The Communards Version
| "Never Can Say Goodbye" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Communards | ||||
| from the album Red | ||||
| B-side | "'77, The Great Escape"
"Tomorrow" |
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| Released | 1987 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record CD Maxi Single | |||
| Genre | Hi-NRG, dance, disco | |||
| Length | 4:30 7:50 7:50 and 5:35 |
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| Label | London Records (UK) / MCA Records (U.S.) / Metronome (Germany) | |||
| Writer(s) | Clifton Davis | |||
| Producer | Stephen Hague Remix and additional production by Shep Pettibone |
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| The Communards singles chronology | ||||
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In 1987, British pop band The Communards had a hit with a Hi-NRG cover of the Clifton Davis classic, which was featured on their second album, Red.
Scottish lead singer Jimmy Somerville, openly gay on record since his previous band Bronski Beat released "Smalltown Boy" in 1984, performed a falsetto version faithful to Gaynor's disco take, right down to the pronouns "you know you love him more and more" and "never can say goodbye, boy".
The Communards' version reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco chart in the U.S. The group had reached number one on those charts covering another 1970s classic, "Don't Leave Me This Way", in 1986.
The energetic music video of this version is classified as a classic by cable video channel VH1.
The Communards version was also featured in Father's Day, in the first series of the revived Doctor Who, set in 1987, and the final episode of Whites, featuring a dance number by Stephen Wight.
Read more about this topic: Never Can Say Goodbye
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