"Pure and Simple" is a song by British pop group Hear'Say, the winners of the UK version of Popstars. It was a cover of the original version recorded three years earlier by English-Dutch girl group Girl Thing, who were dropped from BMG before the song was given to Hear'Say. It was written by Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes and Betty Boo. The song was released on 12 March 2001 as the lead single from Hear'Say's debut studio albumPopstars. The B-side is a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water". "Pure and Simple" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after selling 550,000 copies in its first week, which, at the time, made it the fastest-selling debut single of all time in the United Kingdom. It spent a total of three weeks at the top and has sold over 1.08 million copies in the UK. As of 2012, it is the seventh biggest-selling debut single of the 21st century in that country. The song also topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for five weeks in July and August 2001 and reached number three in Ireland.
Background
The song was co-written by Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes and Betty Boo ; however, nearly 14 years after the song was released, Linzi Martin of the band Girl Thing made the assertion that she was responsible for the majority of the song's composition, having written the verses after Pete Kirtley had brought the chorus of the track to her as a gift. In the 2014 series of The Big Reunion, other members of the band including Michelle Barber recall the band being present and contributing to the song, but none received credit as co-writers. Girl Thing then found out, after the song was written, that their manager Chris Herbert had given the song to the newer band as their debut single, an act that was described by band member Nikki Stuart as "digging the knife in."
Critical reception
Many critics noted that the song had an uncanny resemblance to Oasis's "All Around the World" and All Saints' "Never Ever". BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles even recorded a parody version of "Pure and Simple" that included the song lyrics from these two songs. Despite this, when it was suggested that Oasis take legal action, Noel Gallagher simply laughed at the hypocrisy of such an act from a man who was famous for "borrowing" from other artists.
Commercial reception
On 18 March 2001, "Pure and Simple" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. It sold almost 550,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling debut single of all time in the UK, a record beaten a year later by Will Young, the winner of the first series of Pop Idol, with his debut single "Evergreen" / "Anything Is Possible". The song spent a total of three weeks at the top of the UK chart. "Pure and Simple" sold 1.07 million copies in 2001, making it that year's second best-selling single. It was beaten only by Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me", which sold 80,000 copies more. By the time Hear'Say split up in 2002, the song had been certified double Platinum for sales of over 1.2 million copies, making it one of the few singles to achieve that feat during the 2000s. It is also one of only 167 singles ever to sell 1 million copies in the UK, and has sold over 1.09 million as of November 2016. "Pure and Simple" is the seventh biggest-selling debut single of the 21st century in the UK, the second biggest seller by a mixed-gender group and the UK's 96th best-selling song of all time. The song was also a huge hit in New Zealand, where it was number one for five consecutive weeks.
