Song · Scritti Politti
“Perfect Way” by Scritti Politti
From the album Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
“Perfect Way” by Scritti Politti appears on 12 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1985 and 2023. It was first released in 1985 on the album Cupid & Psyche 85. Its best result is #32 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #80 alternative song of 1985 and #2,733 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (Scritti Politti). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Perfect Way" came off Cupid & Psyche 85, the second and biggest Scritti Politti album, released in June 1985, and it's Green Gartside's sugar-spun, brainy pop wired straight into the machines. Gartside wrote it with David Gamson, and the two produced it with drummer Fred Maher: Gamson's synthesizers glint and stutter, Maher's drums snap, Nick Moroch and Allan Murphy add guitar, and Howard Gray recorded and mixed the whole gleaming thing.
Four earlier singles had already been lifted from the album in Britain by the time this one appeared, and it barely scraped the UK chart. America was another story: it became the band's only hit there, climbing to 11 on the Hot 100. Paula Greif and Peter Kagan directed the video, cutting black-and-white and color studio footage together with close-ups, effects and street scenes.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 32 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 415 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 450 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1992 | 434 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 402 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 326 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 246 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 210 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 2002 | 1187 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1413 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 443 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 571 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
Also listed as: The Perfect Way.
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