"Sugar Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and

Barry Green Barry Green is an American orchestral and solo double bass player and teacher. He was the principal bassist for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. A contemporary of people such as Gary Karr, he has developed and publicized his own method for double ...

. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on

MAM Records MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by Decca Records. The first single released on MAM was "I Hear ...

in 1972. It was produced by

Gordon Mills Gordon William Mills (15 May 1935 – 29 July 1986) was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter. He was born in Madras, British India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. During the 1960s and 1970s ...

and the B-side was de Paul's version of "

Storm in a Teacup Tempest in a teapot (American English), or storm in a teacup (British English), is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion. There are also lesser known or earlier variants, such as ''tempest in a teacup'', ''stor ...

", a song she had co-written and had been a hit for

the Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...

earlier that year.

Background and reception

The single was a hit in many countries, notably reaching the top of the singles chart in the Netherlands (where it stayed for five weeks), Belgium, Sweden and Spain as well as the top 20 in the UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Japan. It also reached the no. 1 position on the Bangkok HSA chart in October 1972, and was play listed on some (WERS-FM, KCRW, KFAI, WPKN etc) US radio stations. It also received favourable reviews in the United States, and was listed as being among the best 5 singles of 1972 by '' Cashbox''. "Sugar Me" was ranked the 14th best selling single of 1972 in the Netherlands, the 40th best seller the same year in Australia, the 80th best selling single of 1972 in the UK, and the 89th best selling single on the 1973 German chart. It entered the Netherlands Digital Top 100 on the 5 October 2014, just after De Paul died. The version on de Paul's debut album, '' Surprise'', was a re-recorded and slightly extended version that featured a longer solo by violinist Johnny Van Derek and was produced by de Paul. "Sugar Me" was re-released as a single in 1977 backed with " Won't Somebody Dance With Me" on the MAM label to tie in with the release of her Eurovision Song contest entry " Rock Bottom". De Paul re-recorded the song in an updated style including a club mix version and both versions appeared on her 1994 album, ''

Just a Little Time ''Just a Little Time'' is an album by Lynsey de Paul. It was originally released on 30 September 1994 on the Music Deluxe (catalogue number MSCD9) label but has since been released on the Tring International PLC label (catalogue number JHD128) ...

''. The club mix was also included on the 2001 compilation album, ''Dance Sensation (The Ultimate Urban Dance Remix Collection)''.

Other versions

The song has been recorded by many other artists, notably

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

, as a non-LP single, and received positive reviews (it appeared as the lead track on her 1999 album ''How Does It Feel''), plus

Claudine Longet Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy ...

on her album ''Sugar Me''. The song was also covered by actress

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...

on her 1973 self-titled album. Later it was covered by Dutch group Gigantjes, Belgian female trio "Candy",

Nydia Caro Nydia Caro (born June 7, 1948) is a Puerto Rican singer. Early years Caro was born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. She attended James Monroe H. ...

(both as a single and also as a track on her 1978 album), Esmaye on her album ''Elements in Me'', plus singer-songwriter Nasia Christie who released her version of "Sugar Me" as her first single produced by Brian Canham from

Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...

in 2007. There has also been a rock version of the song performed by the German group Gwen Stacey, on their 1989 EP "Sugar Me". More recently, it has been recorded by Papernut Cambridge, Italian artist, LIM and Karl Jonas on his 2016 album, ''In a Gilbert Play''. In 1973,

Klaus Wunderlich Klaus Wunderlich (18 June 1931 – 28 October 1997) was a famous German easy listening organist. Biography Wunderlich was born in Chemnitz. He played the Hammond organ model C3 then mid 60s changed to model Hammond H100. Wunderlich also tried ...

performed an instrumental version of "Sugar Me" as a medley with "Standing in the Road", originally by Blackfoot Sue. This version was sampled for the song "Certified" by

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

on his 2000 album ''Guru's Jazzmatazz'', featuring

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...

on vocals and de Paul received co-writing credits. The track was also released as a single with various remixes. This version of the song also appeared on the album ''Rap History 2000'' and also on the 2007 CD ''Sound Maeuvers'' by DJ Mitsu The Beats, DJ Mu-R, where it is entitled "Certified/Sugar Me", and the 2010 CD ''Wolt Beats – My Brain Dilla's Anthology'', as well as on the 2016 CD ''Mr.Beats a.k.a. DJ Celory J Dilla Mix Pt. 2''. The de Paul album version of "Sugar Me" is featured as the first song in the movie ''

Cut Snake ''Cut Snake'' is a 2014 Australian thriller film written by Blake Ayshford and directed by Tony Ayres. The title comes from the Australian idiom "mad as a cut snake" which describes either insanity or anger so extreme you don't want to get near ...

'', and it is performed by Austrian actress

Sophie Rois Sophie Rois is an Austrian actress. She has appeared in such films as ''Three (2010 film), Three'', ''180°'', ''Enemy at the Gates'' and television programmes such as ''Polizeiruf 110'' and ''Die kleine Monsterin'' (voice). In 2014, she appea ...

in the German comedy film ''La série" aka "Fräulein Phyllis''. It was also featured in the 1980 Russian movie ''Тростинка на ветру'' (''Reed in the Wind''). It was also featured in episode 1 of the 2021 TV series ''

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

''. The version by Claudine Longet appears on the sound track to the 2019 German film, ''Club der einsamen Herzen'' (''Lonely Hearts Club'').

References

{{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1977 singles Lynsey de Paul songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul Songs written by Barry Blue MAM Records singles