"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" is a song by English electronic group
Nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
, released in 1990 (UK/Europe) and 1991 (US) by Rumour/
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
and
Capitol. It was the second single from their only album, ''Changing Cabins'', released later in 1991. It was written by the producer,
Damon Rochefort, with
Steve Mac
Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...
and MC Mikee Freedom. The song was a number-one hit in Greece and a top 5 hit in the UK, where it reached number two. In the US, it peaked at number-one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart in June 1991 and stayed there for one week. Its music video was directed by Jerome Redfarn.
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that which replaced the British MTV Base on 7 March 2008. The network mainly broadcasts music videos from the electronica and techno genres, a ...
ranked the song number 32 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that which replaced the British MTV Base on 7 March 2008. The network mainly broadcasts music videos from the electronica and techno genres, a ...
. 27 December 2011.
Background and release
The track was produced by
Damon Rochefort, who also shares writing credits with fellow Nomad member
Steve McCutcheon and rapper MC Mikee Freedom. It also quotes from the earlier club hit "Devotion" by
Ten City
Ten City (derived from ''intensity'') is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house. ...
. Although Freedom and singer
Sharon Dee Clarke were the featured artists on this track when it was released in the United Kingdom and other territories (even though Freedom was the only one to get his name credited), they were listed as uncredited in the US single version up until the act's full-length CD, ''Changing Cabins'', was released Stateside in the autumn of 1991.
The song is notable for being the first song that Steve Mac ever wrote.
When asked about the track and its success in an April 2010 interview, Mac said:
In addition to the rap version, there is also a Soul Mix version that features Clarke's vocal performance without the rap. Both versions along with the Italo house version are included on the ''Changing Cabins'' CD.
Chart performance
"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" was very successful on the charts in Europe, peaking at number-one in Greece.
In the UK, it reached number two in its seventh week at the
UK Singles Chart, on February 17, 1991. It was held off the top spot by
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
' "
Do the Bartman". But on the
UK Dance Singles Chart
The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...
, it hit number one
as well as on the
''Record Mirror'' Club Chart.
The song entered the top 10 also in Austria (10), Belgium (8), Ireland (10), Luxembourg (2), the Netherlands (5), Spain (5) and Switzerland (6), as well as on the
Eurochart Hot 100
The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...
, where it peaked at number six in March 1991.
Additionally, the song was a top-20 hit in Germany (13) and Sweden (11).
Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart in the US, number three on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' Dance/Urban chart in Canada and number 37 in Australia.
"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" earned a
silver record in the UK, with a sale of 200,000 singles.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
editor Stewart Mason named the song a "terrific dance club staple", complimenting singer
Sharon Dee Clarke's "soulful, expressive voice", and writer/programmer
Damon Rochefort, that gives the whole thing a "perky, bouncy feel". David Taylor-Wilson from ''
Bay Area Reporter
The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published ne ...
'' felt it's "extremely enticing", praising Clarke's vocals as "superb". American magazine ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' stated that the song had recently topped dance charts "thanks to Sharon Dee Clark's belting vocals and Damon Rochefort's savvy beat and melody construction." ''Billboard'' editor
Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
complimented its "contagious melody, a slammin' groove, and a well-timed trade-off between rapid male rapping and diva-styled femme singing." Zane from ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' stated, "The song's irritatingly catchy sax samples and the ubiquitous female soul vocals made it a deserved, if obvious, Top Five hit."
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to:
Dukes
*James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland
*James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman
*James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
s ''RM'' Dance Update deemed it a "catchily honking political lurcher". Phil Cheeseman from ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' wrote, "If you went out clubbing on New Year's Eve, one record you'll almost certainly have heard is Nomad's 'Devotion'. Its crowd chants, stabbing saxophone, lazy strings and catchy chorus conspired to make it the Christmas period's most guaranteed floor filler." In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue remarked that it's "a great example of early 1990s chart rap – somewhat slower and devoid of the sexual violence that you'd expect in most rap now." Johnny Dee from ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' declared the track as "utterlly brill". Bob Mack from ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' viewed it as a "great" dance cut and almost a "real song".
Music video
The accompanying music video for "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" was directed by Jerome Redfarn. It features both MC Mikee Freedom and
Sharon Dee Clarke, and have them dressed in
body paint
Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or "he ...
while they are performing the song at a
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
concert. The video received
heavy rotation
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...
on
MTV Europe
MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network.
Initia ...
.
Impact and legacy
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that which replaced the British MTV Base on 7 March 2008. The network mainly broadcasts music videos from the electronica and techno genres, a ...
ranked "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" number 32 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.
''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' included it in their list of "15 Landmark Dance Tracks of 1991" in 2020.
Track listings
* 12" CD (UK)
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" – 6:42
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Instrumental Mix) – 6:42
# "Sang - Froid" – 3:32
* 12" maxi CD (UK/US)
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (7" Mix) – 4:09
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Original Mix) – 6:46
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Instrumental) – 6:37
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Soul Mix) – 5:00
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (The
Joey Negro
David Russell Lee (born 18 June 1964) is an English DJ and music producer, formerly known by the stage name Joey Negro, which he retired in July 2020 following the George Floyd protests.
He has released music under a variety of pseudonyms ...
Mix) – 6:48
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Rock Shock Mix) – 6:39
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Trouble's Club Mix) – 6:41
# "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" (Trouble's Underground Club Mix) – 6:37
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
Track listing at e.discogs.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Wanna Give You Devotion
1990 songs
1991 singles
1995 singles
Capitol Records singles
EMI Records singles
Hip house songs
English house music songs
Music Week number-one dance singles
Number-one singles in Greece
Songs written by Steve Mac
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles