"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by American soul singer Otis Clay.

[2] Though not a hit, the song became the title track of Clay's album The Only Way Is Up,[3] released in Japan in 1982 and then North America in 1985.

She took singing lessons and made demo songs that was introduced to electronic music duo Coldcut.

In Europe, it peaked at number-one in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

It entered the top 10 also in Austria (5), Finland (3), France (4), West Germany (3), Iceland (9), Norway (5), and Switzerland (2).

On the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States, it peaked at number two.

[13] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Produced by Coldcut, this is an electro-soul number with more than a touch of house influences.

"[14] Matthew Collin from Record Mirror declared it as "a tale of love under stress, dedication and survival, all set to an infectious house beat."

He added, "'The Only Way Is Up' is where bad house music crashes into gay Seventies disco and ends up in the top 10.