"Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" is a

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

song written and produced by British hit making team

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

(SAW), which became a hit for singer

Hazell Dean Hazell Dean ( Poole; born 27 October 1952) is an English dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top-ten hits in the United Kingdom "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)", ...

in 1984. Dean, having had a top 10 hit in May 1984 with "

Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man) "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" is a song written and produced by Ian Anthony Stephenson and recorded by British singer Hazell Dean in 1983. It became a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and US Dance Club Songs chart. It was covered in 2007 b ...

", was looking for a follow-up single. Through her record company Proto Records she met SAW, who had by then worked with her label mates

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

and Agents Aren't Aeroplanes, but were virtually unknown. When Dean visited the producers, they played her the backing track of Divine's "

You Think You're A Man "You Think You're a Man" is a single by American performance artist Divine, released in 1984. The song also appeared on the compilation album ''The Story So Far'', released the same year. It was written by Geoff Deane, formerly the lead singer an ...

". She liked it, so she agreed to record a single with them as tensions climbed over the need for a second hit. "She was upset at time," Mike Stock recalled of the high-pressure situation Dean found herself in following her first hit. "I remember her saying at times this was so important to her. t wasthat dreadful follow up situation - how do you follow up a hit?'" The song SAW offered her was originally titled "Dance Your Love Away", and had previously been given to American artist, Michael Prince, to record.

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...

came up with the idea of using the backing track with re-written lyrics to appease Dean, who disliked the original chorus. Stock and Aitken proceeded to change the track, which was re-titled "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)". Prince was not informed that Dean had recorded a reworked version of the song he'd recorded first, and was at the time waiting to release. He claims he only found out when her version came on while he was dancing in a nightclub, and says he immediately left to ring the producers and demand an explanation. Mike Stock disputes the details of Prince's story, saying the singer actually rang him from his hospital bed after an accident involving a jar of

pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...

. A reworked version of "Dance Your Love Away" was released as a single in 1985, but did not chart. Dean's single was released in July 1984, and it became an instant smash, peaking at number 4 in 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 ...

, spending 11 weeks in the chart. It became the singer's highest placed single in the UK, along with her 1988 single "

Who's Leaving Who "Who's Leaving Who" is a song written by Jack White and Mark Spiro, first recorded by Canadian country singer Anne Murray in 1986. It achieved bigger popularity in Europe when it was covered by British Hi-NRG singer Hazell Dean in 1988. David Hass ...

". It was also SAW's first of many top 10 singles in the UK charts. Due to this success, Dean went on to record her album with SAW. The resulting LP, ''

Heart First ''Heart First'' is a 1984 album by British singer Hazell Dean. It was her first album as a mainstream pop artist following the top ten successes of "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" and " Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)". It was the first album to be ...

'', released in November 1984, was fully produced by the trio, except for "

". Dean re-recorded the song for her 1995 album ''The Best of Hazell Dean''.

Cover versions

American artist

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single "Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a ...

recorded a cover version of the song for her 1987 album ''

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It ...

''. Her version was also produced by SAW.

References

This song was released on a 3:46 radio edit, a 8:08 extended mix and another remix.

External links

PWL Empire website Mike Stock website Stock Aitken Waterman website
{{Authority control 1984 singles Laura Branigan songs Hazell Dean songs Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Pete Waterman Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) 1984 songs