The accompanying music video for "Fairground" was directed by Michael Geoghegan and filmed in Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire.

[5] AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann said that Mick Hucknall "opts for a Latin-tinged sound that ends up evoking Herb Alpert more than Milton Nascimento".

Another AllMusic editor, Jon O'Brien, deemed the song "a mesmerizing fusion of tribal rhythms and ambient chillout pop".

[6] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as an "expectedly romantic soul tune", adding that "fueled by his now instantly familiar voice, the track combines old-school warmth with street-smart percussion that is largely derived from samples of 'Give It Up' by the Goodmen.

Driving down an endless road... it begins, and that's not at all a bad description of the lonesome vibe here – the odd combination of flowing, tumbling Latin percussion and Hucknall's ruminative vocal, working together to create something genuinely arresting, even haunting.

"[8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that it is "totally different from Hucknall's previous singles but still very much him thanks to the one-in-a-million voice and the trademark composition."

"[10] Music Week editor Alan Jones said, "Despite its heavily syncopated underpinning, it is a stylish and straightforward pop song with Mick Hucknall's usual high calibre vocal and an instantly commercial chorus.

"[11] Paul Moody from NME commented, "This time, after five years at the hairdressers, he gives us a Latino-shuffle that's already conquered all known radio stations and is about to invade every Top Five on the planet.

[22][23] A remix by Soulshock and Karlin was included on the US single release and received moderate success on R&B radio but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No.

The video was later made available on Simply Red's official YouTube channel in 2009 and was upgraded to HD in celebration of the album Life's 25th anniversary in October 2020.