"Getting a Drag" was the second single released by Lynsey de Paul. The song was co-written with David Jordan, and featured the de Paul penned

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Brandy". Released in November 1972 on

MAM Records MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by Decca Records. The first single released on MAM was "I Hear ...

, the single entered 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 peaked at number 18 and was still in the charts in early 1973. The single also reached number 46 on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

and had a four week run on the Dutch Single Tip chart where it peaked at number 7. It reached number 1 on the Israeli

Galei Tzahal Army Radio ( he, גלי צה"ל lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz ( he, גל"צ), is a nationwide Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports ...

chart, No. 2 on the Radio Northsea International chart, and No. 12 in January 1973 on the Turkish singles chart as published in

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

Chart performance

Reviews for the single from the music were positive, with the American magazine, ''Record World'', writing "Ms De Paul, who scored quite a hit in England with "Sugar Me", returns with a "Lola" like story of sexual identity confusion. The rocking beat and expertly produced by Gordon Mills keeps this clever song a winner. Commenting on her song, De Paul later said "This was my comment on the times and is about a girl who finds her boyfriend wearing her clothes and is angry, not because he is wearing them, but because he looks better than she does. It was tongue-in-cheek. I did it on ''Top Of The Pops'' when

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

was on set and was waiting to perform his song immediately afterwards". In his article "‘Children of the Revolution’: Glam Rock and the 70s" published in the New Socialist, Toby Manning wrote "‘Getting a Drag’ cleverly using gender performativity to queer gender roles (“I thought you were a brother but you turned out like my mother”)". The song has also been covered by

Franz Lambert Franz Lambert (born 11 March 1948) is a German composer and organist. He is an avid Hammond organ player; however, he is more noted in later years for playing the Wersi range of electronic organs. During his career he has released over 100 alb ...

, Excelsior on the album ''Música Em Sua Vida'', and most recently by a group named Grease Jar. A Japanese language version by Kuko & Angels was released as their debut single in 1973. The B-side was also covered by Miki Asakura with new lyrics as "Friday Night" on her 1981 album ''Sexy Elegance''. In 1994, De Paul released a re-recorded and radically different version of the song on her ''Just a Little Time'' CD, as well as a remixed club version of the updated song. De Paul's version was also a prize winning song at the 1973 International Contest of the

Tokyo Music Festival The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1992. It was organized by the Tokyo Music Festival Association. The first edition of the Tokyo Music Festival took place on 13 May 1972 with 12 participating countri ...

in 1973.''

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 advertise ...

'', 12 May 1973 The song title was translated as "Sigh of Love".

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Lynsey de Paul songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul MAM Records singles Number-one singles in Israel