"Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue, that was recorded by Blue and released as a single in 1973 on Bell Records. Blue's backing band of session musicians were well known in the industry and one year later the drummer, John Richardson, joined the Rubettes.
| "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Barry Blue | |
| from the album Barry Blue | |
| B-side | "New Day" |
| Released | 1973 |
| Genre | Glam rock |
| Length | 3:10 |
| Label | Bell Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue |
Barry Blue's song reached the number 2 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] (and number 1 on the Melody Maker top 30),[2] number 2 on the Australian Kent Music chart,[3] number 3 on the Austrian singles chart,[4] number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart, number 9 on the German singles chart,[5] and number 11 on the Dutch singles chart.[6]
The song ranked the 18th best selling single in Australia in 1973,[7] and 23rd best selling single in the UK in 1973.[8]
Barry Blue's version of the song has also appeared on the soundtrack to the films Anita and Me, and American Swing. A remixed version of the original Barry Blue song was released in 1989, reaching number 86 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It also is featured in the film The Long Good Friday. The song has become a line dance classic.[9]
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria | 3 |
| Australia | 2 |
| Belgium | 13 |
| Denmark | 5 |
| Germany | 9 |
| Ireland | 4 |
| Netherlands | 11 |
| Rhodesia | 10 |
| Singapore | 6 |
| Spain | 19 |
| UK | 2 |
Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids released their version of the song as a single in 1974 and it became a U.S. hit, reaching number 79 on the Cashbox singles charts and number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also charted in Sweden and reached number 7 on the Swedish charts.[10][11] It also appeared as the lead track on their 1974 album, There's No Face Like Chrome.[12]
The Hiltonaires recorded a version as track 4 on the B side of their album Made in England 7.[13]
In Canada, a version recorded by the Canadian band Bond in 1975 reached number 12 on the CHUM Chart,[14] and was included in the RPM Canadian Top 20 Albums Chart that year.[15] The song was also included on their self-named album,[16] as well as the K-Tel album Canada Gold, both released in 1975.[17]
The Danish band, Clear Sound, also recorded a version with Danish text by Finn Reiner which charted at number 17 in the Danish Hitlister.[18] It was also covered by co-writer Lynsey de Paul on her 1974 album, Taste Me... Don't Waste Me.