I Can't Even Touch You

Background

"I Can't Even Touch You" was Harley's first release of new solo/Cockney Rebel material since his 1979 album The Candidate. The song had originally been introduced live during Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel's 1981 Christmas tour. This tour introduced two other tracks; "Don't Shoot, Till You See The Whites Of Their Eyes" (a.k.a. "The Race Game") and "Not From Her World" (a cover of a 4 Out of 5 Doctors song). The recording and release of "I Can't Even Touch You" as a single came to fruition after Harley made a deal with Chris Wright, the founder and chairman of Chrysalis Records. Harley had met Wright at the Sandown Park Racecourse, and as a result of a conversation there, Harley sent Wright the song's demo recording. Showing interest in the song, Wright then suggested that Midge Ure produce it.

The song was soon recorded with Ure in the producer's chair. In the studio, Alan Darby, Cockney Rebel'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 played the lead guitar parts on the track. The piano and keyboards on the song were performed by Andy Qunta of Icehouse fame, who joined Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel in late 1981.

Released in March 1982 by Chrysalis Records, the single was a commercial failure, failing to make an appearance on the UK chart. Both the label and fans of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel had believed at the time that the song would become a hit. It was Harley's only release during 1982 and his only through Chrysalis Records.

Following its release, the song started to receive airplay on the Toronto rock radio station CFNY 102.1 in April-May 1982. This was despite the single not being given an official release in Canada.

Release

The single was released by Chrysalis Records on 7" vinyl in the UK and Germany only. 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. "I Can Be Anyone" was originally introduced to fans during Cockney Rebel's 1980 Christmas tour, along with another two new songs; "My Cold Heart" and "Such is Life".

The single was released with a full colour picture sleeve, which featured a photograph of Harley.

Following its original release as a single, the song later appeared on three Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations; the 1999 EMI Gold release The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, the 2006 EMI release Cockney Rebel: A Steve Harley Anthology and the 2008 EMI Gold release The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. It also appeared as a bonus track on the 2002 CD release of Harley's 1979 album The Candidate, released via Comeuppance Ltd.

Promotion

In the 27 March 1982 issue of British music magazine Melody Maker, a full A4 black-and-white advert was displayed to promote the release of the new single. It featured the same photo of Harley as on the single's sleeve.

The song has been performed live on a number of occasions and was recorded live in 1984 at Camden Palace, London, for a special TV broadcast. In 1985, the same concert, including the song, was released on VHS, titled Live from London.

The song later appeared in the band's live set-list, following their return to touring in 1989. Around 2004, the song was again reintroduced to some set-lists. An audience video recording also exists of Harley performing the song live in Antwerpen, Belgium during November 2004. The song was performed live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005

Track listing

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

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

Critical reception

In the UK magazine Smash Hits, dated 18 March 1982, writer Tim De Lisle reviewed the single, noting: "Produced, like Visage, by the tireless Midge Ure but beyond that there's not much else to be said for it. Pleasant, colourless and a far cry from his hits of the 70s."

In the unreleased 1991 book The Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Story, author Hans Peters described the song as "a surrealistic love song".

George Starostin retrospectively reviewed The Candidate album for his website and spoke of the song's inclusion as a CD bonus track, commenting: "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."

In a review of the band's performance at the Glastonbury Festival of 2005, eFestivals writer Karen Morrison mentioned the song, commenting: "When The Halo Slips" and "I Can't Even Touch You" follow with their full on keyboards and the applause is deafening."

Personnel