Don't Talk to Him explained

Don't Talk to Him
Cover:File:Cliff Richard Don't Talk to Him.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Cliff Richard and The Shadows
B-Side:Say You're Mine
Recorded:13 October 1963[1]
Studio:EMI Studios, London
Genre:
Label:Columbia
Producer:Norrie Paramor
Prev Title:It's All in the Game
Prev Year:1963
Next Title:Maria No Mas
Next Year:1963

"Don't Talk to Him" is a song by Cliff Richard and The Shadows, released as a single in November 1963. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and received a silver disc for 250,000 sales.[3]

Background and release

The music for "Don't Talk to Him" was composed by Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch. He then asked Richard if he would write the lyrics. However, Richard has said that he was "sort of scared of writing", but agreed to "have a go". He recalled he "took it back to the cottage where I was staying. We were in Blackpool. And I sat down one night and played it through on my guitar and came up with the lyrics".[1]

It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, then known as EMI, whereas the B-side, "Say You're Mine", written by Tony Meehan and Norman Stracey, was recorded whilst the group was in Blackpool, at the Jubilee Hall.[4] Both tracks were included on the EP Cliff Sings Don't Talk to Him, released in March 1964.

Richard also recorded a German-language version of "Don't Talk to Him", titled "Sag' "no" zu ihm", with German lyrics by Carl Ulrich Blecher and backing vocals by the Botho-Lucas-Quartett. It was released as a single in Germany in April 1964 as a double A-side with a German-language version of "I'm the Lonely One", titled "Zuviel allein".[5] However, "Sag' "no" zu ihm" was more successful than the other side, becoming a top-ten hit in Germany and top-twenty hit in Austria.

Reception

Reviewed in Record Mirror, "Don't Talk to Him" was described as a "beaty sort of catchy number with Cliff singing very well indeed on the cleverly arranged number which is slightly reminiscent of the oldie "It's Magic"".[6] Another reviewer wrote that "in sharp contrast to It's All In The Game comes a haunting melody in slow cha-cha tempo", which is "ideal for dancing and makes easy-on-the-ear listening".[1]

Track listing

  1. "Don't Talk to Him" – 2:53
  2. "Say You're Mine" – 2:34

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1963–64)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 3
Canada (CHUM)[8] 14
Denmark (Danmarks Radio)[9] 3
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[10] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 9

"Sag' "no" zu ihm"

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cliff Richard Song Database - Song Details (Don't Talk to Him). 2021-08-02. www.cliffrichardsongs.com.
  2. Book: Stanley, Bob . Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop . 13 September 2013. Faber & Faber. 978-0-571-28198-5. 82.
  3. 14 December 1963. Four silver discs won this week. Disc. 7. 2 August 2021.
  4. Web site: Cliff Richard Song Database - Song Details (Say You're Mine). live. 2021-08-02. www.cliffrichardsongs.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20210802184930/http://www.cliffrichardsongs.com/popup.php?data=SayYoureMine196380_popupplus . 2 August 2021 .
  5. Web site: Cliff Richard Song Database - Song Details (Sag' "no" zu ihm). live. 2021-08-02. www.cliffrichardsongs.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20210802212812/http://www.cliffrichardsongs.com/popup.php?data=SagNoZuIhm196416_popupplus . 2 August 2021 .
  6. 2 November 1963. Up-beat Cliff. Record Mirror. 9. 2 August 2021.
  7. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. . 2005. 0-646-44439-5. Kent Music Report.
  8. Web site: CHUM Hit Parade Week of February 17, 1964. 2 August 2021. 17 February 1964.
  9. Web site: 2016-04-09. danskehitlister.dk. 2021-08-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20160409062144/http://danskehitlister.dk/?song_id=220. 9 April 2016.
  10. Web site: Lever Hit Parade. flavourofnz.co.nz. 2021-08-02. 31 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210731095924/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20lever&qartistid=10#n_view_location. dead.
  11. Book: Johansson, Carl-Owe. Rock Around the Clock - Saturday Night Fever 1955-1978. Vara, Sweden. Dominique muzic-club. 1980.
  12. Book: Whitmann, Wolfgang. Österreichisches Hitlexikon. 1956-1983/84. DBV Verlag, Graz. 1984. 144800830.