Missing

Story of Song

Tracey Thorn told Rolling Stone that Missing was originally intended as a dance-oriented track. She said: “It was written with that idea in mind, totally, we put on sort of a laid back house groove instead. Then when we gave it to Todd, he took it in a really, really strong New York house direction, which had a real simplicity to it, but it was very infectious.” It became the signature song of the British duo Everything But The Girl. Missing was initially a minor hit on the pop charts and a bigger one on the Adult Contemporary charts. But in 1995, Todd Terry remixed it for nightclubs and made it a worldwide hit, where it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ben Watt said in an interview that he has never been bothered by the fact that the group’s most successful song was a remix rather than the original tune. He said: “Todd’s mix was a serendipitous moment. When he delivered the mix, no one thought, wow, a hit record. It was seen as a useful club mix. The people decided it should be a hit. They danced to it. Requested it”. Although Everything But the Girl was popular in England, they didn’t chart in the US until the Todd Terry remix in 1995 turned their album from dance music into truly popular music.

Release date

Released on August 8, 1994 and re-released on October 16, 1995 (Todd Terry remix)

Songwriter/s

Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn

Label

Blanco Y Negro (UK), Atlantic (US)

Chart Rankings

US – 1

UK – 3

GERMANY  – 1

Although the song did not achieve much success at its first release in 1994, in 1995 the song was remixed by Todd Terry and re-released, resulting in a worldwide hit, peaking near the top of the charts in many countries. It was the first ever single to spend an uninterrupted year on the US Hot 100. Missing” spent four weeks at number 1, and was ranked as the number 1 song of the year for 1996. The original album version of Missing also received airplay on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations in the United States.

Artist’s age on release date

Tracey Thorn and spouse Ben Watt were both 33 years of age when Missing was released, while they had been playing as a duo for 13 years.

Cover Versions

There was a club remix by Todd Terry one year after its release resulting in a worldwide hit, peaking near the top of the charts in many countries and played in clubs around the world.