"Whenever You Need Me" | ||||
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Single by T'Pau | ||||
from the album The Promise | ||||
B-side | "All the Love" | |||
Released | 6 May 1991 [1] | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 4:06 | |||
Label | Siren, Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Carol Decker, Ron Rogers | |||
Producer(s) | Andy Richards | |||
T'Pau singles chronology | ||||
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"Whenever You Need Me" is a song by English band T'Pau, released in May 1991 by Siren and Virgin as the lead single from their third studio album, The Promise (1991). It was written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Andy Richards. "Whenever You Need Me" reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for six weeks. It was the band's last Top 40 hit in the UK. [2]
The 7" single's B-side, "All the Love", was a non-album track exclusive to the single. [3] In the UK, a limited edition box-set of the single was issued, featuring the 12" vinyl single and a life-size colour poster of Decker. [4]
A music video was filmed to promote the single. [5] The band also performed the song on the UK music show Top of the Pops , [6] and the UK Saturday morning children show Gimme 5 . [7]
Upon its release as a single, Mark Frith of Smash Hits stated, "T'Pau! How tired life was without them. Welcome back indeed! More of the same 'melodic rock' that the nation will be humming for the next three years? Certainly. The charts are over here just where you left them." [8] Peter Kinghorn of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle described the song as "a potent rock ballad." [9] Tonia Macari of the Aberdeen Evening Express praised it as "four minutes of perfected, polished, pop-rock with raunchy red-head Carol Decker's vocals as ear-shattering as ever". He added, "This will no doubt welcome the band back to Chartsville." [10]
Steve Stewart of the Aberdeen Press & Journal gave a mixed review, stating, "T'Pau, if anything, have a knack of composing artful hooklines that strike a chord somewhere. The trouble is Decker's irritating vocals whenever they reach anything above soft-ballad level. Still, a successful mix of keyboard overlays and pop-rock guitars." [11] Music & Media wrote, "Serious comeback of the band who had a huge European hit with 'China in Your Hands' in 1987. This new single sounds as grotesque as melodic." [12] In a review of The Promise, Adam Sweeting of The Guardian described the song as "a Eurovision fourth-placer if ever there was one" with "Decker's masonry-toppling vocals piled up in layers like a particularly indigestible aural lasagne". [13]
T'Pau
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T'Pau are an English pop group formed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of top 40 hits in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably "China in Your Hand", "Heart and Soul" and "Valentine", and several hits in the rest of Europe, before disbanding in 1992. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts, and in 2013 she reunited with original band member and co-songwriter Ronnie Rogers for a 25th-anniversary UK tour.
Nicholas David Kershaw is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, including "Wouldn't It Be Good", "Dancing Girls", "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "Human Racing", "The Riddle", "Wide Boy", "Don Quixote", and "When a Heart Beats". His 62 weeks on the UK Singles Chart through 1984 and 1985 beat all other solo artists. Kershaw appeared at the multi-venue benefit concert Live Aid in 1985 and has also penned a number of hits for other artists, including a UK No. 1 single in 1991 for Chesney Hawkes, "The One and Only".
"China in Your Hand" is a song by English pop group T'Pau from their debut studio album, Bridge of Spies (1987). A re-recorded version was released as a single in October 1987, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. "China in Your Hand" was the 600th single to top the UK chart and kept George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set on You" from hitting the top spot. The song also reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 11th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV, and in 2017 was chosen by The Daily Telegraph as one of the 21 best power ballads.
Rage is the second album by British pop group T'Pau, released in 1988. It reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and gave the group three hit singles—"Secret Garden", "Road to Our Dream" and "Only the Lonely". It was not issued in the U.S.
The Promise is the third album by British pop group T'Pau, released in 1991 by Siren Records in the UK and Charisma Records in the U.S.
Red is the fourth studio album by British pop-rock group T'Pau, which was released by Gnatfish in 1998. As the first T'Pau album since 1991's The Promise, Red features singer Carol Decker as the only member from the original line-up. This was not issued in the U.S.
