«Female of the Species» группы Space: История хита 1996 года

1996 single by Space

"Female of the Species" is a song by English rock band Space, released as their fourth single and second single proper from their debut album, Spiders (1996), on 27 May 1996. The song reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and earned a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in October 2019. It became the band's only charting single in both the United States and Canada.

Written and sung by frontman Tommy Scott in tribute to his late father, who reportedly disliked his son's taste of music, "Female of the Species" is a funky, upbeat, Latin flavoured number with feel good sounding vibes and vocals, reminiscent of lounge singers such as Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, combined with keyboardist Franny Griffiths' trademark sound effects and Scott's darkly humorous lyrics. The song borrows to some extent, both thematically and in overall aesthetic, from the Walker Brothers' theme song for the 1967 film Deadlier Than the Male. When the song was performed at later concerts, Scott usually walked into the audience to shake them by the hand. The song's distinctive style and lyrics led to it being used in TV and film. It was the theme song to the UK drama Cold Feet and appeared in the 1997 film The Matchmaker starring Janeane Garofalo, as well as during the end credits of the popular movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (in the so called 'Fembot Mix', available on the Original Soundtrack), and in the Daria episode "College Bored". It gained further popularity in the UK when used in a 1998 advert (with a cameo appearance by Quentin Crisp) for the body spray "Impulse". The song's name is a reference to the 1911 Rudyard Kipling poem "The Female of the Species", which has as its refrain: "The female of the species is more deadly than the male."

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United Kingdom27 May 199612 inch vinyl, CD, cassetteGutUnited States13 January 1997Alternative radioUniversal