Don't Wanna Let You Go Explained

Don't Wanna Let You Go
Cover:Don'twannaletyougo.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Five
Album:Invincible
B-Side:Battlestar
Studio:Windmill Lane (Dublin, Ireland)
Length:
  • (album version)
  • (radio edit)
Label:RCA, BMG
Producer:Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, StarGate
Prev Title:Keep On Movin'
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:We Will Rock You
Next Year:2000

"Don't Wanna Let You Go" is a song by British boy band Five. Written by producers Richard Stannard and Julian Gallagher with band members Abs Breen, and Jason "J" Brown, and Sean Conlon, the song was released on 14 February 2000 as the fourth single from Five's second studio album, Invincible (1999).

Chart performance

The song debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart on 18 March 2000. It also peaked at number five in New Zealand, number 11 in Ireland, number 17 in Australia and in the Netherlands, number 19 in Italy, number 22 in Sweden, number 26 in the Wallonia region of Belgium, and number 37 in the Flanders region of Belgium.

Music video

Directed by Cameron Casey (who also directed the videos for "If Ya Gettin' Down" and "Keep On Movin'"), produced by Andy Leahy and Richard Fenton, and inspired by the 1999 movie The Matrix, the video begins with binary code on a computer screen. A computerised voice says "OK, I'm in. Five, you're mine." Three members of the band, Ritchie Neville, Sean Conlon and Abs Breen, sit in a room looking at a laptop when Scott Robinson comes in and says "Lads? The freak is officially...back.", and dumps a big pile of fanmail on the table. An obsessive female fan appears to have been constantly sending Five emails and letters, hoping to meet them, so they decide to go to the girl's address in their Range Rover. They pull up at a mansion and they look round. Jason "J" Brown touches a large graphic and gets sucked into the girl's computer. While the girl is on the computer, she watches the faces of each member of the band. The sparks come through, and she gasps when she attempts escape. Several minutes later, she runs down the stairs, enters a different office and discovers Sean's head inside a refrigerator, subsequently screaming in terror. When Five dance in the hallway, she runs back into the same office and answers the telephone to a disturbing voice. The sparks and electricity crashes on the computer and she runs out while screaming. After Abs, Scott, Ritchie, and Sean regroup, Abs says, "So, lads, we've had enough. No more games." Ritchie concurs, "Let's get J back". The members turn invisible and she closes her eyes and screams again. Following that, J reemerges, then goes on to rejoin the rest of the band. The members dance and the Five logo comes up. At the final scene, the lightning strikes the mansion and she runs away while screaming. As the video fades to black, her intense scream can be heard at the end.

According to Brown, he got a severe mental breakdown during the production of the video after frequent insomnia.[1]

Track listings

UK and Australian CD1[2]

  1. "Don't Wanna Let You Go" (radio edit) – 3:38
  2. "Don't Wanna Let You Go" (Biffco extended mix) – 4:41
  3. "Interview Request Line"

UK and Australian CD2[3]

  1. "Don't Wanna Let You Go" (radio edit)
  2. "Battlestar"
  3. Enhanced CD

UK cassette single and European CD single[4] [5]

  1. "Don't Wanna Let You Go" (radio edit)
  2. "Battlestar"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 liner notes and the Invincible album booklet.[2] [6]

Studio

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2000)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] 28
Guatemala (El Siglo de Torreón)[8] 8
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[9] 6

Year-end chart

Chart (2000)Position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 98
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] 77

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
Sweden14 February 2000CD[12]
United Kingdom6 March 2000[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Big Reunion' 5ive Former Frontman Jason 'J' Brown Reveals He Tried To Kill Himself. 6 September 2013 . Huffington Post. 26 December 2013.
  2. Don't Wanna Let You Go. Five. 2000. UK & Australian CD1 liner notes. RCA Records, BMG. 74321745302.
  3. Don't Wanna Let You Go. Five. 2000. UK & Australian CD2 liner notes. RCA Records, BMG. 74321745292.
  4. Don't Wanna Let You Go. Five. 2000. UK cassette single sleeve. RCA Records, BMG. 74321 74529 4.
  5. Don't Wanna Let You Go. Five. 2000. European CD single liner notes. RCA Records, BMG. 74321737232.
  6. Invincible. Invincible (Five album). Five. 1999. UK CD album booklet. RCA Records, BMG. 74321713922.
  7. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 17. 13. 11. 25 March 2000. 2 August 2021.
  8. Web site: Los Discos Más Vendicos En Iberoamérica y Estados Unidos. El Siglo de Torreón. 2000. Spanish. https://archive.today/20220317123431/http://h.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=EDT/2000/05/29/58/Ar05800.xml&CollName=EDT_2000_2009&DOCID=79712&PageLabelPrint=58&skin=ElSiglo&sLanguage=English&Content=ALL&selLanguage=&sPublication=EDT&sQuery=%22Thalia%22%2B%22Arrasando%22&sScopeID=DR&sDateFrom=01%252F01%252F2000&sDateTo=12%252F31%252F2000&x=28&y=16&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=25&ViewMode=HTML. March 17, 2022. January 10, 2023.
  9. News: Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (27.3–4.5 2000). Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 14. 28 April 2000. 2 August 2021.
  10. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2000. ARIA. 2 August 2021.
  11. News: Íslenski Listinn Topp 100. Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 10. 5 January 2001. 2 August 2021.
  12. Web site: Five: Don't Wanna Let You Go. click2music.se. sv. https://web.archive.org/web/20020912064733/http://www.click2music.se/product.asp?prd=644&art=47. 12 September 2002. 29 November 2023.
  13. Reviews – For Records Released on March 6, 2000. Music Week. 23. 26 February 2000. 2 August 2021.