In 1999, Steve Harley re-recorded “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” for the British biographical film Best, which was directed by Mary McGuckian and is based on the career of the Northern Irish footballer George Best (portrayed by John Lynch).
Background
It was announced in the March 1999 issue of Stay Your Way, the magazine of the official Steve Harley Fan Club, that Harley and ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan had been approached by the film’s producers to re-record a few Cockney Rebel songs for the film, potentially with drummer Stuart Elliott’s involvement, too. Although these early plans did not come to fruition in their original form, Harley went on to re-record “Make Me Smile” with his current touring line-up of Cockney Rebel and the London Community Gospel Choir. Harley and the band recorded the lead vocals and backing track at a studio in Guildford area over two days in June 1999.
Best was filmed in 1999 and released in 2000, with “Make Me Smile” played over the end credits. In a 2000 interview with VH-1, Harley said , “The [film’s producers] wanted a different [version]. They knew my voice had changed and I said I wanted to put a gospel choir on it, so we’ve done a new one.” He added to the Southern Daily Echo: “It’s very similar to the original, I’m sad to say. I would have liked very much to have gone for broke and got something new out of it. But they had already filmed the end sequence, which the song ties in with, and they needed something with the same tempo.”
In 2001, Harley released a new single, “A Friend for Life”. It was originally intended to release a limited edition (5,000 copies) version of the single, with the 1999 re-recording of “Make Me Smile” as a bonus track, but this did not come to fruition.
Harley later revisited the 1999 recording to create a new ‘remix’ to celebrate the song’s 30th anniversary in 2005. With a new lead vocal track, the ’30th Anniversary Re-mix’ was released as a single on 20 June 2005 by Gott Discs. It reached number 55 in the UK Singles Chart and number 7 in the UK Independent Singles Chart. Harley stated, “It’s a bit quicker [than the original] and has a real edge to it”.
Personnel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
- Steve Harley – vocals, guitar
- Robbie Gladwell – guitar
- Barry Wickens – guitar
- James Lascelles – keyboards
- Lincoln Anderson – bass
- Andy Houghton – drums
Additional musicians
- London Community Gospel Choir – backing vocals
Production
- Steve Harley – producer
