"Do You Wanna Touch Me", also referred to as "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Mike Leander. It was released as the lead single from his second album, Touch Me (1973), peaking at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1973, his third successive UK hit. The single also reached No. 9 in Ireland and No. 11 in Australia. The song represented something of a departure from the "trademark" of the Glitter sound. The song was also used in The Runaways drama film of the same name.
"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" was later covered by rock singer Joan Jett in 1980 for her debut solo studio album, Bad Reputation (1981). Following the success of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" nearly two years later, the song was released as a single in the summer of 1982 and reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 that September.[1] Jett's version of the song appears in a 2008 TV commercial for Hewlett-Packard's TouchSmart computers. The commercial was withdrawn when the company learned that Glitter, now a convicted sex offender, had written the song. On 29 October 2008, it was reported that Glitter would receive £100,000 in royalties from Hewlett-Packard for the advertisement.[2]
On the musical television series Glee, Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the members of the Glee Club cover this song in the episode "Sexy". The performance caused some controversy in the UK over the resulting royalty payments to Glitter. The charity Kidscape said the song's inclusion was "wholly inappropriate".[5] The UK version of the album Glee: The Music, Volume 5 does not therefore include the song, but replaces it with "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band.
Cover by the Cure
The Cure played this song several times during the Head Tour in 1985.[6]