"I Can't Let Maggie Go" is a song by the British pop group Honeybus from early 1968. Written by band member

Pete Dello Pete Dello (born Peter Blumsom, 26 May 1942, Oxford, UK) is a 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter and now music teacher. Career Dello started his career as a musician in the skiffle era of the 1950s and was a founding member of the rock and roll ...

, it was released as a non-album single. The song became an international Top 20 hit, reaching number 13 in New Zealand and number 11 in Ireland. It did best in their native United Kingdom, where it reached number eight in 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 ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Later uses

"I Can't Let Maggie Go" was included on the group's later compilation LPs, ''Honeybus at Their Best'' and ''Old Masters Hidden Treasures''.

Cover versions

The song was also a top 10 hit in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, with a 1968 version made by

Equipe 84 Equipe 84 were an Italian Beat band formed in 1964 in Modena. The name translates as Team 84, and it was originally suggested by a friend of the band, Pier Farri. 'Equipe' was thought to be a word that would resonate more easily outside of thei ...

, entitled "Un angelo blu" ("A blue angel"). and by The Shinings. It enjoyed an unexpected return in popularity in the 1970s, when it was used as a TV commercial jingle for " Nimble", a bread produced for slimmers. A 1969 cover by The Birds reached number 4 in Perth, Australia. "I Can't Let Maggie Go" has been covered by J. Vincent Edwards in 1974, as well as by the Sideburns in 1993.

David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...

included his own version on the 2005

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''The Complete Collection''. Singer and record producer

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

released a version of the song in 1991. It was released as a tribute to outgoing prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. A faithful adaptation of the song was released in 1969 under the name "No Puedes, Maggie" by Los Condes; a band from Islas Baleares, Spain.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* 1968 songs 1968 singles Decca Records singles {{1960s-song-stub