"Whenever You Need Me" is a song by English band T'Pau, released in May 1991 by Siren and

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

as the lead single from their third studio album, '' The Promise'' (1991). It was written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by

Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...

. "Whenever You Need Me" reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for six weeks. It was the band's last Top 40 hit in the UK. The 7" single's B-side, "All the Love", was a non-album track exclusive to the single. In the UK, a limited edition box-set of the single was issued, featuring the 12" vinyl single and a life-size colour poster of Decker. A music video was filmed to promote the single. The band also performed the song on the UK music show ''

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 ...

'', and the UK Saturday morning children show ''

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''.

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Mark Frith of ''

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'' stated, "T'Pau! How tired life was without them. Welcome back indeed! More of the same 'melodic rock' that the nation will be humming for the next three years? Certainly. The charts are over here just where you left them." Peter Kinghorn of the '' Newcastle Evening Chronicle'' described the song as "a potent rock ballad." Tonia Macari of the '' Aberdeen Evening Express'' praised it as "four minutes of perfected, polished, pop-rock with raunchy red-head Carol Decker's vocals as ear-shattering as ever". He added, "This will no doubt welcome the band back to Chartsville." Steve Stewart of the '' Aberdeen Press & Journal'' gave a mixed review, stating, "T'Pau, if anything, have a knack of composing artful hooklines that strike a chord somewhere. The trouble is Decker's irritating vocals whenever they reach anything above soft-ballad level. Still, a successful mix of keyboard overlays and pop-rock guitars." ''

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'' wrote, "Serious comeback of the band who had a huge European hit with 'China in Your Hands' in 1987. This new single sounds as grotesque as melodic." In a review of ''The Promise'',

Adam Sweeting Adam Sweeting is a British rock critic and writer. Graeme Thomson, writing for ''The Guardian'', deemed him as an "influential journalist" of the 1970s. He currently writes film and television reviews for '' The Arts Desk''. Biography Sweeting ...

of ''

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'' described the song as "a Eurovision fourth-placer if ever there was one" with "Decker's masonry-toppling vocals piled up in layers like a particularly indigestible aural lasagne".

Track listing

* 7" single #"Whenever You Need Me" - 4:06 #"All the Love" - 4:00 * 12" single #"Whenever You Need Me (Extended)" - 6:15 #"Whenever You Need Me (Single Version)" - 4:06 #"All the Love" - 4:00 * CD single #"Whenever You Need Me" - 4:06 #" Heart and Soul" - 3:40 #" China in Your Hand" - 4:05 #" I Will Be with You" - 4:06

Personnel

T'Pau * Carol Decker – lead vocals * Dean Howard – lead guitar * Ronnie Rogers – rhythm guitar * Michael Chetwood – keyboards * Paul Jackson – bass guitar * Tim Burgess – drums Production *

- producer of "Whenever You Need Me", engineer on "Whenever You Need Me (Extended)" * Ian Taylor - mixing on "Whenever You Need Me" *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

- mastering on "Whenever You Need Me" * Steve Williams - additional production and engineering on "Whenever You Need Me (Extended)" *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

- mixing on "Whenever You Need Me (Extended)" * T'Pau - producers of "All the Love" * Ian Caple - engineer on "All the Love" *

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...

- producer of "Heart and Soul", "China in Your Hand" and "I Will Be with You" Other * Tony McGee - photography * An Old Friend with The Graphic Edge - artwork design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1991 songs 1991 singles T'Pau (band) songs Virgin Records singles Songs written by Carol Decker Songs written by Ron Rogers