Wrapped Around Her

Last updated
"Wrapped Around Her"
Joan Armatrading Wrapped Around Her 1992 single cover.jpg
Single by Joan Armatrading
from the album Square the Circle
B-side "Promise Land"
Released18 May 1992
Length3:49
Label A&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Joan Armatrading
  • Graham Lyle
Joan Armatrading singles chronology
"Love and Affection"
(1991)
"Wrapped Around Her"
(1992)
"True Love"
(1992)

"Wrapped Around Her" is a song by English singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 18 May 1992 by A&M Records as the lead single from her thirteenth studio album, Square the Circle (1992). The song, which was written and produced by Armatrading and Graham Lyle, reached number 56 in the UK singles chart.

Contents

Background

Armatrading co-wrote "Wrapped Around Her" with Scottish singer-songwriter Graham Lyle. It was her first writing collaboration since 1976. [1] Both Lyle and Armatrading contributed to the melody, while Armatrading wrote the lyrics about an unfaithful man. She told Musician in 1992, "I've never sat in a room with anybody to write. I explained to [Graham Lyle] that I'd never sat with anybody to write a song and I wouldn't do it now. He thought I was strange but he didn't mind too much." [2]

Release

As the lead single from her forthcoming album Square the Circle, "Wrapped Around Her" was released in the UK on 18 May 1992, three weeks before the album. [3] The 7-inch and cassette B-side ("Promise Land") and CD bonus tracks ("All the Way from America", "I'm Lucky" and "Can't Lie to Myself") were all recorded for a BBC Radio 1 session in 1990 and included on the single by arrangement with BBC Enterprises Ltd. [1]

Armatrading had high hopes that "Wrapped Around Her" would become a big hit for her. She told the Cambridge Evening News in 1992, "My stuff sells very well but it would be really nice to have a big hit. It's still important and you do need things like that to happen. People need to know that what you're doing is there and a big single is the way to spread the word." [4]

Promotion

A music video was filmed to promote the single. Armatrading also performed the song on the British TV show Wogan , which was broadcast on 11 May 1992. [5]

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Jim Whiteford of the Dundee Evening Telegraph wrote, "Love her or hate her, you cannot ignore Joan Armatrading or her new single 'Wrapped Around Her', which appears a few weeks before her new album. Fairly tasty for her fans!" [6] Jim Lawn of the Paisley Daily Express commented that "hopefully [it will be] the hit it deserves to be". [7] Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner noted that the "jagged feel lacks the usual non-stick, polished Armatrading air". [8] The Rossendale Free Press awarded the single a two out of five star rating, writing, "Joan gets funky as she warbles on about jealousy over a sub-Chic bassline. A Manchester United of a record – just fails to get anywhere." [9]

Track listings

7–inch and cassette single (UK and Europe) [10] [11]

  1. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  2. "Promise Land" – 3:54

CD single (UK and Europe) [12]

  1. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  2. "All the Way from America" – 5:42
  3. "I'm Lucky" – 3:21
  4. "Can't Lie to Myself" – 4:07

CD single (Australia) [13]

  1. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  2. "Promise Land" – 3:54

Personnel

"Wrapped Around Her"

Production

Other

Charts

Chart (1992)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [14] 148
UK Singles (OCC) [15] 56

References

  1. 1 2 Russell, Ian (22 May 1992). "Music Matters" . Kilmarnock Standard . p. 16. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. Schruers, Fred (September 1992). "Joan Armatrading Squares Off". Musician . pp. 32, 34. ISSN   0733-5253.
  3. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . 16 May 1992. p. 19. ISSN   0265-1548.
  4. Coles, Bill (11 June 1992). "Re-Mix! - Joan's ready to launch a new album" . Cambridge Evening News . p. 24. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Fleming, Craig (11 May 1992). "Joan has it all Square" . West Lancashire Evening Gazette . p. 8. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. Whiteford, Jim (28 May 1992). "On the Record! - Singles" . Dundee Evening Telegraph . p. 20. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. Lawn, Jim (3 June 1992). "Midweek Music: Singles Round-up" . Paisley Daily Express . p. 6. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Hirst, Andrew (16 May 1992). "Beyond the Beat - Reviews: Singles" . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . p. 21. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. JA (22 May 1992). "Insight: Singles... singles... singles" . Rossendale Free Press . p. 43. Retrieved 17 August 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. Wrapped Around Her (UK and European 7-inch single sleeve). Joan Armatrading. A&M Records. 1992. AM 877, 390877-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Wrapped Around Her (UK and European cassette single sleeve). Joan Armatrading. A&M Records. 1992. AMMC 877, 390877-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Wrapped Around Her (UK and European CD single sleeve). Joan Armatrading. A&M Records. 1992. AMCD 877, 390877-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Wrapped Around Her (Australian CD single sleeve). Joan Armatrading. A&M Records. 1992. 390 710-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. "Response from ARIA, re: chart inquiry, received 22 August 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 August 2025.