The Only One I Know

Wikipedia lists those five writers, though other sources list the credits differently. Burgess told Wikipedia's source that it is about teenage feelings: I like somebody, why do they not like me? He was 21 or 22 but still had those powerful emotions. On structure he said he is still not sure which bit is the chorus, and the intro gives people time to reach the dance floor. Blunt's bass breakdown after the second verse came from funk and Stax-style southern soul, and Baker's guitar resembles the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". Some lines come from the Byrds' "Everybody's Been Burned" and the melody uses an organ riff from Deep Purple's version of "Hush". The band had planned "Polar Bear"; a friend of Burgess and the label suggested this one.

A demo was recorded in January 1990 on a farm in Shropshire; Burgess posted it on May 13, 2020 with the note that lyrics were not finished, with him on tambourine, and they pulled up the carpets to make Jon's drums sound more garage. The single was recorded in March 1990, at the Windings in Wrexham per the song article or at Strawberry in Stockport per the album article, and mixed by Nagle. It came out on May 14, 1990 on 12-inch and CD and May 21 on 7-inch, with B-sides "Everything Changed", "Imperial 109" and "You Can Talk to Me". It entered the UK chart on June 2, reached 9 (11 weeks), topped the UK independent chart, and reached 5 on US Modern Rock, their best US showing; it is Gold. Kim Peters directed the video, her debut, in a warehouse in Sandbach, where police arrived after reports of an illegal rave and some officers appear in the final video.

Mark Ronson recorded it with Robbie Williams on Version (June 14, 2007, 3:59, as a horn-driven funk arrangement), and Burgess and Mark Collins played it at the BBC Electric Proms with Ronson on October 24, 2007. Setlist.fm counts 502 plays, tied with "Sproston Green" as their most played. KEXP recorded it on February 14, 2023. Our upload is probably the studio album version.