"Dear John" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader, which was released in 1994 as the third and final single from her second studio album Eddi Reader. It was written by Kirsty MacColl and Mark E. Nevin, and produced by Greg Penny. "Dear John" reached No. 48 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks.[1] In 1995, the song was nominated for "Best song musically and lyrically" at the Ivor Novello Awards.[2]
"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, 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.[3][4]
Nevin said of the song in the 2001 BBC 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."[5] He told Ian Peel of Record Collector: ""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 [on the demo version]. We ended up giving the song to Eddi Reader."[3] 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!"[6]
Receptionedit
In a review of Eddi Reader, Jan Moir of The Guardian described the song as a "big ballad" and considered it the best track on the album.[7] Rick Anderson of AllMusic felt "Dear John" was "perhaps the tenderest kiss-off song ever written".[8]
dear, john, eddi, reader, song, dear, john, song, scottish, singer, songwriter, eddi, reader, which, released, 1994, third, final, single, from, second, studio, album, eddi, reader, written, kirsty, maccoll, mark, nevin, produced, greg, penny, dear, john, reac. Dear John is a song by Scottish singer songwriter Eddi Reader which was released in 1994 as the third and final single from her second studio album Eddi Reader It was written by Kirsty MacColl and Mark E Nevin and produced by Greg Penny Dear John reached No 48 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks 1 In 1995 the song was nominated for Best song musically and lyrically at the Ivor Novello Awards 2 Dear John Single by Eddi Readerfrom the album Eddi ReaderB side Battersea Moon Released1994Length4 08LabelBlanco y NegroSongwriter s Kirsty MacCollMark E NevinProducer s Greg PennyEddi Reader singles chronology Joke I m Laughing 1994 Dear John 1994 Nobody Lives Without Love 1995 Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Charts 6 ReferencesBackground edit 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 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 3 4 Nevin said of the song in the 2001 BBC 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 5 He told Ian Peel of Record Collector 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 on the demo version We ended up giving the song to Eddi Reader 3 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 6 Reception editIn a review of Eddi Reader Jan Moir of The Guardian described the song as a big ballad and considered it the best track on the album 7 Rick Anderson of AllMusic felt Dear John was perhaps the tenderest kiss off song ever written 8 Track listing edit7 single Dear John 4 08 Battersea Moon Jay s Edit 4 12CD 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 44Personnel editEddi Reader vocals Mark E Nevin guitar David Piltch bass Roy Dodds drumsProduction Greg Penny producer John Ingoldsby engineer mixing Andy Strange Steve Holroyd assistant engineers Chris Bellman mastering Thomas Dolby 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 photographyCharts editChart 1994 PeakpositionUK Singles Chart 1 48References edit a b EDDI READER full Official Chart History Official Charts Company Officialcharts com Retrieved 2019 07 12 Archive The Ivors The Ivors Academy Champions of Music Creators The Ivors Academy 1995 05 23 Retrieved 2019 07 12 a b The Making Of Titanic Day Record Collector Magazine Recordcollectormag com Retrieved 2019 07 12 Dear John Kirsty MacColl 2005 03 28 Retrieved 2019 07 12 The Life and Lyrics of Kirsty Maccoll 2001 BFI Archived from the original on August 3 2019 Retrieved 2019 08 03 gryffe Eddi Reader Interview Insight Advertizer co uk Retrieved 2019 07 12 Moir Jan 18 May 1994 Lady sings the blues The Guardian Eddi Reader Eddi Reader Eddi Reader Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic Retrieved 2019 07 12 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dear John Eddi Reader song amp oldid 1180207083, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
