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I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)

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"I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" is the debut single of Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom, released in October 2005. The song was written by Thom and Tom Gilbert. Following a re-release in 2006, the song topped the singles charts of Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. However, critical reaction to the song was largely negative, especially regarding the lyrics.

"I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)"
Single by Sandi Thom
from the album Smile... It Confuses People
B-side
  • "Little Remedy"
  • "Something in the Air"
  • "No More Heroes"
  • "A Light as Bright as Ours"
  • "May You Never"
Released3 October 2005 (2005-10-03)
Length2:30
LabelViking Legacy,[1] Sony BMG, RCA
Songwriter(s)Tom Gilbert, Sandi Thom
Producer(s)Ian Brown, Stephen Darrell Smith
Sandi Thom singles chronology
"I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)"
(2005) 		"What If I'm Right"
(2006)
Re-issued cover art
Cover art for 2006 release

Inspiration

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Thom has said on her website that she wrote the song after being robbed of her mobile phone and other belongings one evening, leaving her completely lost and without any way of contacting her family, friends, or the bank. She says, "I wondered if that had happened to me back in the days of the hippies what would I have done and would I have freaked out so much?" [sic][2]

Release

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Although only physically released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2006, download sales the week before are counted for the purpose of charts, and it achieved number fifteen on this basis in the general charts (and number seven in the download-only chart). The physical release had three formats: two CD versions (one featuring the radio mix and "A Light as Bright as Ours", another featuring the radio mix, the album mix, a further remix, "May You Never" and the music video), and also as a 7-inch vinyl record backed with Stranglers cover "No More Heroes".

Critical reception

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In the 2006 Record of the Year online poll, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" finished eighth out of 10 nominees.[3]

Most reviews of the song were negative. For allmusic, Thom Jurek called the song "a hopelessly naïve, cleverly worded musical ditty that is reminiscent of something used to sell European automobiles."[4] Criticising the intense public relations efforts to make the single popular, Charlie Brooker of The Guardian called the song "a boneheaded plea for authenticity, sung in the most Tupperware tones imaginable: a fake paean to a pre-fake era."[5] Brooker also added: "It's not 'art', it's 'content'."[5] Virgin Media was even more harsh, describing the song as "dreary rose-tinted drivel sung by a girl with a voice like wind billowing up an old drainpipe."[6]

Thom was criticized by recording artists including Lily Allen, the Fratellis, and the Automatic.[7] James Frost and Robin Hawkins from the Automatic stated that "If she was a punk rocker with flowers in her hair she'd get the shit kicked out of her by other punk rockers, for having flowers in her hair."[8]

In 2017, NME named the song among the worst of the 2000s: "...had this song not existed within a viral fad, literally nobody would care." NME also responded to the song title: "...Johnny Rotten wouldn’t be seen dead with flowers in his hair."[9]

For Yahoo! Music, Dan Gennoe had a more positive review of the song, calling it "a cunningly perfect piece of pop."[10] Similarly, RTÉ music critic Linda McGee defended Thom against popular backlash: "...truth be known, there aren't many of us who haven't wished that we could be transported to another time or place at some point in our lives."[11] Andy Gill of The Independent said the song was "original enough to merit its success, but hardly enough to carry an entire album".[12]

Chart performance

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The song was released on 3 October 2005 by Viking Legacy Records, reaching number 55 in the UK Singles Chart.[1][13] It was re-released in May 2006 on Sony BMG's RCA Records label, selling 39,797 copies in the week ending 3 June 2006, enough to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, replacing Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" following a nine-week run.[14] It spent one week at the top spot and went on to be the UK's fifth-best-selling single of the year.[15] The single also spent 10 weeks at number one in Australia, where it finished the year as the country's highest-selling single.[16][17] It received a double platinum certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association.[18]

Music video

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The music video was shot in Bethnal Green in London and is all one shot.

Track listings

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[18] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Sweden (GLF)[43] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Gold 400,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sandi Thom: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. ^ "ST Track Inspiration : Punk Rocker". sandithom.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Results". Record of the Year. 2006. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Smile... It Confuses People". allmusic. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b Brooker, Charlie (9 June 2006). "Supposing ... Sandi Thom is the musical antichrist". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Sandi Thom - Smile... It Confuses People review". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  7. ^ Cummings, Tony (2 January 2009). "Sandi Thom: No longer a punk rocker with flowers in her hair". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Monster Stink". BBC. 27 June 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
  9. ^ Milton, Jamie (17 October 2017). "The 20 worst songs of the '00s". NME. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  10. ^ Gennoe, Dan (17 June 2006). "Sandi Thom - 'Smile…It Confuses People'". Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  11. ^ McGee, Linda (10 July 2006). "Sandi Thom - Smile... It Confuses People". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008.
  12. ^ Gill, Andy (9 June 2006). "Album: Sandi Thom". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 July 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  13. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 1 October 2005. p. 33.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 4 June 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  15. ^ a b "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ^ a b "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2006". ARIA. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  18. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  19. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (UK CD1 liner notes). Sandi Thom. Viking Legacy. 2005. VIKINGS03.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (UK CD2 liner notes). Sandi Thom. Viking Legacy. 2005. VIKINGS04.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Sandi Thom. RCA Records, Sony BMG, Viking Legacy. 2006. 82876843427.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (UK CD1 liner notes). Sandi Thom. RCA Records, Sony BMG, Viking Legacy. 2006. 82876849532.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (UK CD2 & Australian CD single liner notes). Sandi Thom. RCA Records, Sony BMG, Viking Legacy. 2006. 82876843422.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (European CD single liner notes). Sandi Thom. RCA Records, Sony BMG, Viking Legacy. 2006. 88697061592.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  26. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" (in French). Ultratip.
  27. ^ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 24. 17 June 2006. p. 81. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" (in French). Les classement single.
  29. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  30. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  31. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  32. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". Top 40 Singles.
  33. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  34. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". Singles Top 100.
  35. ^ "Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". Swiss Singles Chart.
  36. ^ "European Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2006" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  38. ^ "Best of Singles 2006". IRMA. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  39. ^ "End of Year Charts 2006". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2007" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  42. ^ "2009 ARIA End of Decade Singles Chart". ARIA. January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  43. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2006" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
  44. ^ "British single certifications – Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
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