"Don't Tell Me" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

Blancmange Blancmange (, from , ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream, and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Chondrus crispus, Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured wit ...

, released in March 1984 as the third single from their second studio album ''

Mange Tout Mange tout (French for "eat all") or mangetout may refer to: *Sugar pea or edible-pod pea including: ** Snap pea with rounded pods and thick pod walls ** Snow pea The snow pea is an edible-pod pea with flat pods and thin pod walls, in contras ...

'' (1984). Written by Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe, and produced by Peter Collins, "Don't Tell Me" reached No. 8 in the UK and remained in the charts for ten weeks. A

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

was filmed in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

to promote the single.

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 t wasrecorded on a highly sprung trampoline." Tom Hibbert of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' 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." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' considered the song to have "an engaging melody with jagged and exotic studio effects". In a retrospective review of ''Mange Tout'' (1984), Bill Cassel of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

considered the song to be "nigh irresistible". Paul Scott-Bates of ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...

'' 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"."

Track listing

; 7" single # "Don't Tell Me" – 3:28 # "Get Out of That" – 4:22 ; 12" single # "Don't Tell Me" – 6:28 # "Get Out of That" – 4:22 ; 12" single (US release) # "Don't Tell Me (Extended Version)" – 6:22 # "Don't Tell Me (Edit)" – 3:28 # "Get Out of That" – 4:22 ; 12" single (US promo) # "Don't Tell Me (Remix)" – 6:45 # "Don't Tell Me (Remix Edit)" – 3:09

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Personnel

Blancmange * Neil Arthur – lead vocals * Stephen Luscombe – keyboards, synthesizers Additional personnel * Deepak Khazanchi – sitar on "Don't Tell Me" *

Pandit Dinesh Pandit Dinesh (born 29 May 1955) is a music composer and percussionist specializing in Indian rhythms. He uses the tabla, conga drums, and more. Dinesh is known for his collaborations with West India Company, Dizrhythmia, The Pax Trio, and Blanc ...

– 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" *

Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...

- keyboards (uncredited) on "Don't Tell Me" * J.J. Jeczalik - keyboards (uncredited) on "Don't Tell Me" Production and artwork * Peter Collins – producer of "Don't Tell Me" *

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ...

– engineer on "Don't Tell Me" * John Luongo – producer of "Get Out of That" * Harvey Goldberg,

Mark Kamins Mark Kamins (April 11, 1950 – February 14, 2013) was an American record producer, remixer, and disc jockey famous for his role in the New York club scene. He is best known for helping launch the career of singer Madonna by bringing her to Sir ...

– remixing on "Don't Tell Me (Remix)" and "Don't Tell Me (Remix Edit)" *

Simon Fowler Simon Geoffrey Fowler (born 25 May 1965) is an English singer, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene. The Fanatics Simon Fowler commenced his music career as the lead singer and songwriter for Birmingham band The Fanatics, which cons ...

– photography

References

External links

* {{authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles Blancmange (band) songs London Records singles Sire Records singles Songs written by Neil Arthur Songs written by Stephen Luscombe Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer)