A Little Respect

"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by British synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a lover to show compassion and respect. The heavily synthesized instrumentation is accentuated by acoustic guitar and Bell's vocal falsetto in the chorus. It was their tenth single, from their third studio album, The Innocents (1988). Known as one of their signature songs, the single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Erasure's second consecutive top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it made number 14, and reached number two on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart.
There are several remixes of the song. It was originally mixed by Mark Saunders and Phil Legg on the 1988 UK singles, and Justin Strauss for the original US release. In 2006 was remixed by Jadded Alliance for the Future Retro remix compilation sampling some elements of the Justin Strauss' remixes from 1988. In 2009 new remixes appeared; one on the Pop! Remixed UK EP, and one more on the Phantom Bride EP celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Innocents by Wayne G and Alan Allder, the same year, on Erasure's official web site two more mixes appeared for download: one by Glenn Nichols and a dub mix of the Wayne G and Alan Allder mix.
An acoustic version of appears on the Moon & the Sky Plus EP in the UK. And another country acoustic version on the live album On the Road to Nashville.
Upon the release of the single, Caren Myers from Melody Maker wrote, "A groovy little monster, all in all." Another Melody Maker editor, Everett True, remarked that "it takes some kinda fool genius to create fast songs of the scope and emotional rush" of the "heart-stopping" "A Little Respect". Jack Barron from NME said, "In point of fact this is a classic Vince Clarke slice of melodramatic Euro-synth-disco. Hypnotic, splendidly sung, it's Abba with a sex change. Agnetha Faltskog without the beard." In a 2009 retrospective reviewe, Darren Lee from The Quietus declared it as "a song so giddily exuberant that even the tawdry spectre of Wheatus can't quite tarnish its lustre".
Metro Weekly ranked "A Little Respect" number-one in their list of "Erasure's 40 Greatest Tracks" in 2014. Chris Gerard wrote,
Treblezine included the song in their "A History of Synth-Pop in 50 Essential Tracks". They wrote,
Time Out ranked "A Little Respect" number 10 in their "The 50 Best Gay Songs to Celebrate Pride All Year Long" in 2022.
Rugby league club Hull Kingston Rovers adopted "A Little Respect" as the club's official song for the 2015 Challenge Cup Final, their first appearance in a Challenge Cup final match for over 30 years. Initially proving popular among fans, social media videos of Hull Kingston Rovers supporters singing the song following their semi-final victory against Warrington Wolves went viral, resulting in Andy Bell granting the club's players and staff permission to record a charity single in aid of two local children's charities and the Terrence Higgins Trust. Hull Kingston Rovers lost 50-0 to Leeds Rhinos in the final held at Wembley Stadium. Bell later performed the song before a match at the club's Craven Park stadium in 2016 and partnered again with the club and the Terrence Higgins Trust to release a charity kit featuring the song's lyrics.
In June 1992, Erasure released their Abba-esque extended play (EP), which contains cover versions of four ABBA songs. In response, an Australian ABBA parody group called Björn Again covered two Erasure songs—"A Little Respect" and "Stop!"—and included them on their Erasure-ish EP, which was issued as their debut single on 12 October 1992. The two-song EP peaked at number 18 in Ireland, number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and number 67 on the German Singles Chart.
American rock band Wheatus covered "A Little Respect" for their self-titled debut album. Released on 2 July 2001, it peaked at number three in the United Kingdom (besting the peak of Erasure's original) while reaching number five in Ireland and number 19 in Austria.
Ayhan Sahin of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the version is "surprisingly polished, paying serious homage to Brit synth popsters Andy Bell and Vince Clark [sic]". He goes on to say that the structure of the song stays "intact, as does that super-sticky chorus, with acoustic and electric guitars playing back and forth in place of the '80s electronic beats".
The music video was directed by the Malloys and was released in July 2001. It features Shawn Hatosy and Brittany Murphy.