Website tag: S

Say You Really Want Me

Song written by Danny Sembello, Dick Rudolph and D. Spencer jr. A track included on the album Another Step. This track was released on single, first in America in 1986 and then in remixed form in England in 1987.
The track was also included in the soundtrack of the movie Running Scared.

Versions

There are twelve different versions of ‘Say You Really Want Me’, some of them hard to distinguish except for track times and the last minute of the track. A full listing follows here:

  1. UK LP first pressing – 4’13 minutes
  2. US LP version and UK LP second (and later) pressing – 3’44 minutes
  3. CHR version on US 7” and Another Step Japanese CD and LP – 3’29 minutes
  4. Urban version – US purple sleeve promo 7” – 3’59 minutes
  5. Canadian promo 7” version – 4’00 minutes [incorrectly labelled as ‘Urban version’ on the 2009 Cherry Pop cd release of ‘Another Step’]
  6. Instrumental version – Canadian promo 7” B-side – 4’22 minutes
  7. Running Scared Soundtrack version – 4’33 minutes
  8. ‘Radio edit’ – US green sleeve promo 7” – 5’09 minutes
  9. David Todd remix – US 12” single – 5’48 minutes
  10. Video remix – 9’47 minutes
  11. UK 7” version, remixed by Ricky Wilde – 4’02 minutes
  12. UK 12” extended version – 6’35 minutes

A remix by Rob Harvey was released by Ultimix.

Formats

In the US, this single was released on several different 7″ singles and a 12″ single.
See also this page in the discography.
In the UK, this single was released on 7″ single, a limited edition 7″ single in a gatefold sleeve, a cassette single and two different 12″ singles.
See also this page in the discography.

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single. It was released in two versions: the regular version (based on the UK 7″ version) and an extended version (based on the Video remix). Both versions were directed by Greg Masuak.
Go to this page for more information.

Live performances

‘Say You Really Want Me’ was performed live during the Another Step Tour in 1986 only.

Cover versions

‘Say You Really Want Me’ has been covered by Helen Hat and Lynn Sweet.

Kim about ‘Say You Really Want Me’

Suddenly I got a phonecall of top producer Rod Temperton, you know him from the Commodores. He needed a singer for a disco song on the movie and the boss of my American record company suggested me. So I flew to L.A. to sing a great song from the composer of the Pointer Sisters’ “Automatic”. I was surprised to get the opportunity because the song is so good, that the biggest American singer would also have recorded it. But they chose me and that’s not just a big honour. I think I can break through in the US with it. Everyone there is very enthusiastic all of a sudden. (1)

I never thought it was a particularly sexy song to start off with, in fact it didn’t sound very much like a single to me, but I think the video makes it stronger. (2)

‘Running scared’ is this awful film that came out last year and my new single ‘Say you really want me’ is actually on the soundtrack. You don’t actually hear it that much in the film. I think it comes on the radio at one point and you hear a tiny snatch of it. My record company in America asked me to do it, saying it would be a good profile to be in this film. I watched the film subsequently and it’s just really boring – trying to be funny when it wasn’t. The plot was dull and predictable, the script was awful and I was raher sad that my record was associated with it. (3)

At that time my career in America went well and we saw it as a bit of promotion. Also there’s a lot of demand for artist who want to contribute to soundtracks at the moment. It’s a good development. After I saw it, I felt ‘Running scared’ was a monstrous movie. Fortunately the song I recorded could only be heard for a few seconds. Next time I’ll be more careful before I say ‘yes’. (4)

Those were the two most delicious days of my life. But you know, we had a lot of fun and it was all clean stuff even though it looked quite rude. D’you know what? I mean the rudest shot wasn’t even very rude and I didn’t know I was gonna do it until the director said: ‘Hey, I’ve got this great idea for a shot. I want you writhing in the bed, four guys, boxer shorts, lots of water’ and I said, ‘Sounds great, let’s do it!’. (5)

I had no idea about pearl necklaces. I think, you know, girls don’t know about that. It wasn’t until afterwards that someone told me, ‘you know what that’s all about, don’t you?’. So I was pretty naive still in those days. (laughs) (6)

Credits

Keyboards: Danny Sembello
Produced by Rod Temperton, Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien

Highest chart positions

Canada: 48
Ireland: 18 (2 weeks)
United Kingdom: 29 (5 weeks)
United States: 44 (8 weeks)

Interview sources:
(1) This is the new Kim Wilde: independent, resolute and looking for adventure, Hitkrant (Netherlands), 19 July 1986
(2) Wilde eyed and reckless, Melody Maker (UK), August 1987
(3) Kim Wilde: My least favourite things, Smash Hits (UK), 1987
(4) The big Kim Wilde interview: ‘Too much has gone wrong, that won’t happen to me again’, Hitkrant (Netherlands), 18 June 1988
(5) Non-stop pure pop, MTV Europe (UK), 8 August 1990
(6) Unsung Heroes podcast, 17 July 2021


Lyrics

Why you always got to be so cool
And why I always got to play your fool
You don’t really know what life’s about
Baby come and let your feelings out

Say you really want me
Don’t keep it to yourself
Say you really need me
Just me and no one else
Say you really love me
Ooh let me know it’s true
Say you really want me
The way that I want you tonight

You don’t know a thing about romance
Deep inside you’re scared to take the chance
‘Cos love like this may never come again
Make your move or I’ll be in the wind

I need somebody through the thick and the thin
‘Cos I know the problems of today
The time is over now for playing those games
Lets take it all the way

Saunders, Wendy

Wendy Saunders first met Kim when they both attended Hertfordshire College of Art & Design in September 1979. They’ve been friends eversince. Wendy has been involved in the artwork for the fanclub booklets in 1985 and 1986. She also designed the sleeve for the single Schoolgirl.


Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Song written by J. Fred Coots and H. Gillespie. First recorded by Harry Reser and His Band in 1934. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show in November 1934 it became a hit; within 24 hours, 500,000 copies of sheet music and more than 30,000 records were sold.

The song is a traditional Christmas standard and has been covered by over 200 artists including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, the Crystals, Neil Diamond, Fred Astaire, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Bill Evans, Chris Isaak, the Temptations, the Carpenters, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel, and the Jackson 5.

Kim Wilde performed the song during a TV performance on Tonight with Jonathan Ross in December 1990. She also sang the song when she participated in Britain Sings Christmas in 2007.

Live performances

‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ was performed live by Kim together with Status Quo and Roy Wood during the Quofestive Tour in December 2011. She also performed the song live during Christmas concerts in December 2014 and 2015.


Lyrics

You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why:
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He’s making a list,
Checking it twice,
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you’re sleeping,
He knows when you’re awake.
He knows if you’ve been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why:
Santa Claus is coming to town!

Sanjazz Megamix

This track was released on the 7″, 12″ and CD-single of I Can’t Say Goodbye. The edit version, included on the 7″ brought together the songs You Came, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, The Second Time and Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Love) on one mix of over four minutes.
The complete version doubles that length to include Never Trust a Stranger and Stone.


Sanjazz

A collaboration of Emilio Sanchez IV and Jimmy Jazz, Sanjazz was responsible for two remixes released commercially on Kim Wilde records. The first was a Sanjazz mix of Never Trust a Stranger, released on 12″ in 1988, the second was the Sanjazz Megamix, a medley of well-known Kim Wilde songs, in 1990.


Sabrina

Born 15 March 1968 in Genoa, Italy, Sabrina Salermo is an Italian dance-oriented singer who started her singing career in 1987 with the Europe-wide smash hit ‘Boys’. At least part of the success could be explained by her clothing (or lack thereof) and her voloptuous exterior. Kim was quoted in a UK magazine saying “Sabrina is a real nightmare!”.

Sabrina went on to cover Kim’s song Stay Awhile in an Italian version called Alice Rivivra. It was released in 1996 on her album ‘Numeri’. In 2008, Sabrina released the album ‘Erase/Rewind’ which featured an English-language cover of the same song.


S.E.X. Appeal

German trance music project by former E-Rotic singer Lyane Leigh (born Liane Hegemann). Leigh wanted to leave E-Rotic after disagreements with producer David Brandes. When he was replaced by Jeanette Christensen and Terence d’Arby, Leigh had to continue providing vocals for E-Rotic until 1999 as a result of contractual obligations. Instead of trying to obtain the E-Rotic band name, she started her own ‘side project’ with Raz-ma-taz, and thus S.E.X. Appeal was born.

The first release was the 1996 single ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi’, which proved to be a hit in Europe. Raz-ma-taz left S.E.X. Appeal to join the group Magic Affair and was replaced by Gino Gillian. The second single ‘Life goes up, life goes down’, produced by Lyane’s brother Thijs. Further singles ‘Dirty talk’ and ‘Sex is a thrill with the pill’ (both 1998) proved less successful, and the project was left without a record label. They carried on using their own record label 3H Music Productions, and released the debut album ‘Peeping Tom’. The album featured a cover version of Kids in America as a ‘bonus track’ on the album.

After touring, promoting and releasing some side projects for years, Leigh returned to the media as S.E.X. Appeal in 2004 with a more hands-up sound instead of the eurodance sound on the previous album and singles. In 2004, the single ‘Do you love me’, followed by a new version of ‘Fragile love’ in 2006, which already appeared on ‘Peeping Tom’ in its original version. In 2007, the band’s second album ‘Sensuality’ was released, and this again featured their version of ‘Kids in America’. Although there was a remix album of ‘Sensuality’ released in 2008, this didn’t feature a remix of ‘Kids in America’.

The third studio album ‘Russian Roulette’ was released in 2013, after the release of singles ‘Poison Called Love’ (2011) and ‘Wild Beast’ (2012).


Stars in Their Eyes

UK television program in which people dress up as their favourite artists and sing one of their songs.
In the celebrity version of the show Kim Wilde took part twice, in August and December 2002. The first time she sang Que Sera Sera as Doris Day, the second time she performed Nobody Does It Better as Carly Simon.