Moving on Up is the seventh overall single from British band M People, and the second single from their second album, Elegant Slumming. Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard and produced by M People, it was released on 13 September 1993. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and was the biggest selling M People single. The song also became a Top 40hit on the US BillboardHot 100, and number one on the Billboard dance chart.
Critical reception
editor Keith Farley described the song as a "nu-disco slant" in his review of Elegant Slumming. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that frontwoman Heather Small and the band "deftly blends state-of-the-charts club trends with a reverence for classic Motown and R&B sounds. After one spin, you'll be humming the chorus for a week, which is the mark of a true smash." In 2017, BuzzFeed listed the song at number 63 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". Anderson Jones from Entertainment Weekly called it a number "that has set disco balls spinning across Europe". Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented that "excitement about this uptempo winner is spreading fast and one listen should explain why." John Hamilton from Idolator noted the song as "a confident pop-soul kiss-off", adding that "its funky sax and Small’s pissed-off vocals combined to create nothing short of a club classic, one that provided ample opportunity for gay and straight clubbers alike to bust a move on dancefloors across the nation." Australian music channel Max placed "Moving On Up" at number 565 in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2011. Music & Media wrote that "the '90s will be type-cast as the age of retro, both in rock and in dance. These people restore Funky Town as the capital of good old disco. A floor filler annex airplay hit is born!" The Network Forty called it a "perfect uptempo fun springtime" song. Newcastle Journal said the single "was one of the best releases of the year." Reading Evening Post described it as "funky", while Mark-Leon Thorne from Woroni called it a "classic anthem".
Chart performance
"Moving on Up" proved to be M People's biggest hit worldwide, but just reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. The single was also a success in Australia, Finland, France, Ireland and New Zealand. It also topped the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart in the United States in 1994. It is also M People's only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 34.
Artwork
On United Kingdom and European versions of the single, the cover appeared with three quarters of the cover featuring a side profile of lead singer Heather Small, looking serious to hint that she's moving away. The bottom quarter of the single has a purple banner all the way across with the title written on it. On other versions of the single, the colour of this banner was red, yellow or blue.
Moving on Up was also a dance hit for Belgian singer Roselle in 1995. The chorus is interpolated in the song "Gloves" by Australian comedy group Thanks Pet, Next, a hidden track on their EP Frogstamp, which satirises invasive body searching. In that concext, the phrase "moving on up" becomes a double entendre.
