She / Never You

"She / Never You"
Single by Phoenix Rising
from the album Eye Of The Beholder
Released	March 23rd, 2009; April 14th, 2009
Format	CD
Recorded	2008
Genre	Pop/Rock
Length	3:40 (She); 4:00 (Never You)
Label	Saturdays
Writer(s)	J. Moss; T. Strait
Producer	Guy Sigsworth
Certification	None
Phoenix Rising singles chronology

"She / Never You" is a double A-side single by electro-rock band Phoenix Rising, the third UK single taken from their debut album "Eye Of The Beholder". Further blows to the band's image cost the single dearly, and while it managed to reach the top 10 it is widely regarded as the band's greatest failure due to being their worst-selling single with their shortest chart run. In the US, "She" was released as the second single, passing over the UK-only hit "Stupid".

Background[edit | edit source]

Both "She" and "Never You" were written in 2008 and recorded for Phoenix Rising's debut album. Tobias wrote "She" independently, and worked on "Never You" with James, the start of their relationship as brother-figures to each other. Both songs were produced by Guy Sigsworth, who provided an electronic edge to their pop-rock sound, the first hints at what Phoenix Rising's sound would later develop into. While "Never You" was a more traditional-sounding pop-rock power ballad, "She" used elements of breakbeats. "She" was announced as the third UK single prior to the album's release, and was premiered on Christmas Day, 2008. It was the second single in America due to the US being a relatively slow marketplace compared to the UK, and "Rewritten" was still active while the band were promoting "Stupid" in the UK. After multiple push-backs, the band changed plans and turned the single into a double A-side, figuring that enough time had taken place between the second and third singles that they could have release a fourth single by then. A massive blow-out between Alexei Monaghan and Yannik McQueen cast the band in a very poor light, and the controversy greatly damaged the band's reputation in the UK, enough so to have an adverse affect on the single's performance and chart life.

Reception[edit | edit source]

"She" was initially met with decent response, as was "Never You", but with the band's reputation under threat reception was not overwhelmingly public across the industry. The kick-start of a major feud between Alexei and Yannik cast the band in a negative light, as the industry view was of a newcomer taking on a giant. The controversy and subsequent smear campaign, as well as other personal dramas of the band, threatened the band's support slot as guests on Romo's "Belle's Ball" tour and the backlash hit the band hard. They were lucky to scrape another UK top 10, but the drama affected radio support, and single sales took a massive nosedive. The band have not disowned the single but it is viewed as their greatest shame.

Tracklisting[edit | edit source]

Promo CD

"She" (Radio Edit)
"Never You" (Radio Edit)

CD1 (She)

"She" (Radio Edit)
"What Goes Up"
"She" (EC's He Said No But She Said Yes Remix)
"She" (Alesha's Androgynous Girls Remix)
"She" (Dirrrrty Pros and Cons Remix)

CD2 (Never You)

"Never You"
"Bar-Ba-Sol"
"Never You" (UpTempo Radio Edit)
"Never You" (Sophie's Lick My Kaslapis Remix)
"Never You" (EC's Heavy Rotation In Midnight Station Club Dub)

Music Videos[edit | edit source]

She[edit | edit source]

The video does not follow any storyline (that was saved for the 'Never You' video). There is an abstract feel to the video given it's seemingly random and unconnected images. It features each member of Phoenix Rising in a separate room isolated from each other. Each room is a set built in the abandoned warehouse where the video was shot. Each man has been forced by a tall blonde stiletto-wearing overseer to work a repetitive and menial task. She wears a tight shirt and a short skirt, but it is clear that she is the mistress of the place and Phoenix Rising are just her workers. She hovers on a walkway overlooking the rooms where she can check in on any Phoenix Rising member at any time.

Primarily the focus is on Tobias' room where he is forced to sort through an ever-growing pile of various clothing items and divide them onto two conveyer belts leading out of the room, with one carrying white clothes and the other carrying black. To his left in the adjacent room, Victor is being forced to copy out the same page of text over and over via typewriter. He has electrodes connected to his body that electrocute him every time he makes a mistake, with the sheet of paper vanishing and Victor having to start all over again. On Tobias' other side, Ben is seen smashing mirrors with a hammer as they pass along another conveyer belt and it is painfully clear that he would rather not be doing this, instead wanting to look at himself in the mirrors.

Alexei is in what appears to be a cafeteria kitchen, where he is constantly dishing out bowls of some sloppy paste-like substance to an unending stream of unseen individuals. Alexei doesn't appear to enjoy the smell or the texture of the "food" before him. In the final room, a shirtless and dirty James is scrubbing a dark grimy substance off the floor and walls.

In the second half of the video, distractions present themselves to each of the band members in the form of very attractive model-like women (or in James' case a man; he specifically requested this during the shoot) who attempt to seduce them away from their tasks. The 'She' of the video watches on in satisfaction as the band members struggle with the temptations she's provided each of them with. As the video ends, they are all seen losing to their temptations and we see the mistress walk off down the catwalk with a cruel smile, knowing that now they'll all have to be punished.

Never You[edit | edit source]

The video opens on the lead characters, a male-female couple who aren't really. For ID purposes, we'll call the guy Nathan and the girl Simone. During the beginning of the song, we see how Simone loves Nathan but he doesn't return her affections, visibly angry and confrontational when her feelings make themselves known. During the first verse, we flash back to the pair sitting together at a diner, appearing to be just friends. The camera shifts back and forth between James singing the song and the couple as they talk, joke, laugh and eat. Victor walks past the diner outside, looking briefly at them as he passes. During the chorus and second verse, we cut to another flashback of the leads at a park sitting on a park bench. Nathan is holding a cup of coffee, and he stands up to leave when a shirtless jogging Ben runs into him, causing him to spill the hot liquid over himself. Nathan watches in mild disgust as Ben runs off, when Alexei shows up on the scene. From Alexei's interactions with Nathan, it appears they are friends as well. Simone is still there and during the second chorus we see from the interactions how Alexei seems to have feelings for Simone, but she still has her eye on her friend.

Toward the end of the song, we cut back to the present and the leads with their fight. Nathan storms off and catches a cab, where Tobias is the driver. Alexei runs into Simone and comforts her in her emotional state, and finding out that his friend is behind her distress, he goes after Nathan. Alexei confronts Nathan in a hallway, and they have a quick but intense verbal fight. Neither of them apparently wins, so Alexei goes back to Simone, and the video ends with the two of them kissing each other in the rain. Intercut throughout the video are shots of the band in a white open-windowed room.

Chart Performance[edit | edit source]

After the major storm of controversy expectations for the single's performance were minimal. However, the band was lucky that their support base was forgiving enough to allow them a third top-ten hit, but the single free-fell down the charts, spending only four weeks on and bearing the unfortunate distinction of being the band's only song to miss 100k in sales, their worst performing UK single. Airplay was low for both songs, although "She" did peak in the top 20 on the airplay charts - a major fall from their previous radio successes. In the US, "She" had a slow start due to its difference in sound to "Rewritten", but was able to become a US hit in its own time.