"I Want That Man" is a song by American singer Deborah Harry. The song was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from her third solo album, '' Def, Dumb & Blonde'', and was the first record Harry released in which she reverted to using Deborah as her name instead of Debbie. "I Want That Man" became a hit in several territories, reaching number two in Australia and on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It also became a top-20 hit in Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Song information

The track was written and produced by

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

members Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey. It became one of the most successful singles in Deborah Harry's solo career, peaking at number two in Australia, number seven in Ireland, number eight in New Zealand, number 13 in the United Kingdom, and number two on the ''Billboard''

chart in the United States. The video was directed by Mary Lambert. The song commences with the lyric, "I want to dance with Harry Dean," a reference to the actor Harry Dean Stanton, about whom Currie and Harry "shared a long-standing fascination." Harry and Currie subsequently met Stanton backstage after "both swooning like teenage girls" watching him sit in with

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

singing "Across the Borderline" and resulting in Harry and Stanton entering into a short-term relationship. A disco version of the song was used in the Australian film '' Strange Bedfellows''. In late 1999, the song was included on the

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

compilation '' Most of All: The Best of Deborah Harry'' and also reissued as a remix single that charted on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

at number 86 in February 2000. The single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, "Bike Boy", appears as a bonus track on the CD and cassette editions of ''Def, Dumb & Blonde''.

Track listings

"I Want That Man" was written by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie. "Bike Boy" was written by Deborah Harry and

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild St ...

Original version

US and Australian 7-inch and cassette single # "I Want That Man" (LP version) – 3:41 # "Bike Boy" (CD/cassette version) – 2:45 US 12-inch single :A1. "I Want That Man" (12-inch remix) – 6:26 :A2. "I Want That Man" (instrumental) – 6:54 :B1. "Bike Boy" – 2:45 :B2. "I Want That Man" (remix / edit) – 4:03 US CD single # "I Want That Man" (12-inch remix) – 6:26 # "I Want That Man" (remix / edit) – 4:03 # "Bike Boy" – 2:45 # "I Want That Man" (instrumental) – 6:54 UK 7-inch and cassette single # "I Want That Man" (remix) # "Bike Boy" * A 7-inch poster bag sleeve with the same track listing was also issued. UK and Australian 12-inch single, UK CD single :A1. "I Want That Man" (12-inch remix) :A2. "I Want That Man" (7-inch version) :B1. "I Want That Man" (instrumental) :B2. "Bike Boy" * A 12-inch picture disc with the same track listing was also issued.

1999 remix

UK and Australian CD single # "I Want That Man" (Almighty Definitive mix radio edit) # "I Want That Man" (Almighty Definitive mix) # "I Want That Man" (D-Bop 11.59 vocal mix) European CD single # "I Want That Man" (Almighty Definitive mix radio edit) # "I Want That Man" (Almighty Definitive mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Debbie Harry songs 1989 singles 1989 songs Chrysalis Records singles Music videos directed by Mary Lambert Reprise Records singles Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by Tom Bailey (musician) Songs written by Alannah Currie Songs written by Tom Bailey (musician)