I Wanna Be a Cowboy

This article is about the Boys Don't Cry song. It is not to be confused with I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

"I Wanna Be a Cowboy" is a single by British pop-rock group Boys Don't Cry. The song was written by four of the band members—Brian Chatton, Nick Richards, Nico Ramsden and Jeff Seopardi—and was released in July 1985 as the first new single from their self-titled debut album (an album consisting of part new material and part compilation of several of the band's earlier singles).

"I Wanna Be a Cowboy"
Single by Boys Don't Cry
from the album Boys Don't Cry
B-side	"Turn Over (I Like It Better That Way)" "Josephine"
Released	15 July 1985 (1985-07-15)
Genre	New wave^[1]
Length	6:06 (album version) 3:54 (radio edit)
Label	Legacy Profile Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Brian Chatton Nick Richards Nico Ramsden Jeff Seopardi
Producer(s)	Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry singles chronology
"Lipstick" (1985) "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (1985) "Cities on Fire" (1986)
Audio
"I Wanna Be a Cowboy" on YouTube

The single became the band's only major hit, reaching number one in New Zealand, number four in Australia, number 11 in South Africa, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was a comparative failure in the group's native United Kingdom, peaking at number 77 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for the song features Lemmy Kilmister of English rock band Motörhead.

Background

Frontman Nick Richards spent one Saturday night watching Clint Eastwood cowboy films such as For a Few Dollars More, and the band had reserved the studio for the next day. Thanks to the films, Richards had the saying, "I wanna be a cowboy, and you can be my cowgirl" stuck in his head, and the band liked it. They put it to some music that keyboardist Brian Chatton had written a year earlier which they had never written lyrics for. They wrote the entire song that Sunday in about an hour, recorded it, and spent three hours mixing it. Richards felt it would be too boring to sing all four verses, so they brought in drummer Jeff Seopardie's girlfriend to sing verse two. The entire single was finished by the end of the day and never mixed again.^[2]

"The song was meant to be a joke and to make people laugh, but also we thought it would make a great dance track. That turned out to be true," said Richards.^[2]

Chart performance

The song was a commercial disappointment in the band's native United Kingdom, where it stalled at number 77 on the UK Singles Chart,^[3] but it found better success abroad. In the United States, the song debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 5 April 1986.^[4] It entered the top 40 on 17 May,^[5] then rose up the chart over the next month before reaching its peak of number 12 on 21 June. It stayed on the Hot 100 for a total of 19 weeks.^[6] The single also became a dance hit in the US, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and number 44 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.^[7][8] On Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" first appeared the week after its American debut at number 86.^[9] Six issues later, on 24 May, it settled at number 19 on the listing, its highest position.^[10] On 9 July 1986, it was certified gold by Music Canada for shipping over 50,000 units.^[11]

The track found success in other countries as well. In Australia, it first charted on the Kent Music Report in June, climbing to a peak of number four in August.^[12] At the end of 1986, it came in at number 29 on the Australian year-end chart.^[13] In New Zealand, after making a debut at number 17, the single jumped around the top 30 until 17 August 1986, when it rose to number one and stayed there for another two weeks. It spent 15 weeks in the top 50 and was New Zealand's 11th-best-performing song of 1986.^[14][15] Elsewhere, "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" peaked at number 11 in South Africa and number 24 in Belgium.^[16][17] The song missed the top 40 in West Germany by one position, debuting and peaking at number 41 on 1 September 1986.^[18]

Music video

Background

A Spaghetti-Western-style music video was made for the song, featuring Lemmy Kilmister of English rock band Motörhead. Richards initially came up with the idea to recruit Kilmister for the video after watching the Eastwood films. He said, "When I came up with the concept of the 'I Wanna Be a Cowboy' video I wanted a Lee Van Cleef bad boy in the video. Lemmy came to mind immediately!"^[19] Kilmister agreed to play the part as long as there was a bottle of Smirnoff vodka on set. The vodka was provided, and filming began at 6 a.m. at Hampstead Heath in London.^[19] It was directed by Carina Camamille and produced by Helen McCartney.^[20]

