I Can't Even Touch You

Last updated

"I Can't Even Touch You"
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel I Can't Even Touch You Single 1982.jpg
Single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
B-side "I Can Be Anyone"
Released12 March 1982
Genre Rock
Length4:04
Label Chrysalis
Songwriter(s) Steve Harley
Producer(s) Midge Ure
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel singles chronology
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) (re-issue)"
(1981)		"I Can't Even Touch You"
(1982)		"Ballerina (Prima Donna)"
(1983)

"I Can't Even Touch You" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel by Chrysalis as a non-album single on 12 March 1982. [1] The song was written by Harley and produced by Midge Ure.

Contents

Background

"I Can't Even Touch You" was Harley's first release of new material since his 1979 album The Candidate . The song was first introduced live during Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel's 1981 Christmas tour, where Harley also featured two other new tracks, "Don't Shoot, Till You See The Whites Of Their Eyes" (a.k.a. "The Race Game") and "Not From Her World" (a cover of a 4 Out of 5 Doctors song). The recording and subsequent release of "I Can't Even Touch You" as a single came to fruition after Harley met Chris Wright, the founder and chairman of Chrysalis Records, during a visit to the Sandown Park Racecourse in 1981. As a result of their conversation there, Harley sent Wright the song's demo recording and, showing interest in the song, [2] Wright subsequently signed Harley under a one-year contract, with options, to Chrysalis. [3]

Wright suggested that Midge Ure should produce "I Can't Even Touch You". Alan Darby, Cockney Rebel's guitarist of the time, played the lead guitar parts on the track. He also laid down the original eight-to-the-bar chugging rhythm part, but Ure thought his contribution was slightly off-beat at times and therefore re-did the part himself. [2] Some of the keyboards on the song were performed by Andy Qunta, later of Icehouse fame, who joined Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel in late 1981. [4]

Speaking to the Evening Express in March 1982, Harley said, "The only reason I haven't made records since The Candidate is that I have had nothing of merit to say. Who does, come to that, in rock 'n' roll? I thought I'd wait until I met the right people to manage me, the right record company to record me and the right frame of mind to carry me through." [5] In a 1982 interview with Larry Jaffee, Harley said of the single in context of his songwriting, "It was a record I was proud of, because I was ready to write. I couldn't write for two years, I didn't want to." [3]

"I Can't Even Touch You" was released in March 1982, but failed to make an appearance in the UK Singles Chart. It did, however, reach number 132 on the Record Business Bubbling Under Singles chart on 5 April. [6] It dropped to number 137 the following week and number 144 the week after that. [7] [8] Both Chrysalis and fans of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel had believed at the time that the song would become a hit. [9] It was Harley's only release that year and his only through Chrysalis. [10] Although not released in North America, the song gained some airplay on the Toronto rock radio station CFNY-FM in April–May 1982. [11] [12]

In 1985, Harley recalled of the song's lack of commercial success, "Midge and I always talk about that [song]. We were both very disappointed [that it wasn't a hit]." [13] Harley and Ure worked together again in circa 1984 on another Harley solo track, but the song has never been released. Harley also gave Ure some lyrics for potential use on his first solo album, but they were not used. [13]

Release

"I Can't Even Touch You" was released by Chrysalis Records on 7-inch vinyl in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. [14] The B-side, "I Can Be Anyone", was also written by Harley and produced by Ure. The track has remained exclusive to the single and has not appeared on any other release. [14] "I Can Be Anyone" was first introduced live during Cockney Rebel's 1980 Christmas tour, along with two other new songs, "Warm My Cold Heart" and "Such is Life". The single was released with a full colour picture sleeve, featuring a photograph of Harley. [15]

Shortly after its release, "I Can't Even Touch You" and its B-side were the first tracks to be acquired by music publishers Star Street Music Ltd, which was established in 1982 by Eric Hall as a joint venture company with EMI Music Publishing. [16]

Following its release as a single, the song would later appear on three Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations: 1999's The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel , [17] 2006's The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology and 2008's The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel . It also appeared as a bonus track on the 2000 CD release of Harley's 1979 album The Candidate . [18]

Promotion

A full-page black-and-white advert was included in the 27 March 1982 issue of Melody Maker and a smaller advert included in the 1 April 1982 issue of Smash Hits to promote the release of the new single. [19] [20]

