Funky Dory

Funky Dory is the solo debut album by British pop–dance singer Rachel Stevens. It was released by Polydor Records on September 29, 2003 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by various record producers including Bloodshy & Avant and Richard X.

It received a positive reception from music critics, some of whom complimented its surprising diversity, charm and relative depth, while others thought of it to be poorly written, produced and forgettable. Despite critical commentary, it became Stevens' most successful album release, and reached number nine in the United Kingdom, where it was certified gold. On July 16, 2004 the album was re-issued in the United Kingdom, including three new songs, and reached number thirteen on the albums chart. Funky Dory was released in Canada on March 16, 2004; however, it failed to generate much interest outside of the United Kingdom.

It has sold 350,000 copies worldwide and was certified Gold in the UK.

Critical response

Track listing

Original release

Funky Dory (song)

"Funky Dory" is the second single from Funky Dory, the debut solo album by Rachel Stevens, released towards the end of 2003. It was produced by David Eriksen for Murlyn Music, and received a mixed reception from pop-music critics. The song is built around a sample of the David Bowie song "Andy Warhol".

Music video

The music video for "Funky Dory" was directed by Katie Bell, and filmed at an Old Post Office Basement in north London. The video is moody and lowly lit, which gives it a much darker feel compared to her previous video for "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex".

The video features Stevens putting her make-up on and dancing around the halls of the old building. These scenes are inter-cut with scenes of Stevens in a dark room with a bright light doing a provocative dance on a chair with two backing dancers. Bell uses tricky lighting and mirrors to show different angles and aspects of Stevens throughout the video.

Tracklist and formats