Don't You Want Me (Felix song)

"Don't You Want Me" is a song recorded by British DJ and producer Francis Wright, known under the pseudonym of Felix. It was released as his debut single from his album #1 in late 1992. Musically, it samples Jomanda's "Don't You Want My Love" and credited as Felix featuring Jomanda (remixed by Rollo and Red Jerry). It topped the charts in Finland, Spain and Switzerland. It also went to number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. In addition, it reached number six on the UK Singles Chart. In 1995 and 1996, the song charted again, but in remixed form. British magazine Mixmag ranked the song at number 98 in its 100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time list in 1996.[1]

"Don't You Want Me"
Single by Felix
from the album #1
A-side	"Hooj Mix"
B-side	"Original Mix"
Released	27 July 1992
Genre	Hardbag Eurodance house
Length	3:10 (single version) 4:01 (album version)
Label	Hooj Choons Deconstruction RCA BMG Big Beat
Songwriter(s)	Francis Wright Cheri Renee Williams Joanne Yvonne Thomas Renee Washington Cassio Ware Derek A. Jenkins Dwayne "Spen" Richardson Paul Scott
Producer(s)	Felix Rollo and Red Jerry (remix)
Felix singles chronology
"Don't You Want Me" (1992) "It Will Make Me Crazy" (1992)
Music video
"Don't You Want Me" on YouTube

Background

This song is largely considered to be the track that launched the hardbag explosion. It appears on the compilation The Best Dance Album in the World... Ever! in remixed form, and was used in the episode "New Girl" of the TV series The Office. It was also famously featured in St George, a 1996 Tango Blackcurrant advertisement for television. On the single re-release, which features the version from the advert which also samples dialogue from the advert, the Tango Blackcurrant logo even appears several times on the artwork.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "requisite harsh synths are tempered with a retro, Giorgio Moroder-esque electro-beat" on the 1992 version.[2] Music & Media commented on the 1995 remix of the song, "In the "Deconstruction Classic" series, here's Patrick Prins' remix interpretation of Felix's 1992 dance hit. It's much heavier now with souped up sequencers and percussion."[3] Music Week described it as a "hand-waving progressive house anthem".[4]

Track listings

12" maxi

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:58
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Red Jerry's Holiday Mix) – 4:39
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Fierce Mix) – 5:07

12" maxi

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:58
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Original) – 4:43
3. "Yes You Do" – 4:47

7" single / CD single

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix Edit) – 3:11
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Original Mix) – 4:53

CD maxi

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix Edit) – 3:11
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:58
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Red Jerry's Holiday Mix) – 4:39
4. "Don't You Want Me" (Fierce Mix) – 5:07

CD maxi

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix Edit) – 3:11
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:58
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Original Mix) – 4:53
4. "Don't You Want Me" (Red Jerry's Holiday Mix) – 4:40
5. "Don't You Want Me" (Fierce Mix) – 5:06

Cassette

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix Edit)
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Original Mix)
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix Edit)
4. "Don't You Want Me" (Original Mix)

CD maxi - 1995 remixes

1. "Don't You Want Me (Patrick Prins Remix Edit) – 3:23
2. "Don't You Want Me (Hooj Mix Edit) – 3:11
3. "Don't You Want Me (Patrick Prins Remix) – 6:17
4. "Don't You Want Me (Hooj Mix) – 5:53
5. "Don't You Want Me (DJ Professor Mix) – 7:54
6. "Don't You Want Me (Candy Girls Remix) – 7:30

12" maxi - 1995 remixes

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Patrick Prins Remix) – 6:17
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Candy Girls Remix) – 7:30
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:53
4. "Don't You Want Me" (DJ Professor Mix) – 7:54

CD maxi - 1996 remixes

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Remix '96 Pugilist Mix) – 3:40
2. "Stars" (Felix Mix Edit) – 3:37
3. "It Will Make Me Crazy" (Big Mix Edit) – 3:52
4. "Don't You Want Me" (Hooj Mix) – 5:58

Digital Downloading - 2015 remixes

1. "Don't You Want Me" (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike remix) – 5:07
2. "Don't You Want Me" (Atjazz remix) – 6:35
3. "Don't You Want Me" (Brodanse Bass Hall remix) – 6:35

Charts and sales

Weekly charts Chart (1992–1993) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 17 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 3 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[6] 2 Denmark (IFPI)[7] 10 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 1 France (SNEP)[5] 4 Germany (Media Control Charts)[5] 2 Greece (Pop + Rock)[10] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 7 Italy (Musica e dischi)[12] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 3 Norway (VG-lista)[5] 5 Portugal (AFP)[14] 2 Spain (AFYVE)[15] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 6 UK Music Week Dance Singles[17] 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[18] 1 Chart (1995) Peak position Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 16 UK Singles (Official Chart Company)^1[20] 10 Chart (1996) Peak position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^2[21] 71 UK Singles (Official Chart Company)^2[22] 17 ^1 1995 remixes ^2 1996 remixes

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position Australian Singles Chart[23] 90 Dutch Top 40[13] 27 Chart (1993) Position Eurochart Hot 100[24] 53 German Singles Chart[25] 91 Swiss Singles Chart[26] 34 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales France (SNEP)[27] Silver 125,000^* Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 250,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

• A remix of the song "Don't You Want Me (Pugilist Mix)" formed the soundtrack to the multi award-winning TV commercial for Blackcurrant Tango.
• In 2005, Crazy Frog made its own version of the song, available on the album More Crazy Hits.
• In 2007, it was sampled by Meck to provide the majority of the music for his single "Feels Like Home". In 2008, Madonna used elements of Meck's version during "Like a Prayer" on the Sticky & Sweet Tour.
• The song was also covered by Belgian jazz musician Jef Neve as part of the soundtrack for the movie adaptation of Dimitri Verhulst's De Helaasheid der Dingen.
• In 2011, David Guetta used the track for the basis of the radio remix for Snoop Dogg's single "Sweat (Wet)".

References

1. "The 100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time". Mixmag. 1996. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
2. Flick, Larry (11 July 1992). "Dance Trax: A Little More Stansfield; Erasure Heads For Covers" (PDF). Billboard. p. 23. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
3. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 August 1995. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
4. "Chart Newcomers" (PDF). Music Week. 8 August 1992. p. 9. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
5. "Don't You Want Me", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 14 April 2009)
6. Belgian peak Archived 9 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 14 November 1992. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
9. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
10. "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
11. Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 3 June 2009 at WebCite (Retrieved 14 April 2009)
12. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9 no. 48. 28 November 1992. p. 24. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
13. "Single top 100 over 1992" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
14. "Top 10 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
15. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
16. "Official Charts > Felix". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
17. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 August 1992. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
18. Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved 14 April 2009)
19. Finnish 1995 peak Archived 30 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
20. "Don't You Want Me" (1995 remixes), UK Singles Chart OfficialCharts.com (Retrieved 14 April 2009)
21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
22. "Don't You Want Me" (1996 remixes), UK Singles Chart OfficialCharts.com (Retrieved 14 April 2009)
23. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 152)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 13 October 2016.
24. "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
25. "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
26. "1993 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
27. "French single certifications – Felix – Don't You Want Me" (in French). InfoDisc. Select FELIX and click OK. 
28. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Felix; 'Don't You Want Me')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.