Won't Somebody Dance with Me

History

This autobiographical song, inspired by an event from de Paul's teenage years, included some spoken dialogue by a male voice; on the original single it was by the BBC Radio 1 DJ Ed Stewart. It was her last single released on the MAM Records label. The recording was produced by de Paul and the strings were arranged by Christopher Gunning. It received positive reviews from the music press with favourable reviews from the likes of John Peel and British music critic Ian MacDonald of the NME writing "a perfect pop record and a certain smash hit". US music industry magazines also praised the song, with Cash Box magazine listing it under its "Pick for the Week" section and stating "Her tender vocal, when coupled with a perfectly fitting string section, gives this one greater hit potential than any disk she has had released since her tremendous "Sugar Me" a year ago". "Record World" gave the release a recommendation in its "Spins and Sales" listing.

The single reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1973, where it spent seven weeks on the chart, number 9 on the Irish Singles Chart, number 4 on the Israeli chart, number 17 on the Netherlands singles chart, and number 3 on the Radio Northsea International Top 30. It also spent two weeks on the Swedish "Tio I topp" charts, peaking at number 20. The song was re-released as the B-side to "Sugar Me" on the MAM record label in 1977, presumably to tie in with de Paul's "Rock Bottom" which was her entry for that year's Eurovision Song Contest and was in the UK Singles Chart at the same time.

Chart performance

Other recordings

An alternative recording of the song by de Paul was featured as the second track on the album The Wicked Die Young. It was compiled by the film director Nicolas Winding Refn and chosen as one of songs that inspired his horror film The Neon Demon. Rob Wacey reviewed the album for AllMusic and rated the track as one of the highlights of the album. De Paul also re-recorded the song for her 1994 CD album, Just a Little Time. This version reflected maturity and featured additional text about waiting for love and destiny, with strings being replaced by a saxophone.

The track has been covered by Bruce Johnston, Petula Clark, Alan Tew Orchestra, Sounds Orchestral, Peter North (aka Piet Noordijk), Jeannie, Denis King, Lena Zavaroni, Tina Charles (singer) and S. Sebber. A French version ("Je voudrais tant danser") with lyrics by Charles Level was recorded by Martine Tourreil featuring male vocals by Sacha Distel. Tourreil performed the song with Distel on his television show on 12 November 1977. A Danish version "Hvem danser en dans med mig" was released by Maria Stenz with Jesper Klein in 1974 and reached number 8 in the official Danish hit list chart. A comedic version with different lyrics was released by George Jones and Tommy Thomas on their 1982 album, Up Ulster.

References

References

1. (1973). "Lynsey de Paul - Won't Somebody Dance With Me".
2. (1 June 1974). "Billboard".
3. Warren, Jane. (3 October 2014). "Lynsey de Paul won the Ivor Novello Award and a string of celeb lovers | Obituaries".
4. ''Sounds'', Singles reviews by John Peel, 6 October 1973
5. MacDonald, Ian. (20 October 1973). "Singles Reviewed This Week by Ian MacDonald".
6. (15 December 1973). "Cash Box".
7. (15 December 1973). "Record World".
8. Roberts, David. (2006). "British Hit Singles & Albums". Guinness World Records Limited.
9. (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All There Is to Know".
10. "Lynsey de Paul : Won't Somebody Dance With Me".
11. "Radio Northsea International Top 30 - 1973".
12. "Won'T Somebody Dance With Me av Lynsey De Paul".
13. (1977). "Lynsey de Paul - Sugar Me".
14. Rob Wacey. (2017-04-14). "Nicolas Winding Refn Presents: The Wicked Die Young - Nicolas Winding Refn | Songs, Reviews, Credits". [[AllMusic]].
15. "515 Lynsey de Paul Won't Somebody Dance With Me Lyrics".
16. (1999). "Lynsey de Paul - Just a Little Time".
17. Leif Barbre. "String Man". String Man.
18. "Je Voudrais Tant Danser".
19. (1977). "Martine Tourreil - Je voudrais Tant Danser / Un Piano sous Mes Doigts".
20. "Numéro Un Sacha Distel du 12 novembre 1977".
21. (5 September 2013). "Télé française années 70: Numéro Un : Sacha Distel, 12/11/1977".
22. "Hvem Danser En Dans Mit Vig".
23. (1982). "George Jones (16) & Tommy Thomas - Up Ulster".