The song has been performed live on a number of occasions. It was performed at Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's 1984 concert at the Camden Palace, London, which was filmed for TV and released on the VHS Live from London in 1985. [21] [22] When the band returned to touring in 1989, the song was occasionally included in the set-list. Around 2004, the song was again reintroduced for a brief time, [23] and was performed live at Glastonbury Festival in 2005. [24]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Tim de Lisle of Smash Hits commented, "Produced, like Visage, by the tireless Midge Ure but beyond that there's not much else to be said for it. Pleasant, colourless and a far cry from his hits of the 70s." [25] Sunie Fletcher of Record Mirror wrote, "Laidback rock music for (ahem) mature tastes, I suppose. Not mine, certainly, but the tune is very pretty and it's all very tasteful and that." [26] Julie Burchill of New Musical Express stated, "An insipid Cockney encore for those wonderful swollen vowels you'll remember forever and all-round tortured mediocrity. Music not to give up your day-job to. Mr Harley was led back from the wilderness by M. Ure of Samaritans Inc." [27]

Brian Aitken of the Evening Express wrote, "'I Can't Even Touch You' may not be top ten material but it contains enough evidence to suggest that a fresh Steve Harley is ready for stardom again." [5] Simon Mares of the Reading Evening Post commented, "After years in the wilderness, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel return with a Midge Ure-produced song which has Steve sounding very like Bowie. [28] John Gibson of the Edinburgh Evening News noted, "This could pass for something out of the Chas & Dave songbook." [29]

In the unreleased 1991 book The Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Story, author Hans Peters described the song as "a surrealistic love song". [9] In a review of the band's performance at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival, eFestivals writer Karen Morrison said: "...'When the Halo Slips' and 'I Can't Even Touch You' follow with their full on keyboards and the applause is deafening." [30]

Track listing

7-inch single

  1. "I Can't Even Touch You" – 4:04
  2. "I Can Be Anyone" – 3:20

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
UK Bubbling Under Singles 101-150 ( Record Business ) [6] 132

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel</span> British glam rock band

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English rock band who formed in the early 1970s in London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years, they have had five albums on the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Harley</span> English singer and songwriter (1951–2024)

Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice, known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel. He had six UK hit singles with the band in the mid-1970s, including "Judy Teen", "Mr. Soft", and the number one "Make Me Smile ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)</span> 1975 single by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel

"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by the English rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 31 January 1975 by EMI as the lead single from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. In February 1975, the song reached number one on the UK chart and received a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry in October 2021. It spent nine weeks in the Top 50, and as of 2015, has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The song is one of the most-played songs in British broadcasting history.

<i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel album) 1975 studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

The Best Years of Our Lives is the third studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by EMI on 7 March 1975. It was the first album to feature Harley's name ahead of the band's. The album was produced by Harley and Alan Parsons, and contains the band's only UK number one, the million-selling "Make Me Smile ".

<i>Yes You Can</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Steve Harley

Yes You Can is the third solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released by CTE in Europe in 1992 and by Food For Thought Records in the UK on 4 May 1993.

<i>Poetic Justice</i> (Steve Harley album) 1996 studio album by Steve Harley

Poetic Justice is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released by Transatlantic on 26 August 1996.

Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 1982 and 1988. As a popular musician, he has been influenced by artists including the Who, Cliff Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Genesis, Manfred Mann, Yes, Todd Rundgren and Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna</span> 1976 single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

"(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 1 October 1976 as the second single from their fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna. The song was written and produced by Harley. It reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart and would be the band's last charting single before their split in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Big Deal</span> 1974 single by Steve Harley

"Big Big Deal" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released as his debut, non-album solo single in 1974. The song, which was written and produced by Harley, would be his last release before scoring the UK number one hit "Make Me Smile " in 1975. "Big Big Deal" also preceded the formation of the second line-up of Harley's band Cockney Rebel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roll the Dice (Steve Harley song)</span> 1978 single by Steve Harley

"Roll the Dice" is a song by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released in 1978 as the lead single from his debut solo album Hobo with a Grin. The song was written by Harley and Jo Partridge, and produced by Michael J. Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irresistible (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel song)</span>

"Irresistible" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released three times as a single; the first being in 1985 as a non-album single under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. In 1986, a remixed version of the song was released by Harley as a solo single in the UK, and in 1992, he re-released this version as a single in Europe from his solo album Yes You Can. "Irresistible" was written by Harley and produced by English producer Mickie Most.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartbeat Like Thunder</span> 1986 single by Steve Harley

"Heartbeat Like Thunder" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by RAK as a non-album single on 21 April 1986. The song was written by Harley and ex-Cockney Rebel keyboardist Duncan Mackay, and produced by Mickie Most.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone's Coming</span> 1979 song by Steve Harley

