"I Want Out" is a song by English rockabilly band

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designed ...

featuring

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...

. It was released in 1983 as the third and final single from the band's sixth studio album ''Crossed Line'' (1982). It was written by Brian Hodgson, Ray Peters and Tony Colton, and produced by Hodgson.

Background

"I Want Out" failed to make an appearance in the top 100 of 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 ...

, but reached number 137 in the top 200 chart compiled by Gallup. It also appeared at number 86 on ''Record Business'' magazine's Top 100 Airplay chart on 31 January 1983. The song reached number 58 on the West German Singles Chart in March 1983. To promote the single in Germany, Matchbox and MacColl performed the song on ''

Musikladen ''Der Musikladen'' (german: The Music Shop) was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s ''Beat-Club'' under a new name, and in turn was replaced by ''Extratour''. ...

'', which was broadcast on 10 February 1983. In the UK, MacColl made an appearance at a Matchbox concert at the Venue in London in 1983. She performed "I Want Out" with the band, along with her own hit "

There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released as the lead single from her debut studio album '' Desperate Character''. The song was written by MacColl and Philip ...

Critical reception

On its release as a single, ''

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'' wrote, "There's not many rock 'n' roll acts who are worse than

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but here's one. Nevertheless, this is saved by a real rootsy-tootsy vocal from Kirsty." Jim Reid of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' commented, "English people trying to be redneck Americans, nearly as embarrassing as

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's imitation of a vibrant new pop group." ''Mansfield and Sutton Recorder'' considered the song to have "a true Matchbox sound with the added magic of Kirsty MacColl, sharing the lead vocal with Graham Fenton". Frank Edmonds of the ''

Bury Free Press Yattendon Group plc (formerly Yattendon Investment Trust) is a British-based private company owned by the Iliffe family. It has interests in Vancouver, Seattle, agriculture, marinas and local newspaper printing and publishing. Property Yattendo ...

'' gave the song a six and a half out of 10 rating and wrote, "So would I if I made a record like this! No, seriously, it's not too bad, really."

Track listing

;7" single #"I Want Out" – 2:42 #"Heaven Can Wait" – 3:03

Personnel

Matchbox * Graham Fenton – lead vocals * Dick Callan – lead guitar * Gordon Scott – guitar * Brian Hodgson – bass * Jimmie Redhead – drums Additional musicians * Kirsty MacColl – lead vocals Production * Brian Hodgson – producer * Bazza – engineer * Dave Bellotti, Phil Vinall – assistant engineers

Charts

References

{{Kirsty MacColl 1982 songs 1983 singles Matchbox (band) songs Kirsty MacColl songs Magnet Records singles