Songoftheday 8/5/16 - 'Cause you started something can't you see, that ever since we met you've had a hold on me...

"I Only Want To Be With You" - Samantha Fox
from the album I Wanna Have Some Fun (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 4

Today's song of the day comes from Samantha Fox, who went from being a 'page-six' model in the British tabloids to being a respectable hitmaker, landing three top ten pop singles in the U.S. during the 80s, including "I Wanna Have Some Fun" from the winter of 1989. The album bearing the same name spawned a second single in America, and it was a cover of a song made famous by Dusty Springfield in 1963. Dusty Springfield, previously part of the Springfields, established her solo career with "I Only Want To Be With You", written by Mike Hawker with help from orchestra leader Ivor Raymonde who arranged the track for her. The single reached #4 in Dusty's native Britain and #12 in the States...

Samantha, who had been known for more lascivious fare like "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" and "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)", took a left turn with this vocally faithful dance-pop cover, produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman (Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley)...

Fox's version of "I Only Wanna Be With You" became her fourth and so-far last top-40 pop hit in America in May of 1989. The 12" single spent a couple of weeks on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #46. Internationally, the single topped the chart in Belgium, made the top ten in Finland (#2), Ireland (#9), and France (#10), while reaching #16 in her native Britain.

In the U.S. the worldwide first single from the I Wanna Have Some Fun album, "Love House", was released as a follow-up, and while it missed the pop chart it did go to a respectable #14 on Billboard's Dance chart. Her next album, though, completely tanked, and she didn't show up on the charts again until 1995, when as "Sox" she reappeared at #47 with "Go For The Heart", no doubt helped by a return performance as a "page-six" girl. Three years later, she was a featured single on DJ Milano's "Santa Maria" (written by her old producers Mike Stock and Matt Aitken), which gave her another top-40 hit in the UK at #31. Fast forward to 2010, when she collaborated with Italian singer Sabrina on a cover of Blondie's "Call Me", which went to #4 in that country.

Samantha had been keeping low-key her identity as a lesbian/bisexual, but eventually she came out with her manager/partney Myra Stratton. Sadly, Stratton passed away last year. Most recently, Samantha is currently a "housemate" on the British reality-show stalwart Celebrity Big Brother, with such notables as Aubrey O'Day and Frankie Grande.

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Many other artists have recorded the song, with several notable successful covers. In 1976 the Bay City Rollers from Scotland reached #12 in America and #4 in the UK with their version...

Three years later, the Tourists, including a pre-Eurythmics Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, also climbed to #4 in the UK and #83 in the States with it...

In 1982, Nicolette Larson made the top-20 on the Adult Contemporary chart at #53 pop with a cover (my favorite after Dusty's)...

and a year before Samantha's hit, Luis Miguel topped the Latin Songs chart in Billboard with his take as "Ahora Te Puedes Marchar"...

Up tomorrow: A Swedish/Sierra Leonean singer poses bovially.