"I Gotcha Now" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and released as a single by Zakatek (

Lenny Zakatek Lenny Zakatek (born Lenny du Platel, 1947) is a British singer and musician who has lived in London since the age of thirteen. Zakatek was born just prior to Karachi becoming part of Pakistan and is best known for his work with the British band ...

) on the

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

label on 2 March 1973. The release of the single received interest from the British music press. The song features a pounding piano (possibly played by de Paul), fuzz guitar and "

I Am the Walrus "I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...

"-esque strings. De Paul's own demo of the song, with the title "Got You Here Now" and recorded at Orange Studios, London, by David Humphries in early 1973 resurfaced in 2022 and features a xylophone in place of the piano break in the middle of the song. The

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 ...

is also a de Paul song, " So Good To You", and both songs were recorded at

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

Strawberry Studios Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Formation The facility was originally called Inter-City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early ...

with

Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 10 ...

, the lead guitarist and singer of

The Mindbenders The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester, England. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart ...

and later a member of

, being the co-engineer. De Paul recorded her own version of "So Good To You" and released it in October 1973 as the flip side to her single " Won't Somebody Dance with Me". In Japan, this was the A-side of the release. Both songs were however, originally written by de Paul for Zakatek (as was the follow-up single " Get Your Gun"), after she co-discovered him together with the actor

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

, her boyfriend at the time. However, some years later de Paul revealed that she had offered "I Gotcha Now" to

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

. Lenny Zakatek discussed recording the song in an interview given to ''Black Music & Jazz Review''. "I Gotcha Now" was released on CD for the first time in 2018 on the compilation album ''Mixed Up Minds Part Thirteen: Rock & Pop From the British Isles, 1969-1973'', and also on the 2006 album, ''PopCycles Volume 4''. The song is still played on the radio, most recently by

KDVS KDVS (90.3 FM) is an American student and community radio station based in Davis, California. Featuring a freeform programming format, the station is owned by Regents of the University of California. Broadcasting at 13,000 watts, it is one of ...

based in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Da ...

, KOOP in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and Jersey City's

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, i ...

on the program "Wired Up!".

References

Songs written by Lynsey de Paul 1973 singles 1973 songs {{1970s-single-stub