(I Wanna Give You) Devotion

Last updated

"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion"
(I Wanna Give You) Devotion.jpg
Single by Nomad featuring MC Mikee Freedom
from the album Changing Cabins
Released1990
Genre Hip house
Length
  • 4:09
  • 6:46
Label Rumour
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Damon Rochefort
Nomadsingles chronology
"The Raggamuffin Number"
(1990)		"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion"
(1990)		"Just a Groove"
(1991)

"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" is a song by English electronic group Nomad, released in 1990 by Rumour Records. It was the second single from their only album, Changing Cabins, released later in 1991. It was written by the producer, Damon Rochefort, with Steve Mac and MC Mikee Freedom. The song was a number-one hit in Greece and a top-five hit in the UK, where it reached number two. In the US, it peaked at number one on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart in June 1991. Its accompanying music video was directed by Jerome Redfarn. MTV Dance ranked the song number 32 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011. [1]

Contents

Background and release

The track was produced by Damon Rochefort, who also shares writing credits with fellow Nomad member Steve McCutcheon and rapper MC Mikee Freedom. It also quotes from the earlier club hit "Devotion" by Ten City. Although Freedom and singer Sharon Dee Clarke were the featured artists on this track when it was released in the United Kingdom and other territories (even though Freedom was the only one to get his name credited), they were listed as uncredited in the US single version up until the act's full-length CD, Changing Cabins, was released Stateside in the autumn of 1991.

The song is notable for being the first song that Steve Mac ever wrote. [2] When asked about the track and its success in an April 2010 interview, Mac said:

It was a real accident. I just remember struggling to get the drums right - I didn’t really know how to work the sequencer properly. I didn’t have that much knowledge of what I was doing, and I think if I had then it wouldn’t have been as good a track. I love the naiveté of what I was doing back then, and I miss that a little bit now. [2]

In addition to the rap version, there is also a Soul Mix version that features Clarke's vocal performance without the rap. Both versions along with the Italo house version are included on the Changing Cabins CD.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Stewart Mason named the song a "terrific dance club staple", complimenting singer Sharon Dee Clarke's "soulful, expressive voice", and writer/programmer Damon Rochefort, that gives the whole thing a "perky, bouncy feel". [3] David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter felt it's "extremely enticing", praising Clarke's vocals as "superb". [4] American magazine Billboard stated that the song had recently topped dance charts "thanks to Sharon Dee Clark's belting vocals and Damon Rochefort's savvy beat and melody construction." [5] Billboard editor Larry Flick complimented its "contagious melody, a slammin' groove, and a well-timed trade-off between rapid male rapping and diva-styled femme singing." [6]

Zane from Melody Maker stated, "The song's irritatingly catchy sax samples and the ubiquitous female soul vocals made it a deserved, if obvious, Top Five hit." [7] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update deemed it a "catchily honking political lurcher" in his weekly dance column. [8] Phil Cheeseman from Record Mirror wrote, "If you went out clubbing on New Year's Eve, one record you'll almost certainly have heard is Nomad's 'Devotion'. Its crowd chants, stabbing saxophone, lazy strings and catchy chorus conspired to make it the Christmas period's most guaranteed floor filler." [9] Johnny Dee from Smash Hits declared the track as "utterlly brill". [10] Bob Mack from Spin named it a "great" dance cut and almost a "real song". [11]

Chart performance

"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" peaked at number one in Greece. [12] In the UK, it reached number two during its seventh week on the UK Singles Chart, on 17 February 1991. [13] On the UK Dance Singles Chart, it reached number one, [14] as well as on the Record Mirror Club Chart. [15] The song entered the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number six in March 1991. [16] Additionally, the song was a top-20 hit in Germany and Sweden. Outside Europe, it peaked at number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, number three on the Canadian RPM Dance chart and number 37 in Australia. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" earned a silver record in the UK, denoting shipments of 200,000 copies.

Music video

The music video for "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" was directed by Jerome Redfarn. [17] It features both MC Mikee Freedom and Sharon Dee Clarke, and have them dressed in body paint while they are performing the song at a rave concert. The video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe. [18]

Impact and legacy

MTV Dance ranked "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" number 32 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011. [1] PopMatters included it in their list of "15 Landmark Dance Tracks of 1991" in 2020. [19]

Track listings

  1. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" – 6:42
  2. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Instrumental Mix) – 6:42
  3. "Sang - Froid" – 3:32
  1. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (7" Mix) – 4:09
  2. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Original Mix) – 6:46
  3. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Instrumental) – 6:37
  4. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Soul Mix) – 5:00
  5. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (The Joey Negro Mix) – 6:48
  6. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Rock Shock Mix) – 6:39
  7. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Trouble's Club Mix) – 6:41
  8. "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Trouble's Underground Club Mix) – 6:37

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [51] Silver200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 MTV Dance. 27 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Interview With Steve Mac". HitQuarters. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Nomad - Changing Cabins". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. ↑ Taylor-Wilson, David (15 August 1991). "The Beat". Bay Area Reporter . p. 39. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Album Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard . 7 September 1991. p. 66. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Flick, Larry (25 May 1991). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard . p. 67. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Zane (6 July 1991). "Albums". Melody Maker . p. 31. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Hamilton, James (11 November 1995). "DJ directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 15. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Cheeseman, Phil (6 February 1991). "Nomad's Land". Record Mirror . p. 20. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Dee, Johnny (26 June 1991). "Review: LPs". Smash Hits . No. 328. p. 46. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Mack, Bob (April 1991). "Singles". Spin . p. 95. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 19. 11 May 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 2 February 1991. p. xii. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  15. 1 2 "The Record Mirror Club Chart". Record Mirror . Vol. 38, no. 6. 9 February 1991. p. 41. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  16. 1 2 "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 10. 9 March 1991. p. 45. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Nomad (I wanna give you) Devotion". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Station Reports > TV > MTV/London" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 12. 23 March 1991. p. 28. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  19. ↑ Jansen, Steve (26 June 2020). "15 Landmark Dance Tracks of 1991". PopMatters . Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  22. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  23. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 1590." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  25. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  26. ↑ Israeli Singles Chart. 24 March 1991.
  27. ↑ Radio Luxembourg Singles. 10 February 1991.
  28. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  29. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  30. ↑ "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (PDF) (in French). BAnQ. 19 October 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  31. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  32. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "Nomad feat. MC Mikee Freedom – (I Wanna Give You) Devotion". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  34. ↑ "Indie Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 2 March 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  35. ↑ "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard . 6 July 1991. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  36. ↑ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 6 July 1991. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  37. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  38. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  39. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  40. ↑ "The Record Mirror Year End Club Chart". Record Mirror . Vol. 38, no. 1. 5 January 1991. p. 41. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  41. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  42. ↑ "RPM Dance Tracks of 1991". RPM . Retrieved 28 April 2020– via Library and Archives Canada.
  43. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1991" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  44. ↑ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  45. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  46. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1991" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  47. ↑ "Årstopplistan 1991, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on 25 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  48. ↑ "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week . London, England. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  49. ↑ "The Record Mirror Club Chart 1991" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 4 January 1992. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  50. ↑ "The Year in Music 1991: Top Dance Club Play Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-32.
  51. ↑ "British single certifications – Nomad – Devotion". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
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