You're a Lady explained

You're a Lady
Cover:File:You're a Lady Single Artwork.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Peter Skellern
Album:You're a Lady
B-Side:Manifesto
Released:11 August 1972[1]
Recorded:1972
Length:4:39
Label:Decca
Producer:Peter Sames
Next Title:Our Jackie's Getting Married
Next Year:1972

"You're a Lady" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Peter Skellern. The song became Skellern's first and biggest hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #7 on the Irish Singles Chart and #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Skellern performed the song live on many occasions prior to his retirement in 2001.[3] It became a constant feature of his double act with Richard Stilgoe, and renditions of the song feature on their albums Who Plays Wins (1985)[4] and A Quiet Night Out (2000).[5]

Background

Skellern wrote "You're a Lady" in the summerhouse at his home in Shaftesbury, Dorset. He kept his piano there so as not to bother anyone with his practice.[6] The song has been described as "a breathless love song". Skellern's vocals and piano accompaniment are supplemented by the Congregation, a choral pop ensemble who had already had their own top ten UK hit with "Softly Whispering I Love You",[7] and by the Hanwell Band, heard unaccompanied in the introductory bars.

Skellern once played with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain as a child, and he sought to recapture his "speechless amazement" at their sound by using the brass band on the record. The euphonium, played by John Luckett, is prominently featured.[8] Skellern wanted the song to evoke the North of England, saying: "I wanted people to see the wet cobblestones and the Lowry paintings when they heard 'You're a Lady'".[9]

The single was placed on Radio Luxembourg on a pay-for-play basis, but was then picked up by Terry Wogan on his BBC Radio 2 programme. The single went on to sell over 800,000 copies[10] and the song was also the first track on Skellern's 1972 album of the same name.[11] The song's great success and the demands that came with it led Skellern to a six-month period, a couple of years later, where he "got drunk every day".

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1972/73)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 2
Irish Singles Chart[13] 7
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)3
US Billboard Hot 10050

Year-end charts

Cover versions

A French version of the song was released by folk singer Hugues Aufray with the title "Vous ma lady", and the following year the same version was released as a duet by Brigitte Bardot and Laurent Vergez.[15]

Other performers who have covered the song include:

Notes and References

  1. The Complete Decca Recordings. Peter Skellern. 2019. liner. Mint Audio.
  2. Web site: Peter Skellern | Biography & History . . 22 February 2017.
  3. Web site: Nativity Music by Peter Skellern. The Aeolian Singers. 27 February 2017.
  4. Web site: Stilgoe & Skellern – Who Plays Wins. discogs. 1985 . 14 September 2020.
  5. Web site: Stilgoe & Skellern – A Quiet Night Out. discogs. 27 February 2017.
  6. Thomas . Deborah . Peter Skellern: A Serious Pianist . Daily Mirror . 10 October 1972 . 21 . 10 June 2020.
  7. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited. London. 1-904994-10-5. 505.
  8. Web site: Death of Peter Skellern. 4BarsRest. 17 February 2017. 27 February 2017.
  9. Web site: NZ Live - Peter Skellern . Peter Skellern plays from Roundhead Studios in Auckland on Afternoons with Jim Mora. . RNZ . 20 March 2009 . 6 February 2021.
  10. Web site: Peter Skellern Tribute with Sir Tim Rice - BBC Radio 2. bbc.co.uk. 17 April 2017.
  11. Web site: Peter Skellern – You're A Lady. discogs. 1973 . 27 February 2017.
  12. 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. 276.
  13. Web site: The Irish Charts - All there is to know . 4 July 2023 . www.irishcharts.ie.
  14. Web site: 29 March 2021 . Year-End Chart 1972 – UK . 4 July 2023 . YourMusicCharts . en.
  15. Brigitte Bardot complete discography on Brigitte Bardot, Initiales B.B., 3 CD box set, released in 1993 by Phonogram France and Philips, p. 30.
  16. Book: Dafydd Rees. Luke Crampton. Rock Movers & Shakers. 1991. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-87436-661-7. 374.
  17. Who Sampled (s/f). Mocedades' "Como Siempre", cover of Peter Skellern's "You're a lady".
  18. Nikolaj Lie Kaas & Lars von Trier and the Idiot All Stars - Dogma Music video . 2018-10-24 . CloserTV - A Behind the Scenes Channel . 2024-06-12 . YouTube.
  19. Web site: Bart Peeters schrijft Valentijnslied voor Radio 2 . nl . radio2.be . 17 January 2019 .