"Tell Me When" is a song by British group the Applejacks, released as their debut single in February 1964. It became their only top-ten hit, peaking at number seven on the '' Record Retailer'' chart.

Background and release

"Tell Me When" was written by Les Reed and

Geoff Stephens Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British so ...

. On the suggestion of publisher and producer Frank Poser, Stephens teamed up with Les Reed, with neither having yet written a hit song. After being played part of a tune Reed had written, Stephens thought that the words 'tell me when' fitted exactly. The phrase, used when pouring a drink, was applied metaphorically in the song to refer to a relationship, i.e. per the lyrics 'tell me when you're ready to be mine'. Recorded at

Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. The building was once West Hampstead Town Hall, and had been converted to a recording studio b ...

in January 1964, it was released as a single a month later with the B-side "Baby Jane", written by

Pete Dello Pete Dello (born Peter Blumsom, 26 May 1942, Oxford, UK) is a 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter and now music teacher. Career Dello started his career as a musician in the skiffle era of the 1950s and was a founding member of the rock and roll ...

and Ray Cane, who would go on to form Honeybus and have their own hit " I Can't Let Maggie Go".

Personnel

* Al Jackson – lead vocals * Martin Baggott – lead guitar * Phil Cash – rhythm guitar * Megan Davies – bass guitar * Don Gould – organ * Gerry Freeman – drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1964 singles 1964 songs Songs written by Les Reed (songwriter) Songs written by Geoff Stephens Decca Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Smith (British record producer)