| I Just Wanna Be Loved | |
| Cover: | Culture Club I Just Wanna Be Loved Single.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Culture Club |
| Album: | Don't Mind If I Do |
| B-Side: | "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Quivver mix) |
| Length: | 4:32 (album version) |
| Label: | Virgin |
| Producer: | Richie Stevens |
| Prev Title: | Gusto Blusto |
| Prev Year: | 1986 |
| Next Title: | Your Kisses Are Charity |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
"I Just Wanna Be Loved" is the first single from English new wave band Culture Club's fifth album, Don't Mind If I Do (1999). The song was serviced to US radio in August 1998 to promote the band's reformation US tour and the live album and compilation VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments, but it failed to generate interest. The song was then released commercially in October 1998 and entered at 4 on the UK Singles Chart during a week when the top five positions were all held by new entries for the first time.[1] The song also became a top-20 hit in Iceland and on the Eurochart Hot 100 while reaching the top 100 in Australia and Germany.
The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis noted its "light reggae influence" in his review of Don't Mind If I Do.[2] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "this fine new recording shows 'em in far better form than on their last two '80s-era albums." He remarked that "set to a shuffling pop-reggae groove somewhat similar to their classic hit "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "I Just Wanna Be Loved" tingles with warm yet worldly lyrics and a crazy-catchy chorus that you'll be humming for hours after one listen." He added that Boy George "is in peak vocal form, while band-mates Roy Hay, Jon Moss, and Mike Craig play with astonishingly sharp precision."[3] Sarah Davis from Dotmusic described it as "a lovers rock workout that evokes all the best memories of the Eighties", stating that George "is in fine voice".[4] Claudia Connell from News of the World commented, "Their original line-up, including Boy George, storms back with a brilliant pop song that should see the band return to the charts again after 12 years."[5]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[10] | 84 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] | 18 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[12] | 20 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 11 August 1998 | Virgin | [14] | |
| United Kingdom | 19 October 1998 | [15] | ||
| Japan | 21 October 1998 | CD | [16] |