Can't Help Myself (Flowers song)
"Can't Help Myself" | ||||
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![]() "Can't Help Myself" by Flowers | ||||
Single by Flowers | ||||
from the album Icehouse | ||||
B-side | "Send Somebody" | |||
Released | 13 May 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:10 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Iva Davies | |||
Producer(s) |
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Flowers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Can't Help Myself" on YouTube | ||||
"Can't Help Myself" by Flowers Alternative cover | ||||
![]() 10" version (July 1980) | ||||
"Can't Help Myself" by Icehouse Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Chrysalis Records (US / UK 1981 release) |
"Can't Help Myself" is the first single released by the Australian synthpop/rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse.[1][2] It was released in May 1980 as a 7" vinyl single on independent label, Regular Records, five months ahead of debut album Icehouse. A 10" vinyl single was released in July and had a cover depicting individual images of band members diagonally across the band's name and the single's title (see infobox at right middle). It peaked at #10 on the Australian Singles Charts.[3]
The music video was filmed in 1980 in a car park in Chatswood, Sydney.[4]
It was also released in the UK on Chrysalis Records in October 1981 as the second single under the band name Icehouse (see infobox at right below) as both a 7" and 10" vinyl single and later in the U.S. as a 7" and 12" single.[5] A remix version by Australian Trance DJ, beXta, was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.[6]
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Can't Help Myself" was ranked number 85.[7]
Reception
[edit]In a single review Cash Box magazine called it "a quick stepping rhythm embellished by both guitar and synthesiser, draws the listener in."[8]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks written by Iva Davies (as Ivor Arthur Davies) unless otherwise indicated.[9][10][11]
7" single (Australian release)
[edit]- "Can't Help Myself" - 3:10
- "Send Somebody" (Iva Davies, Michael Hoste)[10] - 3:42
10" single (Australian release)
[edit]- "Can't Help Myself"
- "Send Somebody" (Davies, Hoste)
- "Can't Help Myself" (Extended version)
7" single (UK release)
[edit]- "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 1) - 3:27
- "Fatman"[11] - 3:50
12" single (UK release)
[edit]- "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 1)
- "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 2)
- "Fatman"
12" single (US release)
[edit]- "Can't Help Myself" (Version 1) - 5:56
- "Can't Help Myself" (Version 2) - 5:56
Personnel
[edit]Credits:[12]
- Flowers members
- Iva Davies – vocals, guitar, oboe, keyboards
- Michael Hoste – keyboards
- John Lloyd – drums, backing vocals
- Keith Welsh – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Recording details
- Engineer: John Bee, David Cafe, Gerry Nixon
- Producer: Cameron Allan, Iva Davies
- Studios: Studios 301 except "Can't Help Myself" and "Send Somebody", recorded at Paradise Studios.
- Re-mix — Ed Thacker, Daniel Coulombe
- Mastering: David Hemming, Rick O'Neil
Charts
[edit]Weekly charts
[edit]Chart (1980) | Peak Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13][14] | 10 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] | 29 |
Year-end charts
[edit]Chart (1980) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] | 44 |
References
[edit]- ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Icehouse'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on May 17, 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ Magnus Holmgren (ed.). "Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 5 December 1998. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- ^ "IVA DAVIES & ICEHOUSE - 1994 Mum & Dad Davies Interview". Spellbound-icehouse.org. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Can't Help Myself". Connolly & Company. 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
- ^ "Meltdown > Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
- ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 7 November 1981. p. 13. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
- ^ ""Can't Help Myself" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ a b ""Send Somebody" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ a b ""Fatman" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. 5 January 1981. Retrieved 17 January 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ "Flowers – Can't Help Myself". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 December 2021.