Let's Get Ready to Rhumble
{{About|the PJ & Duncan AKA song|the catchphrase "Let's get ready to rumble!"|Michael Buffer#Trademark}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble
| cover = Let'sGetReadytoRhumble.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = PJ & Duncan
| album = Psyche
| released = 11 July 1994
| recorded = 1994
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 4:00
| label = Telstar
| writer =
- Nicky Graham
- Deni Lew
- Mike Olton
| producer = Nicky Graham
| prev_title = Why Me?
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = If I Give You My Number
| next_year = 1994
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|Jbc-QA-054M|"Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"}}}}
}}
"Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" is a song by PJ & Duncan AKA, the performing name used by British duo Ant & Dec at the time. The song was released in the UK on 11 July 1994 by Telstar Records as the third single from their debut studio album, Psyche (1994). The song was written by Nicky Graham, Deni Lew and Mike Olton, and produced by Nicky Graham. It peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart in 1994, and was later #1 almost two decades after its original chart appearance. The song includes a repeatedly-used sample of boxing and wrestling announcer Michael Buffer saying his trademark catchphrase. “Rumble” was deliberately spelled as "rhumble" to avoid copyright problems, since Buffer had trademarked the phrase, and the chosen additional “h” was a homage to the rhumba dance.{{Cite web|url=https://storyofsong.com/story/lets-get-ready-to-rhumble/|title=PJ & Duncan - Let's Get Ready to Rhumble|website=Story of Song}}
The single was re-released in March 2013, with royalties from sales donated to the charity ChildLine. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in its first week of new release, becoming their first ever single to reach that spot and gave DMG TV's Edsel label a number one.{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20130331/7501/|title=Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}} The song was performed on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The single was re-released in February 2014.
Critical reception
Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave the song a score of three out of five, writing, "So the boys have made up their own dance move for this tune. Their best bet was to call the song 'Let's Get Ready to Crumble' and then they could have made everyone a really tasty rhubarb crumble. This is soft hip-hop rap with stacks of cheesy lyrics like this track's boomin{{'}} and partners in crime — we'll never do time. But their plan's so crazy it might work. PJ & Duncan are good blokes and the charts need them in a sort of throwaway-what-the-hell sort of way."{{cite magazine|first=Pete|last=Stanton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/53976667347/in/album-72177720320155944/|title=New Singles|magazine=Smash Hits|date=6 July 1994|page=45|access-date=31 May 2025}} Another Smash Hits editor, Mark Frith, stated, "When they're brilliant they come up with 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble'."{{cite magazine|first=Mark|last=Frith|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/smashhits90s/36233920571/in/album-72157683762016282/|title=New Albums|magazine=Smash Hits|date=9 November 1994|page=55|access-date=31 May 2025|author-link=Mark Frith}}
Chart performance
On 23 July 1994, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 18, it climbed seven places to number 11 in its second week and climbed to number 9 in its third week. After Ant & Dec performed the song on Saturday Night Takeaway on 23 March 2013, the song topped the UK Singles Chart on 31 March 2013, as predicted after charting at number one in the Midweek Chart Update on 27 March 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ant-and-dec-increase-lead-in-number-1-race-2132/|title=Ant and Dec increase Number 1 race with Let's Get Ready To Rhumble}}{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2013/03/26/ant-decs-lets-get-ready-to-rhumble-on-course-for-no-1-after-35000-copy-sales-spike-3559921/|title=Ant & Dec set for No. 1 after sales spike|first=Christopher|last=Hooton|date=26 March 2013}}
Live performances
"Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" was performed on BBC One's Top of the Pops and regularly featured on the ITV Saturday morning show Gimme 5 at the time of release.
Ant & Dec celebrated the 100th episode of CD:UK in 2000 by performing the song once again, years after retiring from the music industry, after a viewer vote where 86% requested it. In March 2013, Ant & Dec performed the song as the closing act for the "End of the Show Show" segment of their ITV show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway at the end of a series of performances by The Big Reunion special invitees. In the segment, Blue, Atomic Kitten and Five also performed.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = CD 1 (CDANT1)
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (100% Radio Mix)
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Exclusive: The PJ & Duncan Show - Part 1
| length2 = 4:22
| title3 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (Housey Housey Mix)
| length3 = 4:26
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = CD 2 (CDDEC1)
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (100% Radio Mix)
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Exclusive: The PJ & Duncan Show - Part 2
| length2 = 5:43
| title3 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (Klassy Dub Mix)
| length3 = 5:44
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Cassette 1 (MCANT1)
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (100% Radio Mix)
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Exclusive: The PJ & Duncan Show - Part 1
| length2 = 4:22
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Cassette 2 (MCDEC1)
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (100% Radio Mix)
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Exclusive: The PJ & Duncan Show - Part 2
| length2 = 5:43
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Digital download
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (100% Radio Mix)
| length1 = 4:00
}}
{{Track listing
| title1 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Why Me If Justfield
| length2 = 5:00
| title3 = Tonight I'm Free
| length3 = 6:00
| title4 = If I Give You My Number
| length4 = 7:00
| title5 = All We Wanna Do We Rap
| length5 = 8:00
| title6 = The Ballad of Bullseye
| length6 = 9:00
| title7 = Let's Get Ready to Rhumble - Karaoke Version
| length7 = 1:00
}}
Personnel
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (2013)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardeurodigital|4|artist=PJ}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland|19|year=2013|week=14}} |
| {{single chart|Scotland|3|date=20130406}} |
| {{single chart|UK|1|date=20130406}} |
| {{single chart|UKindependent|1|date=20130406}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1994)
! Position |
|---|
| UK Singles (OCC){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-01-14.pdf#page=9|title=Top 100 Singles 1994|magazine=Music Week|page=9|date=14 January 1995|access-date=10 March 2025}}
|align="center"|71 |
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (2013)
! Position |
|---|
| UK Singles (OCC){{Cite web|url=http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/UKChartsPlusEOY2013.pdf|title=Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}}
|align="center"|126 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=PJ & Duncan|title=Let's Get Ready to Rhumble|award=Gold|relyear=2009|certyear=2023|id=8924-1876-1|access-date=1 September 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! Region ! Date ! Format(s) ! Label ! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| scope="row"| United Kingdom
| 11 July 1994 | {{hlist|CD single|cassette single}} | Telstar | {{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=25|date=9 July 1994}} |
|---|
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ant & Dec}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Deni Lew
Category:Songs written by Nicky Graham
Category:British hip-hop songs