"Don't Be a Stranger" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Dina Carroll Geraldine Carroll (born 21 August 1968) is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles, " It's Too Late" (1991), " Don't Be a Stranger" (1993), "The Perfect Year", (1993), and "Escaping" (1996 ...

, released on 4 October 1993 as the sixth and final single from her debut album, '' So Close'' (1993). The record was produced by Nigel Lowis, and the strings on the track were performed by the

London Session Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

. It was a success in the United Kingdom, reaching number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and it also reached the top 30 in Ireland and Sweden. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, the song peaked at number 11 in November 1993, while outside Europe, it was a number-one hit in Israel. Its accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was directed by

Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, Fulbright Scholar, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos. H ...

Critical reception

Scottish ''

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'' stated that "Don't Be a Stranger" is "sure to be a huge hit." Jon O'Brien from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called it "epic". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

described it as "a string laden Las-Vegassy

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

". Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it four out of five, writing, "Accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra, Carroll turns in a powerful vocal on a dramatic ballad, which makes full use of its expensive accompaniment." In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue viewed it as "wonderful and absolutely faultless", noting that the singer's vocals are "rich, strong, and flawless." They added that "it was clear that this belter of a song would push her towards recording more big ballads." Phil Shanklin of ReviewsRevues deemed it a "gem from its dramatic introduction", with "a build up that

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

would have been proud of." He concluded, "This is Dina’s best moment."

Music video

A black-and-white

was shot to accompany the song in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic, featuring such landmarks as

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( cs, Karlův most ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The ...

and

St. Vitus Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

; it was directed by German feature film director and producer

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1993 singles 1993 songs A&M Records singles Black-and-white music videos Dina Carroll songs First Avenue Records singles Music videos directed by Marcus Nispel Number-one singles in Israel Pop ballads