"Heart and Soul" is the debut single by British pop rock band T'Pau, released in a rerecorded version from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies in 1987. Following its inclusion in a Pepe Jeans advert, the single reached number four on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" is a song by American singer Diana Ross, released on August 20, 1991 as the lead single from her nineteenth studio album, The Force Behind the Power (1991). The song was released on the Motown label in the United States and by EMI Records in the United Kingdom. It was written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis, and produced by Peter Asher. A sentimental ballad, it became the album's biggest hit, peaking at number 37 on the US Billboard R&B singles chart and number two on the UK Singles Chart. Ross considers it one of her signature songs and it was subsequently covered by various artists. The UK release of "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" included her 1985 hit "Chain Reaction".
"Secret Garden" is a song by British band T'Pau, released as the lead single from their second studio album, Rage (1988). It was written by vocalist Carol Decker and rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. Released on 19 September 1988, "Secret Garden" reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for seven weeks.
"Only the Lonely" is a song by English band T'Pau, released in 1989 as the third and final single from their second studio album, Rage (1988). It was written by vocalist Carol Decker and rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. "Only the Lonely " peaked at No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for six weeks. For its release as a single, "Only the Lonely" was remixed.
"Walk on Air" is a song by British band T'Pau, which was released in 1991 as the second single from their third studio album The Promise. It was written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Andy Richards. "Walk on Air" reached No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for two weeks.
"I Will Be With You" is a song by British band T'Pau, released in 1988 from the seventh and final single from their debut studio album, Bridge of Spies (1987). It was written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. "I Will Be with You" reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for six weeks. The 7" single cover picture is a still of Carol Decker taken from the music video to the track, "Bridge of Spies", which had preceded the release of "I Will Be With You" in some international territories.
"It Won't Be Long" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, which was released in 1991 as the lead single from her third studio album, Hoodoo (1991). It was written by Moyet and Pete Glenister, and produced by Glenister. A music video was filmed to promote the single, while Moyet also performed the song on Wogan.
"Road to Our Dream" is a song by English band T'Pau, released in 1988 as the second single from their second studio album Rage. It was written by vocalist Carol Decker and rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. "Road to Our Dream" peaked at No. 42 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for seven weeks.
"Valentine" is a song by British band T'Pau, which was released in 1988 as the fifth single from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies. It was written by Ronnie Rogers and Carol Decker, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It reached No. 9 in the UK and remained on the charts for eight weeks.
"Soul Destruction" is a song by English pop band T'Pau, released on 30 September 1991 as the third single from their third studio album, The Promise. The song was written by vocalist Carol Decker and rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers, and was produced by Andy Richards. It peaked at number 79 on the UK Singles Chart.
"With a Little Luck" is a song by British band T'Pau, released as the lead single from their 1998 fourth studio album Red. It was written by vocalist Carol Decker, ex-T'Pau rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers and J. David. It was produced by Decker, Rafe McKenna and Marco Sabiu.
"Just Dream" is a song by English vocalist Carol Decker of the band T'Pau, released as a non-album download-only single in 2007. It was written by Decker and T'Pau's ex-rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers. The song was produced by Decker, Rogers and Jez Ashurst.
"Sex Talk" is a song by British band T'Pau, written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It was originally released as a single in 1987 under the title "Intimate Strangers", but failed to chart. It was re-titled "Sex Talk" and included on the band's debut studio album Bridge of Spies (1987). In 1988, a live version of the song, recorded at the SEC Centre on 29 October 1987, was released as a single and reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart. This live version of "Sex Talk" was only released in the UK and Ireland. Elsewhere, a 7" remix of the track, "Bridge of Spies", was released instead.
Dogs in the Traffic is the third studio album by Scottish band Love and Money, released by Fontana in 1991. The album reached No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart.