A Brief History of "I Only Want To Be With You"

Dusty Springfield (1963)

It was late 1963 and the 24-year-old Dusty Springfield was on the verge of becoming the next British pop sensation.

The song Springfield had just recorded was "I Only Want to Be With You." It was written a few years earlier by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde.

Lyricist Mike Hawker said he wrote the song for his then new bride Jean Ryder. It was originally intended for Ryder to record the song, but it never materialized. In the fall of 1963 Hawker received a phone call from Philips A&R director Johnny Franz. Franz was looking for a sure hit to launch the career of a new singer named Dusty Springfield.

The song was released as a single two weeks after Springfield recorded it and it became a smash hit paving the way for more hits for Dusty Springfield. Dusty has gone on to be recognized as one of the finest female vocalists of alltime influencing stars such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, Katy Perry, and many others.

Dusty's rendition of "I Only Want To Be With You" made it to UK #4, US #12, Australia #6, Ireland and New Zealand #7, Canada #21.

Bay City Rollers (1976)

"I Only Want to Be With You" (stylized as “I Only Wanna Be With You” on Bay City Rollers records) was the tenth and last Top ten Hit in the UK for the Scottish heartthrob teen idol pop-rock / glam-pop group (it was their 4th of six Top 40 hits in the US). Arista Records president Clive Davis suggested that Bay City Rollers record the song. Jimmy Ienner was brought on the produce the song. Ienner's work with the power pop group The Raspberries was a driving factor in bringing him in to work with BCR.

Although the Bay City Rollers placed the song in the same positions in the UK and US as Dusty Springfield UK #4 and US #12. Bay City Rollers had a bigger hit with the song throughout the world placing in the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand.

The Tourists (1979)

The Tourists were a new Wave / power pop band from London, England that formed in 1976 and split in 1980. During that time, they enjoyed a brief period of success with two singles that made it into the UK Top Ten.

So, who are The Tourists? They are a band of five. Peet Coombes was the band's lead guitarist, primary lead singer, and songwriter. But it is two other members that drive the band's continuing popularity. Those two would be Annie Lennox and Dave A. Stewart who went on to form the band Eurythmics in 1980. They achieved international fame with hits such as "Love Is a Stranger," "Sweet Dreams," "Here Comes the Rain Again," "Would I Lie to You," and many others. With the band, The Tourists, both Annie and Dave wrote a few songs, most were written by Peet Coombes. Annie sang the lead vocal on the band's two biggest hits proving that she had the goods to deliver the hits. Like Dusty Springfield "I Only Want To Be With You" is the first hit to feature Annie Lennox's voice. Annie has also become recognized as one of the world's greatest female singers!!! I'll tell you a secret... I love Annie!!!

The Tourists recorded "I Only Want to Be with You" within 20 minutes at the end of the recording sessions for the album Reality Effect. The song was somewhat an afterthought which ended up becoming an unexpected hit and was The Tourists’ biggest hit. Annie Lennox recorded her lead vocal in one take. Some critics have commented that Annie's vocal performance of the song is on par with Dusty Springfield's performance.

The Tourists took the song to #4 in the UK, #83 US, #6 Australia, #13 Ireland, #50 Canada. Dusty Springfield and The Bay City Rollers also peaked at #4 in the UK with the same song.

As an added bonus here's another video of The Tourists performing "I Only Want To Be With You"

Nicolette Larson had a minor chart hit with “I Only Want to Be with You,” reaching #53 in the US in 1983. In 1989 British pop singer Samantha Fox had a hit with “I Only Wanna Be with You” making it into the Top 40 in 13 countries around the world with it’s highest chart positions being #1 in Belgium and #4 in Finland.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my music reviews… I hope you enjoyed this!!!

Also, in my “Brief History” series: