| 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]
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".
| 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 100 | 50 |
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: