Taylor Swift: Why Right Said Fred are credited on Look What You Made Me Do - BBC News
Look What You Made Me Do follows the same rhythmic pattern as the band's 1992 hit I'm Too Sexy.
Look What You Made Me do follows the same rhythmic pattern as I'm Too Sexy

Right Said Fred have been credited as writers on Taylor Swift's new single in one of the most bizarre musical combinations of the year.

The chorus of Taylor's new single Look What You Made Me Do follows the same rhythmic pattern as I'm Too Sexy.

After the song was released overnight, the duo tweeted: "Thank you Taylor Swift, what a marvellous reinvention!"

The group's spokesman confirmed to the BBC they were approached by Taylor's team in advance of the release.

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The band gave their permission for the song to be used and they've received an acknowledgement from Taylor as a result.

The track's credits list three members of Right Said Fred - Richard Fairbrass, Fred Fairbrass and Rob Manzoli - as songwriters alongside Swift and Jack Antonoff.

But the nod to the single wasn't enough to save it from some lukewarm reviews from critics.

Perez Hilton described the song as "seriously lacking".

"Overall, we are NOT impressed with TayTay's new tune. We're not feeling the chorus, the lyrics (which are not relatable in the slightest), or the overall production/structure," he said.

Writing in NME, Dan Stubbs said: "The sound is hard-edged pop - like her smash 1989 album, but darker, more electronic.

"If people have had their claws out for Taylor following that album's success and the reign of her and her squad, the message is clear: this new incarnation is going to bite back."

The Telegraph's Sarah Carson said: "Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with... this is a comeback laden with vengeance."

The cover for Reputation is darker and edgier than Taylor's previous albums

"Look What You Made Me Do is a ruthless rebuttal to anyone who had foolishly expected a redemptive return from Swift. Instead, it explains how she has become the 'snake' she has been billed as through the betrayal of others.

"What is missing, however, is the musical reinvention some may have expected. Forget the rumours of a return to country or a foray into rap or dubstep; Swift's in her own well-trodden and inevitably chart-topping territory."

Writing for The Evening Standard, David Smyth said: "The edgy music suits the fist-swinging tone: industrial electronic drums, low, nasty synth sounds and high strings and piano which give a sense of unhinged threat rather than beauty."

"There's not much in the way of a tune but it's naggingly memorable nonetheless. It's unlikely to be many people's new favourite Swift song, demanded in encores for years hence.

"To Swift, who no doubt has plenty of catchier singles ready to go, that's less important than the statement it makes."

The Guardian's Maura Johnston wrote: "Swift's lyrics are visceral and almost sloppy, with her rhyming 'time' and 'time' on the Lorde-channelling pre-chorus, and melodramatically declaring that "the old Taylor" is 'dead!'.

"The chorus borrows its cadence from Right Said Fred's 1992 body-shaker I'm Too Sexy, a ridiculous touch that at least cuts the acid a bit."

Right Said Fred's influence adds a "ridiculous touch" according to one critic

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