Situation (2:24)

“Situation” is the title of a 1982 single by the British synthpop band Yazoo. The song was originally released in the UK as the B-side to Yazoo’s debut single, “Only You”, which went to number two on the UK Singles Chart. Released as a single in its own right in the U.S., the song peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, it became Yazoo’s first song to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the late summer of 1982, and it remained at number one on this chart for four weeks, and even crossed over to the R&B chart, peaking at #31 there. The song features a memorable synthesizer hook by Vince Clarke (similar to the work he had done with his previous band, Depeche Mode) combined with the vocals by Alison Moyet (including her laughter, which has since been sampled in countless other songs including the international dance hit “Macarena”). The song has been featured on various 1980s compilation albums, as well as an appearance in a commercial for Classic NES Series.

Its most famous version is the American 12-inch remix by François Kevorkian. This version was included on the U.S. version of Yazoo’s album Upstairs at Eric’s, and is the version of the song which receives the most radio airplay in the United States (where the song, despite its modest showing on the Hot 100, is still played on alternative, variety-hits, and dance-oriented radio stations).

It was covered by welsh singer Tom Jones in 1994 on his album The Lead and How To Swing It.

The song was featured in the 2002 film The Rules of Attraction.