"I Can Drive" is a song by UK pop act

Shakespears Sister Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but became a duo ...

, released in June 1996 as the lead single from their third studio album '' #3''. The song was co-written and produced by Fahey's then-husband

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

and featured the now prominent record producer/writer

Jimmy Hogarth Jimmy Hogarth (born 1974, Orkney Islands, Scotland) is a London-based producer and songwriter, whose production and writing credits include, Amy Winehouse, Sia, Tom Grennan, Paolo Nutini, Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ren Harvieu, Estelle, Tina ...

on guitar.

Background

"I Can Drive" peaked at #30 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 was not released internationally. Although intended as the lead single from the band's third album,

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

then opted not to release the album at all and Shakespears Sister were dropped by the company, making this their last release with the label.

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

, the act's only full member by that time, eventually obtained the rights to release the album herself (via her website) in 2005. She later claimed that she was dropped by the label not because of the mediocre chart performance of "I Can Drive", but due to the label thinking the album was "too alternative for a woman of my age".

Critical reception

British magazine ''

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 ...

'' rated "I Can Drive" five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. The reviewer wrote, "Strings and harpsichord give this return single from Siobhan Fahey an olde world feel. Fahey has her fans, and they'll welcome this unusual offering."

Track listing

*;CD single #"I Can Drive" — 4:09 #"Oh No, It's Michael" — 5:10 #"Suddenly" — 3:42 *;7" / Cassette #"I Can Drive" — 4:09 #"Oh No, It's Michael" — 5:10 *; 12" Promo #"I Can Drive (Pull Down Your Pants Mix)" — 6:32 #"I Can Drive (Pull Down Your Pants Dub)" — 6:06 #"I Can Drive (Roger Weed Mix)" — 8.00

Charts

References

1996 singles Shakespears Sister songs Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Songs written by David A. Stewart Songs written by Siobhan Fahey Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder 1996 songs {{1990s-pop-song-stub