"Dear John" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the wo ...

, which was released in 1994 as the third and final single from her second studio album ''

''. It was written by

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...

and

Mark E. Nevin Fairground Attraction were a London based folk and soft rock band. They are notable for the 1988 hit songs " Perfect" and "Find My Love", both taken from the group's multi-platinum selling debut album, ''The First of a Million Kisses''. The ba ...

, and produced by

Greg Penny Greg Penny (born October 12, 1955) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixing engineer, musician, songwriter and artist best known for his work as a producer for Elton John and k.d. lang. He is currently the president of Flower ...

. "Dear John" reached No. 48 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks. In 1995, the song was nominated for "Best song musically and lyrically" at the Ivor Novello Awards.

Background

"Dear John" was inspired by the end of MacColl's ten year marriage to Steve Lillywhite. It was originally intended for inclusion on her 1993 album ''

Titanic Days ''Titanic Days'' is the fourth studio album by Kirsty MacColl, released in 1993. Containing eleven tracks, ''Titanic Days'' was sometimes hard to get in years after its release, but it was remastered and re-released in 2005 by ZTT Records, ZTT w ...

'', however she considered it too emotional and personal, and offered it to Reader instead. MacColl's demo version, which was recorded at Nevin's house, would later surface on the 2005 compilation '' From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology''. Nevin said of the song in the 2001

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

documentary ''The Life and Songs of Kirsty MacColl'': "It was really Kirsty admitting violently that her marriage was over. I remember when she first sung me the lyrics, I put my arms around her and she cried, and I cried because I knew it was the end." He told Ian Peel of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'': ""Dear John" was literally Kirsty's Dear John note to her husband, Steve, and just too close to the bone. You can hear how emotional Kirsty was when she was singing it n the demo version We ended up giving the song to Eddi Reader." Reader told ''Insight'' in 2019 that performing "Dear John" live "can be difficult". She added: "It was written by people in the misery of divorce then sung at the time by me, in the misery of that too!"

Reception

In a review of ''Eddi Reader'', Jan Moir of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the song as a "big ballad" and considered it the best track on the album. Rick Anderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

felt "Dear John" was "perhaps the tenderest kiss-off song ever written".

Track listing

;7" single #"Dear John" - 4:08 #"Battersea Moon" (Jay's Edit) - 4:12 ;CD single #"Dear John" - 4:08 #"When I Watch You Sleeping" (Demo Version) - 3:53 #"What You Do With What You've Got" - 4:37 #"That's Fair" - 4:44

Personnel

- vocals *

- guitar *

David Piltch David Piltch (born January 29, 1960) is a Canadian bassist and session musician. Biography Piltch grew up in an artistic family. His father Bernie Piltch was a noted studio and stage saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist in Toronto from the ...

- bass * Roy Dodds - drums Production *

- producer * John Ingoldsby - engineer, mixing * Andy Strange, Steve Holroyd - assistant engineers * Chris Bellman - mastering *

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

- remix of "What You Do With What You've Got" * Eddi Reader, Kevin Moloney, Roy Dodds - producers of "What You Do With What You've Got" * The Patron Saints of Imperfection - producers of "That's Fair" Other * Kevin Westenberg - photography

Charts

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles Kirsty MacColl songs Songs written by Kirsty MacColl Blanco y Negro Records singles