You're a Lady

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"You're a Lady"
You're a Lady Single Artwork.jpg
Single by Peter Skellern
from the album You're a Lady
B-side "Manifesto"
Released11 August 1972 [1]
Recorded1972
Length4:39
Label Decca
Songwriter(s) Peter Skellern
Producer(s) Peter Sames
Peter Skellern singles chronology
"You're a Lady"
(1972)		"Our Jackie's Getting Married"
(1972)
Music video
"You're a Lady" at TopPop on YouTube

"You're a Lady" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Peter Skellern. The song became Skellern's first and biggest hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #7 on the Irish Singles Chart and #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. [2]

Contents

Skellern performed the song live on many occasions prior to his retirement in 2001. [3] It became a constant feature of his double act with Richard Stilgoe, and renditions of the song feature on their albums Who Plays Wins (1985) [4] and A Quiet Night Out (2000). [5]

Background

Skellern wrote "You're a Lady" in the summerhouse at his home in Shaftesbury, Dorset. He kept his piano there so as not to bother anyone with his practice. [6] The song has been described as "a breathless love song". [6] Skellern's vocals and piano accompaniment are supplemented by the Congregation, a choral pop ensemble who had already had their own top ten UK hit with "Softly Whispering I Love You", [7] and by the Hanwell Band, heard unaccompanied in the introductory bars.

Skellern once played with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain as a child, and he sought to recapture his "speechless amazement" at their sound by using the brass band on the record. [6] The euphonium, played by John Luckett, is prominently featured. [8] Skellern wanted the song to evoke the North of England, saying: "I wanted people to see the wet cobblestones and the Lowry paintings when they heard 'You're a Lady'". [9]

The single was placed on Radio Luxembourg on a pay-for-play basis, but was then picked up by Terry Wogan on his BBC Radio 2 programme. The single went on to sell over 800,000 copies [10] and the song was also the first track on Skellern's 1972 album of the same name. [11] The song's great success and the demands that came with it led Skellern to a six-month period, a couple of years later, where he "got drunk every day". [9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1972/73)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [12] 2
Irish Singles Chart [13] 7
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)3
US Billboard Hot 100 50

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)Position
UK [14] 54

References

  1. ↑ The Complete Decca Recordings (liner). Peter Skellern. Mint Audio. 2019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ↑ "Peter Skellern | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Nativity Music by Peter Skellern". The Aeolian Singers. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Stilgoe & Skellern – Who Plays Wins". discogs. 1985. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Stilgoe & Skellern – A Quiet Night Out". discogs. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Thomas, Deborah (10 October 1972). "Peter Skellern: A Serious Pianist". Daily Mirror: 21. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 505. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  8. ↑ "Death of Peter Skellern". 4BarsRest. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  9. 1 2 "NZ Live - Peter Skellern". RNZ . 20 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2021. Peter Skellern plays from Roundhead Studios in Auckland on Afternoons with Jim Mora.
  10. ↑ "Peter Skellern Tribute with Sir Tim Rice - BBC Radio 2". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Peter Skellern – You're A Lady". discogs. 1973. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  12. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 276. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  13. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "Year-End Chart 1972 – UK". YourMusicCharts. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
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