"Private Dancer" is a song made famous in 1984 by American singer

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

. First recorded by British rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

, it was written by the group's lead vocalist

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

and produced by John Carter for Turner's fifth solo album of the same name. Released as the album's fifth single, the track reached number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the US R&B chart. The song had moderate international success, reaching number 26 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 ...

Background

The song was intended for

' fourth album ''

Love over Gold ''Love over Gold'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 24 September 1982 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album featured two singles: "Private Investi ...

''. The instruments were recorded, but Mark Knopfler considered the lyrics unsuitable for a male singer, so the track was dropped from the project. Legal restrictions prevented the original recording being used by Tina Turner, so two years later it was remade by members of Dire Straits. Terry Williams replaced the original drummer

Pick Withers David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English rock and jazz drummer. He was the original drummer of rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as " Sultans of Swing", " Romeo and Jul ...

. Knopfler did not appear on the track and was replaced by

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

. Turner told DJ

Roger Scott Roger Scott (23 October 1943 – 31 October 1989) was a British radio disc jockey. He was best known for presenting an afternoon radio show on London's Capital London from 1973 until 1988 and was also best known for presenting his late night ...

: Knopfler once said the song was ruined due to "them drafting in Jeff Beck to play the world's second-ugliest guitar solo".

Critical reception

The Daily Vault's Mark Millan wrote, "It's a sexy, dark track that gives the album an edge and also a chance for Turner's powerful sexuality to sparkle."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Private Dancer", featuring dance choreography by

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, was directed by

Brian Grant Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...

and filmed at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Rivoli Ballroom The Rivoli Ballroom is the only intact 1950s ballroom remaining in London, England. It is famed for its original decor and interior fittings, including red velvet, flock wallpaper, chandeliers, glitter balls and oversized Chinese lanterns. The v ...

. It features Turner as a disillusioned

taxi dancer A taxi dancer is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. Taxi dancers are hired to dance with their customers on a dance-by-dance basis. When taxi dancing first appeared in taxi-dance halls during the early 20th century in the United States, mal ...

, although the song has also been interpreted as being sung from the perspective of a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. The video was later published on Turner's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in March 2009. It has amassed more than 34,9 million views as of October 2021.

Personnel

– vocals *

– guitar solo *

John Illsley John Edward Illsley (born 24 June 1949) is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist of the rock band Dire Straits. With it, he has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, ...

– bass guitar *

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tra ...

– keyboards *

Hal Lindes Hal Andrew Lindes is an American–English guitarist and film score composer. In 1979, he played guitar with the new wave group Darling. Signed to Charisma Records, they released the single "Do You Wanna" (written by Lindes) and published th ...

– guitar * Terry Williams – drums *

Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...

– tenor saxophone *Julian Diggle and

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

– percussion *

Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born March 5, 1939, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative ...

– cover photography (US) *

Peter Ashworth Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...

– cover photography (UK)

Versions and mixes

* 7-inch edit – 3:54 * Album version – 7:11 * The album version was remastered in 2015. The song remained the same length and is titled "Private Dance – 2015 Remaster."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

recorded a cover version of the song for her album ''

Ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

'', released on March 16, 2018. In 2015, Canadian

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician and performance artist

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

performed a piano version of the song on

The Strombo Show ''The Strombo Show'' is a Canadian radio show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, which has aired since 2005."Stroumboulopoulos just can't stopoulopoulos; New CBC Radio Show". ''National Post'', November 7, 2009. The show originated on Standard B ...

at the home of George Stroumboulopoulos. Peaches had previously played the song live at different concerts.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Private Dancer (Song) 1984 singles Tina Turner songs Songs written by Mark Knopfler 1984 songs Songs about dancing Capitol Records singles Songs about prostitutes Smooth jazz songs 1980s ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads