"Dance On!" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

by British group

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. A vocal version, with lyrics by

Marcel Stellman Marcel Leopold Stellman (15 February 1925 – 2 May 2021) was a Belgian born British record producer and lyricist. Among the many artists who recorded Stellman’s songs are Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Charles Aznavour, The Shadows and Tony Bennett. ...

, was recorded by British female vocalist

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for re ...

, whose version reached number 11 on the UK chart in September 1963.

Release and reception

"Dance On!" was written by

Valerie Murtagh Valerie Murtagh (born Patricia Valerie Jenkins, 1936, Willesden, London, England, also known under the pseudonym Valerie Avon) is an English singer and songwriter, who was a member of The Avons. Career After singing with the Avons vocal trio in ...

Elaine Murtagh Elaine Murtagh (born Elaine Patricia Murtagh, 1940, County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish singer, songwriter and a member of The Avons, a pop vocal group popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. Career Murtagh was a member of The Avons with her sister- ...

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 Bruce Welch (born 2 November 1941 as Bruce Cripps) is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows. Biography Welch's parents (Stan Cripps and Grace Welch) moved him to 15 B ...

and

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

. 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 ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'', "Dance On!" was described as sounding "rather reminiscent of

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including " Rebel ...

... 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 '' Disc'',

Don Nicholl Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English-American screenwriter and producer. His production company Nicholl Ross West (with Mickey Ross and Bernie West) wrote for the situation comedies ''All in the Family'', ''The Jeffer ...

wrote that the song "beats a very infectious path and the side has a lot more to offer than their "Guitar Tango" dramaties".

Track listings

7": Columbia / DB 4948 # "Dance On!" – 2:22 # "All Day" – 2:34 7": Atlantic / 45-2177 (US and Canada) # "Dance On!" – 2:20 # "The Rumble" – 1:52

Personnel

– electric lead guitar *

– acoustic rhythm guitar *

Brian Locking Brian Locking (22 December 1938 – 8 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter known for his brief tenure as bassist with ''Marty Wilde, The Wildcats'' in 1956 and The Shadows, between 1962 and 1963. During his time with the Shadow ...

– electric bass guitar *

Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett, (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band me ...

– drums,

sistrum A sistrum (plural: sistra or Latin sistra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient ...

Charts

Kathy Kirby version

Release and reception

Kirby's version of "Dance On", with lyrics by

, 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 James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

as well as an orchestral arrangement by Charles Blackwell. It was released with the B-side "Playboy", written by

Clive Westlake Gerald Clive Westlake (25 December 1932 – 17 June 2000)

Track listing

7": Columbia / F 11682 # "Dance On" – 2:28 # "Playboy" – 2:34

Charts

Other versions

* In 1963,

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

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. She also recorded an English version for album release on the Canadian market. Clark also recorded a vocal version of another of the Shadows' UK chart topper, "

Foot Tapper "Foot Tapper" is an instrumental by British guitar group the Shadows, released as a single in February 1963. It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and was the Shadows' last UK number-one hit (not including those where they performed as ...

", mainly for the French market and sung entirely in French as "Mon bonheur danse". * In 1963,

Wyn Hoop Wyn Hoop (born 29 May 1936) is a German singer, birth name Winfried Lüssenhop, best known for his participation in the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest. Born in Hannover, in the early 1950s, Hoop formed a jazz band called the Capitellos, who toured ...

record a German-language version ("Warum gehst du an mir vorbei"), which peak at number 45 in Germany. * In 1964,

Bill Haley and His Comets Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

released a Spanish-language version of the song, "A Gusto Contigo", on their album ''Surf, Surf, Surf'' (

Orfeon Records Orfeon Records was a Turkish producer of phonographs and gramophone records. The first record company in Turkey, it was founded by the Blumenthal Family in 1912. The company was based in Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , p ...

LP-12-354). Haley's recording is patterned after the Clark "Je me sen bien" arrangement.Otto Fuchs, ''Bill Haley: Father of Rock 'n' Roll''. Gelhausen, Germany: Wagner Verlag, p. 564

References

{{authority control 1962 singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Australia Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Petula Clark songs 1960s instrumentals 1962 songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Songs written by Valerie Murtagh The Shadows songs