You're a Lady
| "You're a Lady" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Peter Skellern | ||||
| from the album You're a Lady | ||||
| B-side | "Manifesto" | |||
| Released | 11 August 1972[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Length | 4:39 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Peter Skellern | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Sames | |||
| Peter Skellern singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "You're a Lady" at TopPop on YouTube | ||||
"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
[edit]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".[6] 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.[6] 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".[9]
Charts
[edit]Weekly charts
[edit]| 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 |
Year-end charts
[edit]| Chart (1972) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK[14] | 54 |
Cover versions
[edit]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:
- Johnny Mathis, on his 1973 album Me and Mrs. Jones[citation needed]
- Dawn, on their 1973 album Tie A Yellow Ribbon[16]
- Mocedades, on their 1981 album Desde que tú te has ido. Their version was translated into Spanish by Luis Gómez Escolar, and entitled Como siempre.[17]
- Lars von Trier and the cast of his 1998 film The Idiots in a DVD special feature[18]
- Bart Peeters in 2019[19]
References
[edit]- ^ The Complete Decca Recordings (liner). Peter Skellern. Mint Audio. 2019.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Peter Skellern | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "Nativity Music by Peter Skellern". The Aeolian Singers. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Stilgoe & Skellern – Who Plays Wins". discogs. 1985. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "Stilgoe & Skellern – A Quiet Night Out". discogs. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Deborah (10 October 1972). "Peter Skellern: A Serious Pianist". Daily Mirror: 21. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 505. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Death of Peter Skellern". 4BarsRest. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ a b "NZ Live - Peter Skellern". RNZ. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
Peter Skellern plays from Roundhead Studios in Auckland on Afternoons with Jim Mora.
- ^ "Peter Skellern Tribute with Sir Tim Rice - BBC Radio 2". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Peter Skellern – You're A Lady". discogs. 1973. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 276. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Year-End Chart 1972 – UK". YourMusicCharts. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ Brigitte Bardot complete discography on Brigitte Bardot, Initiales B.B., 3 CD box set, released in 1993 by Phonogram France and Philips, p. 30.
- ^ Dafydd Rees; Luke Crampton (1991). Rock Movers & Shakers. ABC-CLIO. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-87436-661-7.
- ^ Who Sampled (s/f). Mocedades' "Como Siempre", cover of Peter Skellern's "You're a lady".
- ^ CloserTV - A Behind the Scenes Channel (2018-10-24). Nikolaj Lie Kaas & Lars von Trier and the Idiot All Stars - Dogma Music video. Retrieved 2024-06-12 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Bart Peeters schrijft Valentijnslied voor Radio 2". radio2.be (in Dutch). 17 January 2019.