"Please Don't Leave Me" is a song by English

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

musician

John Sykes John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. Following a stint in ...

. It was released in 1982 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

as his first solo single. It also features members of the Irish hard rock group

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

, including frontman

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

, who co-wrote the track with Sykes. After leaving his previous band

Tygers of Pan Tang Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...

, Sykes was still contractually obligated to deliver a single to

. Having already written the instrumental for what was to become "Please Don't Leave Me", Sykes wanted to approach Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott about a potential collaboration. Producer

Chris Tsangarides Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...

, who had worked with both Tygers of Pan Tang and Thin Lizzy, acted as an intermediary. After listening to a demo, Lynott agreed to participate, bringing drummer Brian Downey and keyboardist

Darren Wharton Darren Leigh Wharton (born 25 December 1961) is a British keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He has fronted his own band, Dare, since 1985, but first came to attention as a member of Thin Lizzy. His son, Paris, is also a musician. Biography W ...

with him. The song was recorded at Lombard Studios in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

with Tsangarides producing. After the track was finished, Lynott asked Sykes to join Thin Lizzy, which he accepted. In 1992, "Please Don't Leave Me" was repackaged with material Sykes had recorded with Tygers of Pan Tang and released as a compilation album in Japan. That same year, Danish hard rock group

Pretty Maids Pretty Maids is a Danish hard rock/Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Horsens. Formed in 1981 by Ken Hammer, and completed with Ronnie Atkins in 1982, their sound and music can be described as classic guitar-laden heavy rock with a strong ...

covered the song on their album ''

Sin-Decade ''Sin-Decade'' is the fourth studio album by the Danish hard rock/ heavy metal band Pretty Maids. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen and Pretty Maids, and released in 1992 by Columbia Records. After the relative commercial failure of the b ...

''. Sykes would later re-record "Please Don't Leave Me" for his 1997 album '' Loveland'', on which it was retitled "Don't Hurt Me This Way (Please Don't Leave Me '97)".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

and

, except where noted. 7" vinyl (1982) CD (1992, Japan)

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes. Musicians *

– guitar *

– vocals, bass * Brian Downey – drums *

– keyboards Production *

– production, engineering * John Swannell – photography

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles MCA Records singles 1992 albums John Sykes albums MCA Records albums Songs written by Phil Lynott