Turn Around — Phats & Small
Two Brighton DJs, two sampled soul and disco records and a debut single that went to No. 2 in the UK in 1999, while earning its makers about £5,000.
- Debut single by Brighton duo Phats & Small: Jason “Phats” Hayward and Russell Small.
- Built on vocals sampled from Toney Lee’s “Reach Up” and Change’s “The Glow of Love”.
- Released on Multiply on 22 March 1999; No. 2 in the UK and certified platinum.
“Turn Around” was Phats & Small’s first single and their biggest. Released in March 1999, it set two sampled vocals over a house groove and went to No. 2 in the UK.
Two DJs from Brighton
Jason “Phats” Hayward and Russell Small formed Phats & Small in Brighton in 1998. “Turn Around” was their debut, released on 22 March 1999 by Multiply Records. It was the lead single from their album Now Phats What I Small Music, whose title parodies the Now That’s What I Call Music! compilations.
Toney Lee and Change
The vocal comes from two records: Toney Lee’s “Reach Up”, mostly its first verse, and Change’s “The Glow of Love”. Hayward and Small produced the track around them. In the video Ben Ofoedu mimes the vocal; the voice on the record is Lee’s. Ofoedu then became the duo’s singer and sang on the follow-ups “Feel Good” (UK No. 7) and “Tonite” (UK No. 11).
The chart run
The single entered the UK chart at No. 3 and climbed to No. 2. It went to No. 1 on the UK Dance chart, No. 2 in Belgium (Flanders), No. 7 in Ireland and the Netherlands, No. 9 in France and No. 10 in Canada. It finished 1999 at No. 24 on the UK year-end chart and topped Music Week’s year-end club chart. It went platinum in the UK and gold in France and Belgium. Even so, the duo earned only about £5,000 from its sales because of the terms of their recording contract.
In the mix
In 2016 a new version came out with fresh vocals from Ofoedu, but the 1999 original remains the reference: a sampled vocal over a straight four-to-the-floor groove. It fits next to “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust, “Horny” by Mousse T. and “I Feel for You” by Bob Sinclar.
FAQ
What does Turn Around by Phats & Small sample?
Vocals from Toney Lee’s “Reach Up”, mainly its first verse, and from Change’s “The Glow of Love”.
Who sings on Turn Around?
The voice on the record is Toney Lee’s, from the sample. Ben Ofoedu mimes to it in the video, and he sang new vocals for a 2016 version.
How high did Turn Around chart?
It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 3 and climbed to No. 2 in 1999, and reached No. 1 on the UK Dance chart.
