Read All About It

Story of Song

Stephen Manderson didn’t intend for ‘Read All About It’ to be a chart topper. When interviewed by MTV UK, he said, “It’s weird. I didn’t make the song with hope of it charting or sitting comfortably in that realm. It just sparked something in me; I guess with the subject matter it’s not really a chart friendly track. It’s not what people would normally talk about on a pop song. But ultimately it kind of does fit. It’s got quite a lot of commercial appeal despite the subject matter. The song is entirely autobiographical. It’s all about situations that I’ve been through and continue to go through. The meaning for me, is just being entirely upfront and honest.” He further explained in an interview with Q Magazine, “Writing for me is therapeutic. Performing it is not so easy, nor was shooting the video. But I don’t think you should be entirely comfortable with what you’re doing all the time. As personal as it is, the connection it’s had with people is amazing. A lot of people relate to that feeling of abandonment, whether it’s a dad or a mum that’s left. There’s been lots of people on Twitter saying it made them reach out to their father who they hadn’t spoken to for years. I never expected to write a song that changed someone’s life.”

Release date

Released October 21, 2011

Songwriter/s

Stephen Manderson – Tom Barnes – Ben Kohn – Peter Kelleher – Iain James – Adele Sande

Label

Virgin

Chart Rankings

UK – 1

SCOTLAND  – 1

GERMANY – 80

In the UK, the song topped the Official Charts Company and the R&B charts. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it Platinum for sales over 600.000 copies. ‘Read All About It’ topped the charts in Scotland, and reached the top 10 charts in Belgium, Bulgaria and Ireland. In Australia, it peaked at number 34 and was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It was certified Gold in Italy.

Artist’s age on release date

Stephen Paul Manderson, aka Professor Green, was 28 years old, and Adele Emeli Sande was 23 years old when this song was released.

Cover Versions

Talia Digiulio – Dilaria & Ria (acoustic) – Very few amateur artists covered this song on Youtube.

Video