Reception

Video jockey Martha Quinn of MTV told Richards that the channel "hated" the video as it "wasn't rock and roll",^[19] but since it had become a top-40 hit by that point, they had to air the video. It subsequently received more than 200,000 requests.^[19]

Track listings

UK 7-inch single^[21] A. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" B. "Turn Over (I Like It Better That Way)" The Australian 7-inch single contains an edited version of "I Wanna Be a Cowboy".^[14] German 7-inch single^[14]^[22] A. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" – 3:54 B. "Josephine" – 4:00 German 12-inch maxi-single^[23] A1. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" – 5:59 B1. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (7-inch version) – 3:54 B2. "Josephine" – 4:00

US 12-inch single^[24] A. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" – 6:05 B. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (instrumental) – 6:05 Canadian 12-inch single^[25] A. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (12-inch Saddle Mix) – 6:05 B. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (Instrumental Saloon Mix) – 6:05 Japanese 7-inch single^[26] A. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy (ウォナ・ビ・ア・カウボーイ)" – 3:56 B. "Josephine (ジョセフィン)" – 4:00

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK 7-inch single liner notes and vinyl disc.^[21]

Boys Don't Cry Brian Chatton – writing Nick Richards – writing Nico Ramsden – writing Jeff Seopardi – writing Boys Don't Cry – production

Other personnel Tony Taverner – engineering Chris Potter – engineering Rocks – artwork design Simon Fowler – artwork photography

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1986) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)^[12] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[17] 24 Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[10] 19 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[14] 1 South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[16] 11 UK Singles (OCC)^[3] 77 US Billboard Hot 100^[6] 12 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[7] 44 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)^[8] 13 West Germany (Official German Charts)^[18] 41

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)^[13] 29 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[15] 11 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)^[11] Gold 50,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United Kingdom	15 July 1985	12-inch vinyl	Legacy	^[27]
United Kingdom (re-release)	6 June 1986			^[28]

References

1. André, Lisa. "'Lost 80s Live' to showcase new wave hits at Chumash Casino Resort". Santa Ynez Valley News.
2. "Interview with Nick Richards of Boys Don't Cry". Kickin' it Old School. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
4. "The Hot 100 – Week of April 5, 1986". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
5. "The Hot 100 – Week of May 17, 1986". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
6. "Boys Dont Cry Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
7. "Boys Dont Cry Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
8. "Boys Dont Cry Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
9. "RPM 100 Singles – April 12, 1986". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0676." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
11. "Canadian single certifications – Boys Don't Cry – I Wanna Be a Cowboy". Music Canada. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 44. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
13. "Kent Music Report No 650 – 29 December 1986 > National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 21 December 2019 – via Imgur.
14. "Boys Don't Cry – I Wanna Be a Cowboy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
15. "End of Year Charts 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
16. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs H–I". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
17. "Boys Don't Cry – I Wanna Be a Cowboy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Boys Don't Cry – I Wanna Be a Cowboy". GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
19. "When Lemmy Starred in Boys Don't Cry's 'I Wanna Be a Cowboy' Video". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
20. "New Video Clips" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 14. 5 April 1986. p. 55. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
21. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Boys Don't Cry. Legacy Recordings. 1985. LGY 28.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (German 7-inch single sleeve). Boys Don't Cry. Intercord Records. 1986. INT 110.197.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
23. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (German 12-inch maxi-single vinyl disc). Boys Don't Cry. Intercord Records. 1985. INT 125.235.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
24. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Boys Don't Cry. Profile Records. 1985. PRO-7084.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
25. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (Canadian 12-inch single sleeve). Boys Don't Cry. Mercury Records. 1985. MERX 102.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
26. I Wanna Be a Cowboy (ウォナ・ビ・ア・カウボーイ) (Japanese 7-inch vinyl sleeve). Boys Don't Cry. CBS/Sony. 1985. 07SP 957.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
27. "New Singles". Music Week. 13 July 1985. p. 16.
28. "New Singles". Music Week. 3 May 1986. p. 6.