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"Don't Tell Me" is a song by British synth-pop duo Blancmange, released in 1984 as the third single from their second studio album Mange Tout. Written by Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe, and produced by Peter Collins,[2] "Don't Tell Me" reached No. 8 in the UK and remained in the charts for ten weeks.[3] A music video was filmed in Valencia to promote the single.[4]

"Don't Tell Me"
Single by Blancmange
from the album Mange Tout
B-side	"Get Out of That"
Released	March 1984[1]
Genre	Synthpop
Length	3:28
Label	London Records Sire Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe
Producer(s)	Peter Collins
Blancmange singles chronology
"That's Love, That It Is" (1983) "Don't Tell Me" (1984) "The Day Before You Came" (1984)

Critical reception

Upon release, Debbi Voller of Number One stated: "Blancmange are back with a joyous and uplifting romp that could make them the flavour of the month. This song's so bouncy it sounds as if [it was] recorded on a highly sprung trampoline."[5] Tom Hibbert of Smash Hits commented: "Neil Arthur sings of climbing mountains, touching skies and other unlikely physical feats to an energetic electro-pop backing that, if not thoroughly satisfying, contains a certain perky appeal."[6] Billboard considered the song to have "an engaging melody with jagged and exotic studio effects".[7]

In a retrospective review of Mange Tout, Bill Cassel of AllMusic considered the song to be "nigh irresistible".[2] Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War described the song as "poppy and catchy" with a "towering chorus". He added that it "maybe came the closest to repeating the Eastern sound of "Living on the Ceiling"."[8]

Track listing

7" single

1. "Don't Tell Me" – 3:28
2. "Get Out of That" – 4:22

12" single

1. "Don't Tell Me" – 6:28
2. "Get Out of That" – 4:22

12" single (US release)

1. "Don't Tell Me (Extended Version)" – 6:22
2. "Don't Tell Me (Edit)" – 3:28
3. "Get Out of That" – 4:22

12" single (US promo)

1. "Don't Tell Me (Remix)" – 6:45
2. "Don't Tell Me (Remix Edit)" – 3:09

Chart performance

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Belgian Singles Chart[9]	35
Canadian RPM Top 100[10]	48
Dutch Singles Chart[11]	26
German Singles Chart[12]	34
Irish Singles Chart[13]	10
Swiss Singles Chart[14]	27
UK Singles Chart[3]	8
US Billboard Hot Dance/Disco[15]	44

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Don't Tell Me"

Chart (1984)	Position
UK Singles (Gallup)[16]	96

Personnel

Blancmange

• Neil Arthur – lead vocals
• Stephen Luscombe – keyboards, synthesizers

Additional personnel

• Deepak Khazanchi - sitar on "Don't Tell Me"
• Pandit Dinesh - Tabla and Madal on "Don't Tell Me"
• David Rhodes - guitar on "Get Out of That"
• Rick Phylip-Jones - double bass on "Get Out of That"

Production

• Peter Collins - producer of "Don't Tell Me"
• Julian Mendelsohn - engineer on "Don't Tell Me"
• John Luongo - producer of "Get Out of That"
• Harvey Goldberg, Mark Kamins - remixing on "Don't Tell Me (Remix)" and "Don't Tell Me (Remix Edit)"

Other

• Simon Fowler - photography

References

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