"Give It Up" is a song by American disco and funk band KC and the Sunshine Band, although it was simply credited as KC in several markets, including the United States. Following the backlash against many disco artists on the charts at the beginning of the 1980s, "Give It Up" was a comeback hit for the band in the US. Epic Records refused to re-release it when it was included on the band's 1982 album All in a Night's Work and it failed to chart upon initial release; however, the independent Meca Records label showed its support and included it on the band's 1983 album KC Ten.

Following its re-release, "Give It Up" peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1984. It had been a hit in the United Kingdom several months earlier, when it topped the UK singles chart for three weeks in August 1983. It went on to become the 18th-best-selling single of the year in the UK. "Give It Up" was the last of the band's hit singles in the US and UK and is their most successful UK hit. Elsewhere, "Give It Up" peaked at number two in Belgium, number three in Australia, and reached the top 10 in several other markets.

In 1993, Danish musical group Cut 'N' Move scored a big hit with their version of "Give It Up", which reached number one in Australia and their native Denmark.

Charts Weekly charts Chart (1983–1984)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)3Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders) Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 12South Africa (Springbok)6Uruguay (UPI)6US Billboard Hot 10018US Dance/Disco Top 80 (Billboard)24US Cash Box Top 100. Cash Box magazine.17

Year-end charts Chart (1983)PositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)17UK Singles (OCC)19 Chart (1984)PositionUS (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)127US Billboard Hot 10075

Certifications

Cut 'N' Move version

"Give It Up" was covered by Danish Eurodance group Cut 'N' Move and released in February 1993 as the first single from their second album, Peace, Love & Harmony (1993). The vocals were performed by Zindy Laursen and Thera Hoeymans while the rap segment was performed by MC Zipp (a.k.a. Jens Kjær Larsen).

Cut 'N' Move's version reached number one in Denmark for five weeks and in Australia for four weeks. It also peaked at number two in Norway, number five in New Zealand, and number six in Austria, Germany, and Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 31 in August 1993. A colorful music video was produced to promote the single. Cut 'N' Move covered the song again in 1997 for Dancemania Covers.

Track listing

Charts Weekly charts Chart (1993–1994)PeakpositionDenmark (IFPI)1Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)31Spain (AFYVE)7UK Dance (Music Week)23UK Club Chart (Music Week) 72

Year-end charts Chart (1993)PositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100) 58Germany (Media Control)33Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)174Sweden (Topplistan)62

Chart (1994)PositionAustralia (ARIA)13New Zealand (RIANZ)32

Certifications

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)EuropeFebruary 3, 1993SoulPower ProductionsUnited KingdomSeptember 20, 1993EMI United Kingdom Misprinted as September 13.AustraliaNovember 29, 1993JapanJune 29, 1994Mini-CDEMI

Cover versions

The song was covered by Annie Lennox and Chrissie Hynde during a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on February 9, 1986.

"Love You Long Time" by The Black Eyed Peas, from their 2010 album, The Beginning, contains a sample of "Give It Up".

The song was also covered by the Quebecer singer Jacynthe on her 1999 album Entends-tu mon cœur. This version adds French lines to the verses, while keeping the original chorus.

A Swedish version ("Ge mig allt") was recorded by Cotton Club in 1984.

In 2019, the melody of the song was used in "Atje voor de sfeer" by Dutch singer René Karst, a song about alcohol consumption.

In popular culture

The song has been turned into a sporting chant in Ireland, and the United Kingdom, especially at football games in England and Scotland: After Liverpool defeated Manchester United 5-0 on October 25, 2021, Liverpool's travelling fans mocked under pressure Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær by singing "Ole's at the Wheel" to the tune of "Give It Up". At a UEFA Europa Conference League match on September 8, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a crowd of Shamrock Rovers supporters at Tallaght Stadium were heard singing the chant as "Lizzie's in a Box" to mock the death (owing to historic anti-British sentiment in Ireland). The song is commonly used in support of UFC mixed martial artist Tom Aspinall during his fights. The song is the walk-on music for darts player Vincent van der Voort. The crowd is singing his name during the chorus, replacing the words "Baby, give it up". They usually do the same when supporting other darters if their names have the same amount of syllables as this sentence. The song is heard in Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson)'s lair when Valentine activates the V-Day program in the 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service.Review: Kingsman, The Secret Service The song is played at the beginning of concerts by Scottish singer Gerry Cinnamon.A superstar? An enigma? Gerry Cinnamon is our next folk hero ready to leap, Big Issue, February 20, 2019 The song is featured in the opening scene of the Black Mirror episode “Loch Henry”.“Loch Henry” Series 6, Episode 2 Black Mirror, Netflix, June 15, 2023

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