"I Don't Wanna Dance"
Single by Eddy Grant
from the album Killer on the Rampage
Released1982 (UK)[1] / July 1983 (US)
GenreReggae,[1][2] pop rock[3]
Length3:40
LabelIce Records (UK)[1]
Songwriter(s)Eddy Grant[1]
Producer(s)Eddy Grant[1]

"I Don't Wanna Dance" is a 1982 single by Eddy Grant. It went to number one on the UK Singles Chart and held there for three weeks in November 1982.[4] It was later released in the United States, but only reached No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1983. It was later reissued as the B-side of Grant's "Electric Avenue".

The song expresses Eddy's farewell to Britain being a land of class and colour divisions. Grant explained to the Daily Telegraph on June 27, 2008: "I Don't Wanna Dance can mean that you don't want to go out on the dancefloor or it could mean that you don't want to go along with an idea. That's how I try to write: you take it how you want, but I am basically a writer of protest."[5]

In a 1988 interview for Yugoslav RTV Revija, Grant said: "I Don't Wanna Dance was created during a tour. I was sitting in the dressing room, waiting for my concert to begin. Suddenly I put together the chords and, tone by tone, the outline of the song was born. Since I'm not an exclusively reggae, rock or pop musician, I'm not limited in my songwriting."[6]

Written and produced by Grant, it was the most successful of his solo singles in the United Kingdom, and his first number one since "Baby Come Back" by The Equals in 1968.[7]

Charts

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Eddy Grant - I Don't Wanna Dance (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  2. ^ "Billboard" magazine; November 20, 1982
  3. ^ "Eddy Grant - Killer on the Rampage (album review )". Sputnikmusic. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 415. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. ^ "How Eddy Grant gave hope to South Africa". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Eddy Grant zavoleo Jugoslaviju, kupuje stan u Dubrovniku" [Eddy Grant fell in love with Yugoslavia, is planning to buy a flat in Dubrovnik] (in Serbo-Croatian). RTV Revija. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Eddy Grant". Official Charts. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  9. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989, part 2". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. ^ "CHART NUMBER 1395 – Saturday, October 8, 1983". Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 2016-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). CHUM.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4365." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Don't Wanna Dance". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  19. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (G)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Eddy Grant – I Don't Wanna Dance". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Eddy Grant Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1983". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1983". Ultratop. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 29 July 2021.