"Dirty Cash " is a song by Britishdance act The Adventures of Stevie V. It was first released in 1989 on Mercury Record Label, then again in 1990 both on 7" vinyl, where it went to number one on the US dance chart. It is sung by Melody Washington, a music teacher from Georgia living in England and teaching for the U.S. Air Force, who met Stevie while she was playing in a local club near his home. Mick Walsh composed the track while Stevie Vincent produced it. In 1997, "Dirty Cash" was re-released as a remastered '97 remix, and in June 2014, the song was once again remixed, this time by Alan Fitzpatrick. In 2013, Australian music channelMax placed the song at number 487 in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Critical reception
David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter said the song "has all the ingredients for a solid dance hit, with a style somewhat reminiscent of Soul II Soul." Bill Coleman from Billboard described it as a "seductive house track with an underground sensibility sports a tasty vocal hook and top of the chart potential." Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote that British-based writer/producer Stevie Vincent "spent six weeks Top Ten in the U.K. with this track, selling a quarter million copies in the process—no easy task in that market." He noted it as a "exceptional entry." The Network Forty called the track "almost a mood piece" and said that "Dirty Cash" "has a soulful vocal approach backed by a Euro-dance production somewhat reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys." Pop Rescue said that it is "a fantastic slice of 90s music." Miranda Sawyer from Smash Hits labeled the song as "hip-house at its most brilliantly scuzzy. A bump and grind bass and Adamski-like fiddly bit drives this heavy rap and hookline scudding along. Top." Stewart Walker from Toledo Blade said in his review of the Adventures Of Stevie V album, that Stevie V. "blends aspects of both musical forms well to produce a polished sound that is best illustrated" on "Dirty Cash "."
Cover versions
A remix of "Dirty Cash " was released in late 2009, mixed by Funk K called "Dirty Cash 2009". "Dirty Cash" was covered by Liberty X, and featured on their 2005 album, X. "Dirtee Cash", a song recorded by the British grime artist Dizzee Rascal, based on "Dirty Cash", was released as the fourth single from Dizzee Rascal's fourth studio album, Tongue N' Cheek in 2009 and reached #10 in the UK chart. At the 2010 BRIT Awards, Florence Welch, from Florence and The Machine was joined by Dizzee Rascal to perform a mash-up of her version of "You've Got The Love" and his "Dirtee Cash". The mash-up, entitled "You Got the Dirtee Love", was released on 17 February 2010, one day after the BRIT's performance.
