The One and Only (song)

This article is about the Chesney Hawkes song. For other songs, see The One and Only#Songs.

"The One and Only" is the debut single of British singer and actor Chesney Hawkes. Written by Nik Kershaw, the single was released by Chrysalis Records in February 1991. Produced by Kershaw and Alan Shacklock, and recorded and mixed by Gareth Cousins, the song was featured in the 1991 film Buddy's Song which starred Hawkes as the eponymous Buddy and Roger Daltrey as his father. The film performed moderately well at the UK box office, but the song was a hit in that country's music charts, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in March and April 1991. Kershaw's influence can also be heard throughout the track not only in guitar style, but in the backing vocals on the intro and choruses, with Hawkes singing the verses.

"The One and Only"
Single by Chesney Hawkes
from the album Buddy's Song
B-side	"It's Gonna Be Tough" "Say Mama"
Released	February 1991 (1991-02)^[1]
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:42
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)	Alan Shacklock Nik Kershaw
Chesney Hawkes singles chronology
"The One and Only" (1991) "I'm a Man Not a Boy" (1991)
Music videos
"The One and Only" on YouTube
"The One and Only" (International Version) on YouTube
"The One and Only" (Doc Hollywood Version) on YouTube

In the United States, "The One and Only" was featured in the 1991 film Doc Hollywood.^[2] The single proved to be Hawkes' only hit in the US, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in November 1991.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "Sugar-coated pop rocker by U.K. male vocalist, who was discovered by Roger Daltrey, is beginning to duplicate previous European chart success. Anthemic lyrics and a heartfelt performance should help push this over the top with top 40 punters."^[3] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Written by Nick Kershaw in his own, unmistakeable style. Pretty soon this young man will be a familiar face, competing directly with the likes of Rick Astley."^[4]

Music videos

Three music videos for the single were produced. The first video is a direct tie-in to Buddy's Song. A girl (played by Saffron) and her friend (played by Lucy Alexander) go to a cinema to watch the film, where Buddy Clark (Hawkes) jumps out of the screen and beckons the girl to follow him. They go into a storage room, but Buddy is then pulled back into the screen; he escapes again, only to have his father Terry (Roger Daltrey) come out of the screen and chase after them. Finally, at the end of the video, Buddy reaches out of the screen to the girl, who takes his hands and goes into the screen with him. They kiss whilst being watched by the girl's shocked friend.

The second video is a live concert performance of the song intercut with black-and-white footage of Hawkes' interaction with his fans. This version was released in international markets where Buddy's Song was not released. The third video is an alternate edit of the second version featuring scenes from Doc Hollywood. All three videos are included in the DVD of the 2022 box set The Complete Picture: The Albums 1991–2012.^[5]

Track listing

UK CD single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The One and Only"	Nik Kershaw	3:42
2.	"It's Gonna Be Tough" (Film Version)	Nigel Hinton John Wesley Harding	2:29
3.	"Say Mama"	Johnny Meeks Johnny Earl	2:09
4.	"It's Gonna Be Tough"	Hinton Harding	2:50
Total length:			11:10

U.S. cassette single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The One and Only"	Kershaw	3:42
2.	"The One and Only" (U.S. Remix)	Kershaw	3:42
3.	"It's Gonna Be Tough"	Hinton Harding	2:27

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1991–1992) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[6] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[7] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[8] 61 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[9] 37 Denmark (IFPI)^[10] 6 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[11] 5 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[12] 2 Germany (Official German Charts)^[13] 8 Ireland (IRMA)^[14] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[15] 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[16] 9 Norway (VG-lista)^[17] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[18] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19] 4 UK Singles (OCC)^[20] 1 US Billboard Hot 100^[21] 10 Chart (2016) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)^[22] 75

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[23] 20 Belgium (Ultratop)^[24] 29 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[25] 19 Germany (Official German Charts)^[26] 34 UK Singles (OCC)^[27] 7 US Billboard Hot 100^[28] 93

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Sweden (GLF)^[29]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)^[30]	Silver	200,000^‡
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

