| "I Don't Wanna Dance" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Eddy Grant | |
| from the album Killer on the Rampage | |
| Released | 1982 (UK)[1] / July 1983 (US) |
| Genre | Reggae,[1][2] pop rock[3] |
| Length | 3:40 |
| Label | Ice Records (UK)[1] |
| Songwriter(s) | Eddy Grant[1] |
| Producer(s) | Eddy Grant[1] |
"I Don't Wanna Dance" is a 1982 single by Eddy Grant. It went to number one on the UK Singles Chart and held there for three weeks in November 1982.[4] It was later released in the United States, but only reached No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1983. It was later reissued as the B-side of Grant's "Electric Avenue".
The song expresses Eddy's farewell to Britain being a land of class and colour divisions. Grant explained to the Daily Telegraph on June 27, 2008: "I Don't Wanna Dance can mean that you don't want to go out on the dancefloor or it could mean that you don't want to go along with an idea. That's how I try to write: you take it how you want, but I am basically a writer of protest."[5]
In a 1988 interview for Yugoslav RTV Revija, Grant said: "I Don't Wanna Dance was created during a tour. I was sitting in the dressing room, waiting for my concert to begin. Suddenly I put together the chords and, tone by tone, the outline of the song was born. Since I'm not an exclusively reggae, rock or pop musician, I'm not limited in my songwriting."[6]
Written and produced by Grant, it was the most successful of his solo singles in the United Kingdom, and his first number one since "Baby Come Back" by The Equals in 1968.[7]
- ^ a b c d e "Eddy Grant - I Don't Wanna Dance (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ "Billboard" magazine; November 20, 1982
- ^ "Eddy Grant - Killer on the Rampage (album review )". Sputnikmusic. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 415. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "How Eddy Grant gave hope to South Africa". The Telegraph. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Eddy Grant zavoleo Jugoslaviju, kupuje stan u Dubrovniku" [Eddy Grant fell in love with Yugoslavia, is planning to buy a flat in Dubrovnik] (in Serbo-Croatian). RTV Revija. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Eddy Grant". Official Charts. Retrieved 14 May 2016.