"Don't Go" is the first single released by Irish rock group

Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most successf ...

from their debut studio album, ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' (1988). Originally released in Ireland in 1987, the song peaked at number two on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. The following year, after Hothouse Flowers played the song during their interval performance at the

1988 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 30 April 1988 in the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion in Dublin, Ireland and presented by Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca. Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

, the track charted in Ireland once more, reaching number two for a second time. Worldwide, "Don't Go" reached the top 10 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as well as the top 40 in several other European countries. In the United States, the song did not chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but it did reach number seven on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and number 16 on the

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart. The single version of "Don't Go" is different from the LP version; it was never released on a CD (or on any streaming service), until a "deluxe" edition of ''People'' was released in 2025.

Track listings

1987 releases

7-inch single :A. "Don't Go" :B. "Better and Better" 12-inch single :A1. "Don't Go" (extended mix) :B1. "Big Fat Heart" :B2. "Better and Better" 10-inch single :A1. "Don't Go" (extended mix) :A2. "Better and Better" :B1. "Don't Go" (live acoustic version) :B2. "Lonely Lane" (live)

1988 releases

7-inch and mini-CD single # "Don't Go" # "Saved" 12-inch single :A1. "Don't Go" :B1. "Saved" :B2. "Hydroman" CD single and mini-album # "Don't Go" – 3:29 # "Feet on the Ground" – 3:28 # "Lonely Lane" (live) – 5:25 # "Saved" – 3:37

CD Video CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) was a format of Optical disc, optical media disc that was introduced in 1987 that combines the technologies of standard compact disc and LaserDisc. CD-V discs are the same size as a standard audio CD, ...

single # "Don't Go" (audio) – 3:32 # "I'm Sorry" (audio) – 3:35 # "Ballad of Katie" (audio) – 6:10 # "Don't Go" (video) – 3:12

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

In popular culture

The song was performed by the Hothouse Flowers as the interval act of the

held in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, which helped the band gain international recognition. The version used was the single version, not the LP mix, with the exception that the broadcast version was longer. The song is featured on an episode of the Irish sitcom ''

Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Murphy (writer), Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1987 songs 1987 singles 1988 singles Hothouse Flowers songs London Records singles Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley Song recordings produced by Clive Langer 1980s in Irish music