The Shadows – Dance On!

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“Dance On!”
Single by The Shadows
B-side“All Day”
Released7 December 1962
Recorded21 November 1962
StudioEMI Studios, London
GenreInstrumental rock
Length2:22
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Valerie MurtaghElaine MurtaghRay Adams
Producer(s)Norrie Paramor
The Shadows singles chronology
The Boys
(1962)”Dance On!
(1962)”Foot Tapper
(1963)

“Dance On!” is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. A vocal version, with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was recorded by British female vocalist Kathy Kirby, whose version reached number 11 on the UK chart in September 1963.

Release and reception

“Dance On!” was written by Valerie MurtaghElaine Murtagh and Ray Adams, better known for being the members of pop vocal group the Avons. It was released with the B-side “All Day”, written by Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin. In the US and Canada, “Dance On!” was released with the B-side “The Rumble”, written by guitarist Ike Isaacs.

Reviewed in New Record Mirror, “Dance On!” was described as sounding “rather reminiscent of Duane Eddy … which soon falls into the jug-along formula that we’re used to. Tuneful and exciting in parts, there’s a lot of versatility involved in this one. Not as original as we expected though – but perhaps originality for this sort of group has been exhausted”. Reviewing for DiscDon Nicholl wrote that the song “beats a very infectious path and the side has a lot more to offer than their “Guitar Tango” dramaties”.

The Shadows – Dance On – 2004

Charts

Chart (1963)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)47
Canada (Vancouver CFUN)26
Denmark (Danmarks Radio)4
Germany (Official German Charts)45
Hong Kong3
Ireland (IRMA)1
Israel (Kol Israel)2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)8
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)2
Norway (VG-lista)2
South Africa (SARMDA)2
Spain (Promusicae)16
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)3
UK Singles (OCC)1

Kathy Kirby version

“Dance On”
Single by Kathy Kirby
B-side“Playboy”
Released21 June 1963
GenrePop
Length2:28
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Valerie MurtaghElaine MurtaghRay Adams
Producer(s)Peter Sullivan
Kathy Kirby singles chronology
“Big Man”
(1962)”Dance On
(1963)”Secret Love
(1963)

Release and reception

Kirby’s version of “Dance On” was released in June 1963 and became her first charting single, though it did not enter the UK Singles Chart until the third week of August, reaching its peak four weeks later. However, it became more successful in Australia, where it topped the charts. The song features guitar by Jimmy Page as well as an orchestral arrangement by Charles Blackwell. It was released with the B-side “Playboy”, written by Clive Westlake and Richard Gregory.

Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl described the orchestra as an “excellent compelling noise” and that “Kirby’s vocal of this melody is well up to the standard of that start. The girl sings the song strongly and in a manner which should make it a very commercial proposition”. In New Record Mirror, it was described as having “a nicely-handled vocal”, with “some good drumming behind her and a general sense of drive and urgency without anything being overdone”.

Kathy Kirby – Dance On

Charts

Chart (1963)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)1
UK Singles (OCC)11

Other versions

In 1963, Petula Clark recorded the song in French (“Je me sens bien auprès de toi”) and Italian (“Sto volentieri con te”), the former of which made the top 5 in France and peaked at number 2 in Wallonia.

Petula Clark – Je Me Sens Bien (Auprès De Toi)

She also recorded an English version for album release on the Canadian market.

Dance On – Petula Clark

Clark also recorded a vocal version of another of the Shadows’ UK chart topper, “Foot Tapper“, mainly for the French market and sung entirely in French as “Mon bonheur danse”.

Mon Bonheur Danse (Foot Tapper)
  • In 1963, Wyn Hoop record a German-language version (“Warum gehst du an mir vorbei”), which peak at number 45 in Germany.
Wyn Hoop – Warum gehst du an mir vorbei 1963

Dance On Shadows Cover OldGuitarMonkey

Dance On Shadows Cover OldGuitarMonkey

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