I Can't Even Touch You

"I Can't Even Touch You"
Single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
B-side	"I Can Be Anyone"
Released	March 1982[1]
Format	7"
Genre	Pop, Rock
Length	4:04
Label	Chrysalis Records
Writer(s)	Steve Harley
Producer(s)	Midge Ure
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel singles chronology
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) (re-issue)" (1981) "I Can't Even Touch You" (1982) "Ballerina (Prima Donna)" (1983)

"I Can't Even Touch You" is a single by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released under his band name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, as a non-album single in 1982.^[2]

Background

"I Can't Even Touch You" was written by Harley and produced by Scottish musician Midge Ure, who was also a friend of Harley. The single was a commercial failure, where it failed to make an appearance on the UK top 100 chart, despite the general feeling amongst the label and fans alike that it would become a hit.^[3] It was Harley's only release via Chrysalis Records.^[4] The deal between the label and Harley came to fruition when Harley spoke to Chris Wright, the label's founder and Chairman, at Sandown Park Racecourse. As a result of the conversation, Harley sent Wright the song's demo and he suggested that Ure produce it.

Alan Darby, Harley's guitarist of the time, laid down the original eight-to-the-bar chugging rhythm part of the track, however, Ure thought it was slightly off-beat at times, and therefore re-did the part himself. Darby did all the lead parts on the track.

The song was originally introduced live during Harley's 1981 Christmas tour, where he also introduced two other tracks; "Don't Shoot, Till You See The Whites Of Their Eyes" (a.k.a. The Race Game) and "Knock On Her World". The year before that, Harley's 1980 Christmas tour featured the introduction of three new songs; "My Cold Heart", "Such is Life" and "I Could Be Anyone" besides a reggae-version of "Mr. Soft". "I Can Be Anyone" later became the single's b-side.^[3]

In July 2008, the song was unofficially uploaded onto YouTube, where it has since gained approximately 7900 views.^[5]

Release

The single was released via 7" vinyl through Chrysalis Records in the UK and Germany only.^[6] The single featured the b-side "I Can Be Anyone" which was written by Harley and produced by Ure as well. The b-side was exclusive to the single and has not appeared on any other release since.^[6] The release included artwork, a full colour picture sleeve, which featured a photograph of Harley.^[7]

Following the original release, the song has appeared on three Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations, the 1999 EMI Gold release The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel,^[8] the 2006 EMI release Cockney Rebel: A Steve Harley Anthology and the 2008 EMI Gold release The Best of Steve Harley. It also appeared as a bonus track on the 2002 CD re-issue of Harley's 1979 album The Candidate, released via Comeuppance.^[9]

Promotion

In the Melody Maker issue of 27 March 1982, a full A4 black and white advert was displayed based on the single. It featured the same photo of Harley as on the single's artwork.^[10]

The song has been performed live on numerous occasions and was professionally filmed live in 1984 at Camden Palace for the "Live from London" video release.^[11] The performance is available under the same title of "Live from London" on two DVD editions; one from 2001 (and its re-issue in 2007) and one from 2012.^[12][13] It was originally released during the 1980s as a VHS release.^[14]

The song was later played during the late 1980s. Around 2004 the song was reintroduced to some set-lists. An audience video recording also exists of Harley performing the song live in Antwerpen, Belgium during November 2004.^[15] The song was performed live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005, and eFestivals writer Karen Morrison reviewed the band's setlist and performance, where she mentioned the song, stating "When The Halo Slips and I Can't Even Touch You follow with their full on keyboards and the applause is deafening."^[16]

Track listing

7" Single (UK release)

1. "I Can't Even Touch You" - 4:04
2. "I Can Be Anyone" - 3:20

7" Single (German release)

1. "I Can't Even Touch You" - 4:07
2. "I Can Be Anyone" - 3:20

Critical reception

George Starostin reviewed The Candidate album for his website and spoke of the bonus track song, stating "And yeah, there's a couple bonus tracks too - one is a really clever New Wave-style pop-rocker ('I Can't Even Touch You'), with a good chorus and a good arrangement."^[17]

In the unreleased 1991 book The Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel story, author Hans Peters described the song as "a surrealistic love song".^[18]

Personnel

• Midge Ure - Producer, rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Steve Harley - Vocals, dual vocals, writer
• Alan Darby - Lead guitar

References