No Regrets (Tom Rush song) explained

No Regrets
Cover:Tom Rush - No Regrets.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Tom Rush
Album:The Circle Game
B-Side:Shadow Dream Song
Genre:Folk rock
Length:3:50
Label:Elektra
Producer:Arthur Gorson
Prev Title:On the Road Again
Prev Year:1967
Next Title:Something in the Way She Moves
Next Year:1968
No Regrets
Type:single
Artist:Tom Rush
Album:Ladies Love Outlaws
Genre:Folk rock, country rock
Length:5:40
Label:Columbia
Producer:Mark Spector
Prev Title:Ladies Love Outlaws
Prev Year:1974

"No Regrets" is a song by folk and blues singer/songwriter Tom Rush. It is the final song on his 1968 album The Circle Game and was released as a single in the UK in January 1968 and in the US in April. It peaked at number 57 on the UK BMRB Breakers, an official extension of the UK Singles Chart.[1]

His 1968 composition has become an acknowledged standard, with numerous cover versions having been recorded, most notably by The Walker Brothers. In addition to his 1968 sparse acoustic recording of the song, Rush later recorded a more lush, orchestrated pop version for Columbia Records featuring Carly Simon on background vocals and a screaming electric guitar solo for his 1974 album Ladies Love Outlaws.

The Walker Brothers version

No Regrets
Cover:No_regrets_single_sleeve.jpeg
Type:single
Artist:The Walker Brothers
Album:No Regrets
B-Side:Remember Me
Released:[2]
Recorded:1975
Genre:
Length:5:47
Label:GTO
Producer:
Prev Title:Love Her (reissue)
Prev Year:1971
Next Title:Lines
Next Year:1976

The Walker Brothers recorded and released "No Regrets" as their comeback single in 1975, their first since 1967's "Walking in the Rain" and eleventh overall.

The song was also used as the title of its parent album. The single was slightly different as it features a John Walker harmony vocal not present on the album version which in turn includes female backing singers absent from the single.[3]

"No Regrets" was a major hit spending twelve weeks on the UK Singles Chart and peaking at #7 in February 1976[4] giving Rush belated Top Ten exposure as a songwriter in the UK. The single would prove to be the group's final taste of commercial success while together, as the parent album and subsequent Walker Brothers releases failed to find a wide audience. The B-side "Remember Me" was written by John Walker under the pseudonym A. Dayam.

Chart positions

Midge Ure version

No Regrets
Cover:Midge Ure No Regrets 12-inch.jpg
Caption:12" single cover
Type:single
Artist:Midge Ure
B-Side:Mood Music
Recorded:1982
Genre:Synth-pop
Label:Chrysalis
Producer:Midge Ure
Next Title:After a Fashion
Next Year:1983

In May 1982, Scottish musician Midge Ure released a cover of the song as his debut solo single. "No Regrets" was also produced by Ure, who was "tired of doing it for others, so I decided to do it for myself" and was co-produced and engineered by John Hudson.[6]

Background

In 1976, Ure went on Top of the Pops as part of Slik with "Forever and Ever". At the same time, the Walker Brothers were also on with their version of "No Regrets". Ure said that "it just stuck in the back of my head" and after doing a favour for a studio engineer (presumably John Hudson), Ure was offered some studio time. So, he decided to record "No Regrets" based on what he remembered of the Walker Brothers' version. Ure also said that "it was dabbling with fire, I should not have gone anywhere near it".[7] After the release of the single, Ure also thought about doing a solo album, but never found the time and it was not until 1985 that he released his album The Gift.[8]

Reception

Reviewing for Record Mirror, Simon Tebbutt described the song as "a brilliant mixture of the big emotional American ballad … with the kind of clean cut and almost cold European precision we've come to associate with Mr Ure."[9]

Personnel

Charts

Notes and References

  1. 17 February 1968. Britain's Top 50. Record Retailer.
  2. Web site: 45cat - The Walker Brothers - No Regrets / Remember Me - GTO - UK - GT 42. 45cat. 2014-09-25.
  3. Book: Williams , Lewis . 2006. Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye. 1st. Plexus. London. 0-85965-395-1. 151.
  4. Book: Roberts, David. 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 589/590.
  5. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 331.
  6. 29 May 1982. Newsbeat. Record Mirror. 4. 21 April 2021. flickr.com.
  7. Web site: Twambley. Andrew. 7 April 2021. Midge Ure - Interview. 2021-04-21. www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk. en.
  8. December 1985. Midge Ure. Sound on Sound. 21 April 2021. www.muzines.co.uk.
  9. 5 June 1982. Singles. Record Mirror. 19. 21 April 2021. flickr.com.
  10. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 318.