Thinking It Over (song) explained

Thinking It Over
Cover:Thinkingitoverliberty.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Liberty
Album:Thinking It Over
Recorded:2001
Genre:UK garage[1]
Length:4:02
Label:V2
Producer:Pete Devereux, the Wideboys
Next Title:Doin' It
Next Year:2001

"Thinking It Over" is the debut single of English-Irish pop group Liberty, before they became Liberty X. The garage song was produced by Pete Devereux (of Artful Dodger) and the Wideboys. It was co-written by band members Kelli Young and Tony Lundon. In the United Kingdom, the single was a hit, reaching number five, but was not as successful internationally, peaking at number 29 in Ireland and number 81 in Australia.

Background

While the five winning contestants of Popstars formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants formed the group Liberty. The name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom the members experienced following their participation in Popstars. Amidst pejorative media commentary, including the term "Flopstars", the band proceeded to sign a multimillion-pound record contract with Richard Branson's independent record label, V2 Records.

In response to the media backlash and push-back from the record label, the band initially released the song as a white label promo. In an interview with The Vault in 2013, Kelli said "We knew that we wanted to do an R&B/pop sound and everyone was telling us that was not an achievable thing [..] and no one was going to play it. So, we had to trick people. We released Thinking It Over on white label and we didn't put our name on it [...] We got lots of spot plays on the radio and all the clubs started playing it."[2]

Thus, their debut single, "Thinking It Over", was released on 24 September 2001.[3] [4] It came backed with three B-sides: "No Clouds", "Greed" and "Let's Get Working", the latter of which has never been released on CD in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The video for the track was filmed in a studio using green screen.[5] It is set inside a skyline apartment in Manhattan, with the band performing in and around the lounge area. Despite the fact the video was filmed on a very low budget, it uses special effects to show and remove holographic images of the band from the apartment, to allow for different vocal sections of the song. It was the band's only video to be included on the physical single from the "Thinking It Over" era.[6]

Track listings

UK CD1[7]

  1. "Thinking It Over" (full length version) – 4:05
  2. "No Clouds" (first version) – 4:14
  3. "Greed" – 3:42
  4. "Thinking It Over" (video)

UK CD2[8]

  1. "Thinking It Over" (Pete Devereux & The Wideboys club vocal remix) – 5:14
  2. "Thinking It Over" (The Wideboys remix) – 5:31
  3. "Thinking It Over" (Almighty 7-inch mix) – 3:43
  4. "Thinking It Over" (Kinky Boy remix edit) – 5:14

UK cassette single[9]

  1. "Thinking It Over" (full length version) – 4:05
  2. "Thinking It Over" (Kinky Boy remix) – 6:42
  3. "Let's Get Working" – 4:15

Australian and New Zealand CD single[10]

  1. "Thinking It Over" – 4:05
  2. "No Clouds" (first version) – 4:14
  3. "Greed" – 3:42
  4. "Thinking It Over" (Pete Devereux & The Wideboys club vocal remix) – 5:14
  5. "Thinking It Over" (Kinky Boy remix edit) – 5:14
  6. "Thinking It Over" (video)

Charts

Year-end charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United Kingdom24 September 2001V2
Australia28 January 2002CD[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A brief history of the bands from Popstars and Popstars: The Rivals. 6 December 2019. inews.co.uk.
  2. Web site: LIBERTY X - THE VAULT CHAT. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/3G7EnVBVjTI. 21 December 2021. live. YouTube.
  3. Web site: Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads. Praxis Media. Radio1.gr. 16 March 2012.
  4. New Releases – For Week Starting September 24, 2001: Singles. Music Week. 35. 22 September 2001. 16 August 2021.
  5. Michelle Heaton: My Career in Music, The Vault
  6. Web site: Liberty X - Thinking It Over. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/XnVAHDoZO60. 21 December 2021. live. YouTube.
  7. Thinking It Over. Liberty. 2001. UK CD1 liner notes. V2 Records. VVR5017773.
  8. Thinking It Over. Liberty. 2001. UK CD2 liner notes. V2 Records. VVR5017778.
  9. Thinking It Over. Liberty. 2001. UK cassette single sleeve. V2 Records. VVR5017775.
  10. Thinking It Over. Liberty. 2001. Australian & New Zealand CD single liner notes. V2 Records. V2A0007.
  11. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 19. 42. 15. 13 October 2001. 10 September 2020.
  12. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2001. UKChartsPlus. 21 November 2018.
  13. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 28th January 2002. ARIA. 24. 28 January 2002. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20020220130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20020221-0000/www.aria.com.au/Issue622.pdf. 20 February 2002. 26 April 2021.