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"Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)"
Single by Sin With Sebastian
from the album Golden Boy
Released	1 May 1995
Recorded	1995
Genre	Eurodance
Length	3:47
Label	Sing Sing
Songwriter(s)	Sebastian Roth
Producer(s)	Inga Humpe Sebastian Roth
Sin With Sebastian singles chronology
"Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" (1995) "Golden Boy" (1995)
Music video
"Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" on YouTube
Alternative cover
CD maxi - Remixes

"Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" is a song by German Eurodance artist Sin With Sebastian, released in May 1995 by the Sing Sing label as the lead single from his debut album, Golden Boy (1995). The song features classic opera vocals by singer Donna Lynn Bowers aka Steve. Co-produced by Inga Humpe and Sebastian Roth (real name of SWS), who also wrote it, the song became a Europe-wide hit, reaching number-one in Austria, Finland, Lithuania and Spain. Outside Europe, it also reached number-one in Mexico. It was nominated to the 1996 Echo Awards for the best German dance single and the accompanying music video was directed by Matthias Schweger. The song was included on the soundtrack to the 1997 German film Silvester Countdown and featured in a commercial for Tulipan Condoms.

Chart performance

"Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" was very successful on the charts all over Europe, peaking at number-one in Austria (7 weeks), Finland, Lithuania and Spain, where it spent five weeks at the top position. In Belgium, the single was a number two hit for four weeks, and entered the top 10 also in Denmark (5), Germany (4), Italy (10), the Netherlands (3), Sweden (3), and Switzerland (6), as well as on the Music & Media Eurochart Hot 100 and MTV's European Top 20, where it reached numbers ten and three, respectively.

In Sin With Sebastian's native Germany, it spent 23 weeks within the German Singles Chart between June and November 1995. Additionally, "Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" was a top-50 hit in Scotland (49) and the UK. In the latter, it peaked at number 44 in its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on 10 September 1995. On the UK Dance Singles Chart, the song fared better, reaching number 36. Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one in Mexico, number two on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada and number 26 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Here is a novelty number for the Euro-pop twirler in all of us. The vocals are utter camp, lying somewhere between Marc Almond and Jimmy Somerville in style, and the groove is springy and fun." Matthew J. Palm from The Ithaca Journal complimented it as a "stellar example" of the synthesized Europop sound and said it is "almost hypnotic". Simon Price from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, noting that it "evokes distilled essence of Army of Lovers/'I'm Too Sexy'/Sexus/'Tainted Love'". He concluded, "Exploding, plastic, inevitable." In a separate review, Price praised it as "four minutes of butt-slapping, operatic, Hi-NRG Euro-genius, and an instant Number One in every region of the EU from the naughty north to the sexy south...with the bizarre irony that many millions of our continental comraded didn't even realise what the lyrics were prodding towards."

A reviewer from Music Week gave it four out of five, saying, "This year's red hot record in the European holiday resorts is a feast of sleazy camp. Once heard, never forgotten and, hence, a huge UK hit." James Hyman from the Record Mirror Dance Update commented, "Prize candidate for novelty pop record of the year. With the camp, male monotone title hook added to female operatic vocals of 'you are young, you are free; why don't you sleep with me?', this record's simplicity is further reinforced with a gentle tinkling piano." He also added that the George Morel remix "wisely keeps the vocals and whoops things up into a tamer version of Armand van Helden's 'Witch Doctor'." Another Record Mirror editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "ambivalent sexual proposition lisped through Somerville'ish whinnying".

Music video

The music video for "Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)" was directed by Austrian director Matthias Schweger. Simon Price from Melody Maker said, "You've seen the video. A skinny Romosexual, electric blue, no, shocking pink, no, custard blond hair smeared in the style of the Twenties around a face of bone china, gazing into the camera with kohled eyes and, in perfect TEFL-elocuted Euro-English, imploring you: SHUT UP...AND SLEEP WITH ME." There was also made a similar video for the remix by American DJ and record producer George Morel. It was later made available on YouTube in 2018, and had generated almost four million views as of early 2024.

Track listing

Charts

References

1. Discogs: "Shut Up (And Sleep With Me)" page
2. "Sin With Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep With Me)". Discogs. December 1995. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
3. "Echo Awards Nominations" (PDF). Music & Media. 3 February 1996. p. 5. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
4. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
5. ^ "Sin with Sebastian: Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
6. ^ "M-1 Top 40". M-1.fm. 27 August 1995. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2022. See LW column.
7. ^ Billboard: Hits of the World, 28 October 1995
8. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 November 201.
9. ^ Danish peak
10. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
11. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 4 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Sin With Sebastian".
12. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
13. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 21 November 201.
14. ^ "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 November 201.
15. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 34. 26 August 1995. p. 12. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
16. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 10 September 1995 - 16 September 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
18. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
19. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2915." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
20. ^ "AllMusic USA Peaks". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
21. Flick, Larry (16 December 1995). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
22. J. Palm, Matthew (31 July 1997). "This music's gonna make you sweat". p. 16. The Ithaca Journal.
23. Price, Simon (23 September 1995). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
24. ^ Price, Simon (3 February 1996). "Shut Up!". Melody Maker. p. 6. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
25. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 August 1995. p. 16. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
26. Hyman, James (19 August 1995). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 33. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
27. Hamilton, James (23 December 1995). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 15. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
28. "sin with sebastian - shut up ( remix ) ( viva tv )". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
29. "sin with sebastian - Shut up (and Sleep with Me)". YouTube. 15 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
30. "Sin with Sebastian – Shut Up (And Sleep with Me)" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
31. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 48. 2 December 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
32. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sin with Sebastian" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
34. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 14 January 1995. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
35. "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 20 May 1995. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
36. "JAHRESHITPARADE 1995" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
37. "jaaroverzichten 1995". ultratop.be. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
38. "Ultratop rapports annuels 1995". ultratop.be. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
39. "1995 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
40. "1995 in Review: European Dance Radio 1995" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 23. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
41. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
42. "I singoli più venduti del 1995" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
43. "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
44. "JAAROVERZICHTEN - Single 1995". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
45. "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
46. "SCHWEIZER JAHRESHITPARADE 1995". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 4 December 2019.

• 1995 debut singles
• 1995 songs
• Sin With Sebastian songs
• Number-one singles in Austria
• Number-one singles in Finland
• Number-one singles in Spain
• Music videos directed by Matthias Schweger