"Don't Give Me Your Life" is a song by Italian

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

group

Alex Party Alex Party is an Italian electronic dance group. The band consisted of the Italian brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi (also of Livin' Joy), DJ Alex Natale, and vocalist, singer and songwriter Shanie Campbell. Their most famous single to date is ...

. It is produced by Italian producer brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi with DJ Alex Natale, and was released in February 1995 by UMM and Systematic as the first single from the group's first and only album, ''Alex Party'' (1996). The vocals are performed by British singer Robin 'Shanie' Campbell, who also wrote the lyrics and melody. The song peaked at number two in the UK and number five on the ''

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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. It also topped the Club Record category at ''

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 1995 Awards. Today, it is widely regarded as one of the biggest dance anthems of the 1990s.

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

ranked it number 21 in their list of "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995" in 2015. In 1999, "Don't Give Me Your Life" was re-released, with new mixes included and a full length bonus track, "Megamix" from 1994. A music video was produced twice for the song; in 1995 and 1999.

Background

After the success with their first single, " Read My Lips/Saturday Night Party" which peaked at number 29 in the UK and became an

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

anthem during the summer of 1993, producers and brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi, with DJ Alex Natale, wanted to create something more oriented to the underground scene. But they then decided to add a voice to it. Through their label they were introduced to British singer Robin 'Shanie' Campbell, who wrote the lyrics for "Don't Give Me Your Life". The lyrics tells the story of a woman that tells her man that she doesn't need him anymore. He has been treating her badly, cheating on her and she has had enough, telling him that she don't need his love/life. The quartet's varied experiences gave the song a unique sound and a sophisticated flare compared to the other stomping grooves at the time. The means of productions back then were not like today, and the production phase was actually more challenging. The hardest part was the huge amount of work during the assembly, once the vocals were recorded on tape. After that, every single phrase from the vocals was sampled individually and controlled via midi with an

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

computer.

Chart performance

"Don't Give Me Your Life" reached number two in Ireland and the United Kingdom, becoming their highest-charting hit in those countries. In the latter, it peaked at number two on 5 March 1995, in its fourth week on the UK Singles Chart. The single spent two weeks at that position and was held off reaching number-one by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's " Think Twice". It also peaked at number six in Iceland, number 16 in Denmark and the Netherlands, and number 18 in the group's native Italy. In addition, it topped both ''

''s On a Pop Tip Club Chart and the Club Record category at ''Music Weeks 1995 Awards. 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 ...

, it reached number nine on 11 March. Outside Europe, "Don't Give Me Your Life" was successful in Israel, peaking at number two and on the US ''

chart, where it hit number five. In Australia, it reached a respectable number 13 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. The song was included on numerous

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s all over the world, and remains to date the most successful release by

. "Don't Give Me Your Life" was awarded with a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the United Kingdom, with a sale of 400,000 singles.

Critical reception

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 ...

from American magazine ''

'' wrote, "This popular U.K. import, is showing early signs of widespread approval from a variety of

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

programmers. Producer Visnadi and Alex Natale offer a jumpy bassline and

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

-like keyboards, while resident singer Shanie bumps and grinds with giddy abandon. The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

will have you reaching for your tambourine and platform boots." Another ''Billboard'' editor, Mark Dezzani, said, "The single, like the tracks from the pioneering Italian dance act

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

, epitomizes Italy's knack for producing perfect pop tunes using the latest in musical technology." Robbie Daw from ''

'' declared it as a "kiss-off anthem" and "one big F U to a no-good ex". He complimented Campbell as "the epitome of powerhouse dance diva." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

viewed it as "a brilliantly commercial piece of dance". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' commented, "Vocals by Shanie, rap by Danny Johnston; assemble these two elements and you get one of the catchiest

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

tracks currently available." Alan Jones from ''

'' said, "A startlingly simple but hugely effective Italo-NRG bouncer with an impossibly catchy chorus, it could go all the way."

Iestyn George Iestyn George is a Welsh journalist, who previously worked as an editor at both ''NME'' and '' GQ'' and is now a lecturer at University of Brighton. Journalism career During the 1990s, George was a writer for ''NME'' magazine, and became news ed ...

from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "Perky handbag ditty with neat vocal snatches, a snappy piano break and the requisite number of peaks and drops that hit all the right places."

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 the ''

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 ...

'' Dance Update described it as a "girl sung sometimes somewhat

Whigfield Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, former model, songwriter, and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names, including Whigfield, Sannie, or simply Naan. She is best ...

-ishly tinged (but no ducks!) jaunty Euro romp" in his weekly dance column. "Don't Give Me Your Life" was ranked number 21 in ''

''s list of "The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1995" in 2015. It was also ranked number nine in ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

s list of "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s" in 2016.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by La La Land, who had previously directed videos for acts like

2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited are a Belgian-Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the ...

(" No One") and

(" Saturday Night"). "Don't Give Me Your Life" features singer Robin 'Shanie' Campbell and dancers. She wears a white high neck sweater and performs toward a dark background. The male dancer in the video is actor and dancer

Jake Canuso Jake Canuso is a Swiss-British actor, best known for his role in the ITV comedy series ''Benidorm'', in which he played the Solana barman Mateo Castellanos from 2007 until 2018. Canuso was a professional dancer for eighteen years, working with ...

, known for his role in the British TV series ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'', in which he plays barman Mateo Castellanos.

Live performances

performed "Don't Give Me Your Life" in the British

music chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

television programme ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' three times in 1995. The first performance was on 16 February, after reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Then on 2 March, after reaching number three with 150 000 copies sold, and again on 16 March, after reaching number two with 350 000 copies sold.''

''.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. 16 March 1995.

Track listing

* Italy Vinyl, 12-inch (1994) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Original Mix) — 5:13 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party Mix) — 5:33 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (LWS Remix) — 4:39 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (LWS DJ's Choice Instrumental) — 5:03 * UK Vinyl single, 7-inch (1994) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Edit) — 3:16 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Edit) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Saturday Night FMS Edit) * UK CD single (1995) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Edit) — 3:16 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party Mix (V1)) — 6:31 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Edit) — 3:10 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Saturday Night FMS Edit) — 4:34 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) — 8:16 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party Mix) — 5:33 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Original Mix) — 5:13 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (LWS Bitch Mix) — 4:41 * Netherlands Maxi-Single (1995) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Original Radio Version) — 3:35 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party Radio Version) — 3:58 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Edit) — 3:10 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Saturday Night FMS) — 4:33 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (LWS Bitch Mix) — 4:41 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Original Mix) — 5:13 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) — 8:15 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Rhythm Mix) — 6:02 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party) — 5:33 * US Maxi-Single (1995) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Edit) — 3:16 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Edit) — 3:07 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Classic Alex Party Mix (V1)) — 6:31 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) — 8:13 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (LWS Bitch Mix) — 4:40 * Sweden Maxi-Single (Remix) (1995) #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Pierre J's Alternative Radio Remix) — 3:38 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Pierre J's Full Organ Remix) — 8:48 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (Orgasmic Mix) — 7:21 #"Don't Give Me Your Life" (June Party) — 4:12

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles Alex Party songs Breakup songs Songs about heartache Songs about infidelity