"Son of a Gun" is the debut single of British dance music DJ Jake Williams, released under the name JX. It was released in March 1994, reaching number six in the United Kingdom and Australia and number 35 in the Netherlands. The song contains samples from the 1976 song "Touch and Go" by Ecstasy, Passion & Pain featuring Barbara Roy. Two different music videos were made to promote the single. The Top Ten chart success of "Son Of A Gun" in Australia was very much, almost solely, due to a community radio station in Melbourne, 98.9 North West FM. The station instantly identified the hit quality of the song and immediately added the song to the station's playlist on high rotation, and also incorporated grabs (small parts) of the song in station IDs, "cue to call" promotions and other program elements. This almost saturation exposure of the song not only brought the song to the attention of the station's listeners, but also forced the hand of other Melbourne radio stations to add the song to their own playlists, some taking a full three months after North West FM's debut.
Critical reception
In his weekly UK chart commentary in Dotmusic, James Masterton described the song as a "bubbling synthesised dance hit".[1] A reviewer from Music Week gave it four out of five, adding, "A corking house tune that has failed to keep its head down, hence the reissue. Lyrics with attitude and some stomping remixes from JX and Red Jerry among others."[2]Iestyn George from NME praised it as a "classic camp-a-rama".[3] The RM Dance Update complimented it as a "banging Euro stomper".[4] An RM editor, Andy Beevers, called it "an unstoppable belter with dead catchy hi-energy synth riffs and the unforgettable 'A man that's on the run is a dirty son of a gun' female vocal hook. There are apparently Alex Party remixes on the way, although this existing mix should be all you need to create dancefloor mayhem."[5] He also declared it as "a potential hit".[6] In his dance column DJ Directory, James Hamilton described it as a "diva prodded raver".[7]
Chart performance
In the UK, the single originally peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart on 2 April 1994. In August 1995, it was re-released after "You Belong to Me"'s chart success and peaked at number six the same month. On the UK Dance Singles Chart and Music Week's Dance Singles chart, it reached number two and number one, respectively. In Scotland, it went to number four, while in Ireland, it entered the top 20 (15). "Son of a Gun" was also a top-10 hit in Australia, peaking at number six.