2022 Nik Kershaw remix

"The One and Only (2022 Nik Kershaw remix)"
Single by Chesney Hawkes
Released	4 March 2022
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:25
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)	Nik Kershaw Alan Shacklock
Music video
"The One and Only (Nik Kershaw 2022 Remix)" on YouTube

"The One and Only" was remixed by writer Nik Kershaw, performed by Hawkes and released by Chrysalis Records solely on downloads on 4 March 2022 as a non-album single.^[31][32] It is also included as a bonus track on the Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music releases of the compilation The Complete Picture: The Albums 1991–2012.^[33][34][35]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The One and Only" (2022 Nik Kershaw Remix)	Nik Kershaw	4:25

Use in other media

• A cover of the song by Ellen and the Escapades was featured in the 2014 film L.A. Slasher.^[36]
• Director Duncan Jones featured the song in some of his films. In Moon it is used as the wake-up alarm for the main character (ironically, as he soon discovers he is a clone). In the 2011 film Source Code, the song appears as the cellphone ringtone of the character of Christina. It is heard as background music for a game being played in Jones' 2018 film Mute. A deleted scene in Warcraft would have featured Hawkes himself as a bard playing it on a lute.^[37]
• In 2014, Hawkes performed the song with a flashmob dance group in the streets of Manchester to promote MyMate Loans.^[38] In addition, he recorded a version of the song with different lyrics for a MyMate commercial.^[39]
• On many Counter-strike multiplayer servers the lyric "I am the one and only..." plays when a player's teammates have all been killed leaving him as the only remaining player from his team.
• Polish musician Jacek Stachursky covered the song with altered lyrics on his 2000 album 1 under the title Typ Niepokorny (pol. A Defiant Type).
• Austrian metal band Dragony covered the song for their 2017 album Lords of the Hunt
• In the UK version of Gladiators,the song was played as the intro music of the Gladiator Saracen.^[40]
• It appears briefly in the fourth episode of the second season of Derry Girls.
• Chesney sang the song at halftime at the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage match between Wales and England.

See also

• List of European number-one airplay songs of the 1990s

References

1. Guinness British Hit Singles (11th ed.). Guinness Publishing Ltd. 1997. p. 162. ISBN 0-85112-027-X.
2. "10 Things you Didn't Know About Doc Hollywood". 80s Kids. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
3. Flick, Larry (27 July 1991). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 67. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
4. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 9 February 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
5. "The Complete Picture". Chesney Hawkes Official Website. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
6. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1642." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
9. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1625." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
10. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 25. 22 June 1991. p. 38. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 19. 11 May 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 280. ISBN 9789511210535.
13. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The One and Only". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 24, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
16. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". VG-lista.
18. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". Singles Top 100.
19. "Chesney Hawnes – The One and Only". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
21. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. November 2, 1991. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
22. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
23. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1991" (in German). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
24. "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
25. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
26. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
27. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
28. . Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
29. (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
30. "British single certifications – Chesney Hawkes – The One and Only". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
31. "Mates Don't Come Any Better". Nik Kershaw Official Website. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
32. "Chesney Hawkes releases 2022 Nik Kershaw mix of "The One and Only"". Retro Pop magazine. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
33. "The Complete Picture: The Albums 1991–2012". Spotify. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
34. "The Complete Picture: The Albums 1991–2012". Apple Music. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
35. "The Complete Picture: The Albums 1991–2012". Amazon Music. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
36. ellenandtheescapades (2 September 2014). "The One and Only (LA Slasher)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19 – via YouTube.
37. "Warcraft Deleted Scene Features a Chesney Hawkes Lute Solo". SciFiNow. 30 September 2016. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
38. MyMate (6 March 2014). Chesney Hawkes flashmob in Manchester. YouTube. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
39. "MyMate: The One You Wanted". ABF Pictures. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
40. "Saracen". Gladiatorstv.com. Retrieved 25 May 2023.

External links

• "The One and Only" at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• "The One and Only" at Discogs (list of releases)