"Someone's Coming" is a song by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released in 1979 as the second and final single from his 1978 debut solo studio album, Hobo with a Grin. The song was written by Harley and Jo Partridge, and was produced by Harley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White, White Dove</span> 1976 single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

"White, White Dove" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1976 as the second and final single from their fourth studio album Timeless Flight. The song was written and produced by Harley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)</span> 1975 single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

"Mr. Raffles " is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 23 May 1975 as the second and final single from their third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Raffles " reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Friend for Life</span>

"A Friend for Life" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by Intrinsic Records on 30 April 2001 as a non-album single. The song was written by Harley and former Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan, and was produced by Cregan. Harley's first release of new material since his 1996 album Poetic Justice, "A Friend for Life" was later included on Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's sixth studio album The Quality of Mercy (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Soft</span> 1974 single by Cockney Rebel

"Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Soft" peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastian (song)</span> 1973 single by Cockney Rebel

"Sebastian" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from their album The Human Menagerie. The song was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.

"The Best Years of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1975 as the title track from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. In 1977, a live version of the song was released as a single from the album Face to Face: A Live Recording.

<i>The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel</i> 1999 compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel is a compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by EMI Gold in 1999. It features material from Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley's solo career. It contains sixteen tracks, covering Harley and the band's career from Cockney Rebel's 1973 album The Human Menagerie to Harley's 1979 album The Candidate, as well as the 1982 non-album single "I Can't Even Touch You".

References

  1. ↑ "News: Deals". Record Business . Vol. 4, no. 47. 22 February 1982. p. 4. ISSN   0144-0691.
  2. 1 2 Ashley Smith (10 February 2013). "Steve Harley Questions". Slade Discography Website. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 Jaffee, Larry (1982). "AUDIO: Cockney Rebel's Steve Harley (1982)" . Rock's Backpages . Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "Andy Qunta Biography". Andyqunta.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 Aitken, Brian (31 March 1982). "Nice touch". Evening Express .
  6. 1 2 "Bubbling Under Singles 101-150". Record Business . Vol. 5, no. 2. 5 April 1982. p. 7. ISSN   0144-0691.
  7. ↑ "Bubbling Under Singles 101-150". Record Business . Vol. 5, no. 3. 12 April 1982. p. 7. ISSN   0144-0691.
  8. ↑ "Bubbling Under Singles 101-150". Record Business . Vol. 5, no. 4. 19 April 1982. p. 7. ISSN   0144-0691.
  9. 1 2 "The Great Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel Story". Steveharley.www.50megs.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 5 August 1976. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "CFNY 102.1 Toronto Survey 04/29/82". las-solanas.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "CFNY 102.1 Toronto Survey 05/20/82". las-solanas.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Steve Harley talks about his music, career and friendship with Marc". Elemental Child: Marc Bolan - 1947-1977 - A Tribute. 1985. pp. 20–24.
  14. 1 2 "Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel* - I Can't Even Touch You (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Images for Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel* - I Can't Even Touch You". Discogs.com. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  16. ↑ Oliver, Brian (22 February 1982). "News: Publishing". Record Business . Vol. 5, no. 10. p. 4. ISSN   0144-0691.
  17. ↑ "Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - The Cream Of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "The Candidate: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - I Can't Even Touch You - New Single". Melody Maker . 27 March 1982.
  20. ↑ "Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - I Can't Even Touch You - New Single". Smash Hits . 1 April 1982. p. 33.
  21. ↑ Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (1989). The 'Come Back, All is Forgiven' Tour Official Programme. Print Simplicity.
  22. ↑ "Live From London: Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel: Amazon.co.uk: Video". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  23. ↑ YouTube (5 April 2008). "Steve Harley - I can't even touch you". YouTube. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Glastonbury Festival 2005 - reviews". Efestivals.co.uk. 8 July 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  25. ↑ de Lisle, Tim (18 March 1982). "Singles". Smash Hits . p. 25.
  26. ↑ Fletcher, Sunie (5 March 1982). "Singles". Record Mirror .
  27. ↑ Burchill, Julie (13 March 1982). "Singles". New Musical Express . p. 21.
  28. ↑ Mares, Simon (20 March 1982). "Dave Murray's Rock Scene: Singles". Reading Evening Post . p. 5.
  29. ↑ Gibson, John (13 March 1982). "Singles" . Edinburgh Evening News . p. 7. Retrieved 27 November 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
  30. ↑ "Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Glastonbury Festival 2005 - reviews". Efestivals.co.uk. 8 July 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "Andy Qunta". Andy Qunta. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.