"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" is a song by British dance music act the Adventures of Stevie V. It was first released in December 1989 on the Mercury record label, then again in 1990 both on 7-inch vinyl. The 1990 release peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number one in the Netherlands, and topped the US and Canadian dance charts. The song features vocals by Melody Washington,[2] a music teacher from Georgia living in the United Kingdom and teaching for the US Air Force, who met Stevie V. while she was playing in a local club near his home. Mick Walsh and Stevie V composed the track.
In 1997, "Dirty Cash" was re-released as a remastered '97 remix, and in June 2014, the song was once again remixed, this time by Alan Fitzpatrick.[3][4] Australian music channel Max included it in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2013.[5]
"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" was successful on the charts of several continents. In Europe, it reached number-one in the Netherlands, and was a top-10 hit also in Belgium (3), Ireland (10) and the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single peaked at number two in its eighth week on the UK Singles Chart, on May 6, 1990.[6] It was held off the top spot by Adamski's "Killer". "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" also was a top 20-hit in Austria (13), West Germany (20) and Switzerland (16). On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number seven on May 19. Outside Europe, it hit number-one on both the BillboardDance Club Songs chart and 12-inch Singles Sales chart in the United States and the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart, as well as reaching number 25 on the BillboardHot 100. In Oceania, the single charted in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number 18 and 34, respectively.
David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter felt the song "has all the ingredients for a solid dance hit, with a style somewhat reminiscent of Soul II Soul."[7] Bill Coleman from Billboard described it as a "seductive house track with an underground sensibility sports a tasty vocal hook and top of the chart potential."[8] Another Billboard editor, Larry Flick called it "a scathing, house-fueled ode to capitalism".[9] Ernest Hardy from Cashbox viewed it as "a biting-yet-melancholy melding of dance, rap, and R&B that contrasts a hard rap with caressing female vocals." He concluded, "It's one of the year's best singles, and one of the most misunderstood."[10] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report remarked that the British-based writer/producer had spent six weeks Top Ten in the UK with the track, "selling a quarter million copies in the process—no easy task in that market." He praised it as a "exceptional entry."[11]
Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "This is top-rate hiphouse. There is a killer beat, a brilliant chorus, a funky sax, all bound together with a liberal dash of humour. Perhaps more importantly though, it all sounds refreshing and new."[12] A reviewer from The Network Forty felt the track is "almost a mood piece", and said that it "has a soulful vocal approach backed by a Euro-dance production somewhat reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys."[13] Retrospectively, Pop Rescue named it "a fantastic slice of 90s music."[14]Miranda Sawyer from Smash Hits labeled it as "hip-house at its most brilliantly scuzzy. A bump and grind bass and Adamski-like fiddly bit drives this heavy rap and hookline scudding along. Top."[15] Stewart Walker from Toledo Blade noted in his album review, that Stevie V. "blends aspects of both musical forms well [hip-hop and house music] to produce a polished sound that is best illustrated" on "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)".[16]
A remix of "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" was released in late 2009, mixed by Funk K called "Dirty Cash 2009". "Dirty Cash" was covered by Liberty X, and featured on their 2005 album, X.
