate previous European chart success. Anthemic lyrics and a heartfelt performance should help push this over the top with top 40 punters."[4]

Music videos

Two music videos were made. One featured Hawkes performing for a crowd on a stage. The second video features a girl, played by Saffron and her friend (played by Lucy Alexander) going to a cinema to watch Buddy's Song, where Hawkes jumps out of the screen and beckons the girl to follow him. They go into a storage room, but Hawkes is then pulled back into the screen; he escapes again, only to have Roger Daltrey (who plays the father of Hawkes's character in the film) come out of the screen and chase after them. Finally, at the end of the video, Hawkes reaches out of the screen to the girl, who takes his hands and goes into the screen with him. They kiss whilst being watched by the girl's shocked friend.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The One and Only"	Nik Kershaw	3:44
2.	"It's Gonna Be Tough (film version)"	Nigel Hinton and John Wesley Harding	2:30
3.	"Say Mama"	Johnny Meeks and Johnny Earl	2:10
4.	"It's Gonna Be Tough"	Nigel Hinton and John Wesley Harding	2:50

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1991–1992) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 61 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] 37 Denmark (IFPI)[9] 6 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 5 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 2 Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 9 Norway (VG-lista)[16] 5 Poland (LP3)[17] 18 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 4 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[2][3] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 10 Chart (2016) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[21] 75

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 20 Belgium (Ultratop)[23] 29 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[24] 19 Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 34 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[27] 93 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Sweden (GLF)[28] Gold 25,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 200,000 ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Use in other media

The song was later featured in the 1991 film Doc Hollywood and became a hit in the US, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in November 1991.[20]

A cover of the song by Ellen and the Escapades was featured in the 2014 film L.A. Slasher.[30]

Director Duncan Jones featured the song in some of his films. In Moon it is used as the wake-up alarm for the main character. In the 2011 film Source Code, the song appears as the cellphone ringtone of the character of Christina. It is heard as background music for a game being played in Jones' 2018 film Mute.

On many Counter-strike multiplayer servers the lyric "I am the one and only..." plays when a player's teammates have all been killed leaving him as the only remaining player from his team.

See also

• List of European number-one airplay songs of the 1990s

References

1. Guinness British Hit Singles (11th ed.). Guinness Publishing Ltd. 1997. p. 162. ISBN 0-85112-027-X.
2. The Official UK Charts Company. "All the No. 1's – The One and Only". Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
3. "The Official Charts Company - Chesney Hawkes - The One And Only". Retrieved 25 April 2009.
4. Flick, Larry (27 July 1991). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 67. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
5. "Austriancharts.at – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Ultratop.be – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1642." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
8. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1625." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
9. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 25. 22 June 1991. p. 38. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 19. 11 May 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 280. ISBN 9789511210535.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The One and Only". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 24, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 21 February 2019.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". VG-lista.
17. "Notowanie nr 488" (in Polish). 28 June 1991. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". Singles Top 100.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. "Billboard Singles". Retrieved April 25, 2015.
21. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
22. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1991" (in German). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
23. "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
25. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
26. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
27. "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
28. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
29. "British single certifications – Chesney Hawkes – The One and Only". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 December 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The One and Only in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
30. ellenandtheescapades (2 September 2014). "The One and Only (LA Slasher)" – via YouTube.