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"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)"
Single by the Adventures of Stevie V
from the album Adventures of Stevie V
Released	4 December 1989 (1989-12-04)
Genre	Hip house
Length	3:50
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Mick Walsh Stevie Vincent
Producer(s)	Stevie Vincent
The Adventures of Stevie V singles chronology
"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" (1989) "Body Language" (1990)
Music video
"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" on YouTube

"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" is a song by British dance music act the Adventures of Stevie V. It was first released in December 1989 on the Mercury record label, then again in 1990 both on 7-inch vinyl. The 1990 release peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number one in the Netherlands, and topped the US and Canadian dance charts. The song features vocals by Melody Washington, a music teacher from Georgia living in the United Kingdom and teaching for the US Air Force, who met Stevie V. while she was playing in a local club near his home. Mick Walsh and Stevie V composed the track.

In 1997, "Dirty Cash" was re-released as a remastered '97 remix, and in June 2014, the song was once again remixed, this time by Alan Fitzpatrick. Australian music channel Max included it in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2013.

Chart performance

"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" was successful on the charts of several continents. In Europe, it reached number-one in the Netherlands, and was a top-10 hit also in Belgium (3), Ireland (10) and the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single peaked at number two in its eighth week on the UK Singles Chart, on May 6, 1990. It was held off the top spot by Adamski's "Killer". "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" also was a top 20-hit in Austria (13), West Germany (20) and Switzerland (16). On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number seven on May 19. Outside Europe, it hit number-one on both the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and 12-inch Singles Sales chart in the United States and the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart, as well as reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Oceania, the single charted in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number 18 and 34, respectively.

Critical reception

David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter felt the song "has all the ingredients for a solid dance hit, with a style somewhat reminiscent of Soul II Soul." Bill Coleman from Billboard described it as a "seductive house track with an underground sensibility sports a tasty vocal hook and top of the chart potential." Another Billboard editor, Larry Flick called it "a scathing, house-fueled ode to capitalism". Ernest Hardy from Cashbox viewed it as "a biting-yet-melancholy melding of dance, rap, and R&B that contrasts a hard rap with caressing female vocals." He concluded, "It's one of the year's best singles, and one of the most misunderstood." Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report remarked that the British-based writer/producer had spent six weeks Top Ten in the UK with the track, "selling a quarter million copies in the process—no easy task in that market." He praised it as a "exceptional entry."

Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "This is top-rate hiphouse. There is a killer beat, a brilliant chorus, a funky sax, all bound together with a liberal dash of humour. Perhaps more importantly though, it all sounds refreshing and new." A reviewer from The Network Forty felt the track is "almost a mood piece", and said that it "has a soulful vocal approach backed by a Euro-dance production somewhat reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys." Retrospectively, Pop Rescue named it "a fantastic slice of 90s music." Miranda Sawyer from Smash Hits labeled it as "hip-house at its most brilliantly scuzzy. A bump and grind bass and Adamski-like fiddly bit drives this heavy rap and hookline scudding along. Top." Stewart Walker from Toledo Blade noted in his album review, that Stevie V. "blends aspects of both musical forms well to produce a polished sound that is best illustrated" on "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)".

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Cover versions

A remix of "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" was released in late 2009, mixed by Funk K called "Dirty Cash 2009". "Dirty Cash" was covered by Liberty X, and featured on their 2005 album, X.

"Dirtee Cash", a song recorded by the British grime artist Dizzee Rascal, based on "Dirty Cash", was released as the fourth single from Dizzee Rascal's fourth studio album, Tongue N' Cheek in 2009 and reached number 10 in the UK chart. At the 2010 BRIT Awards, Florence Welch, from Florence and The Machine was joined by Dizzee Rascal to perform a mash-up of her version of "You Got the Love" and his "Dirtee Cash". The mash-up, entitled ""You Got the Dirtee Love"", was released on 17 February 2010, one day after the BRITs performance.

A new version of the track produced by London-based producer PAWSA was released in November 2024 and reached number 44 in the UK singles chart.

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 1990 (U.S.)

References

1. "New Singles". Music Week. 2 December 1989. p. 45.
2. Song Facts: Dirty Cash by Adventures of Stevie V
3. iTunes: Dirty Cash (2014 Remixes Pt1)
4. Beatport: Dirty Cash - Alan Fitzpatrick Jaded Vocal Mix
5. "The Top 1,000 Greatest Songs of All Time – 2013". Max. 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 06 May 1990 - 12 May 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
7. Taylor-Wilson, David (9 August 1990). "The Heat of the Beat". Bay Area Reporter. p. 36. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
8. Coleman, Bill (23 June 1990). "Billboard: Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 71. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
9. Flick, Larry (17 July 1993). "Dance Trax: Stevie V.'s Further Adventures In The Music Biz" (PDF). Billboard. p. 20. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
10. Hardy, Ernest (27 October 1990). "Rhythm & Blues: Interview" (PDF). Cashbox. p. 24. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
11. Sholin, Dave (29 June 1990). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 1813. p. 52. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
12. "A Brief Spin Around The European Dance Floor" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 May 1990. p. S6. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
13. "Top 40: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. 6 July 1990. p. 22. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
14. "Review: "Adventures Of Stevie V" by Adventures Of Stevie V (CD, 1990)". Pop Rescue. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
15. Sawyer, Miranda (4 April 1990). "Down the Rave-up!". Smash Hits. p. 55. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
16. Walker, Stewart (13 January 1991). "RECORDINGS". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
17. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
18. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
19. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
20. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 1336." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 20. 19 May 1990. p. IV. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dirty Cash". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
23. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
24. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
25. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)". Top 40 Singles.
26. "Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)". Swiss Singles Chart.
27. "Adventures of Stevie V: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
28. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 29 September 1990. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
29. "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. 8 September 1990. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
30. "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 11 August 1990. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
31. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. 22 September 1990. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
33. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
34. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
35. "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 46/2024" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. 20 November 2024. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
36. "Jaaroverzichten 1990" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
37. "Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
38. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 36. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
39. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
40. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1990". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
41. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990". MegaCharts. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
42. "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 2 March 1991. p. 41.
43. "British single certifications – Adventures Of Stevie V – Dirty Cash". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
44. "Dirty Cash (Money Talks) - PAWSA/Adventures of Stevie V". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.

• 1989 songs
• 1989 debut singles
• 1990 singles
• 1997 singles
• British house music songs
• Hip house songs
• Number-one singles in the Netherlands
• Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
• Mercury Records singles