“Irresistible” was released on 20 May 1985 as a non-album single. The song was written by Harley and was produced by English producer Mickie Most. It reached number 81 in the UK Singles Chart.
Background
“Irresistible” was first performed live at Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel’s concert at Camden Palace, London, in December 1984. The concert was recorded for a TV broadcast and was released on VHS as Live from London in 1985. This performance of “Irresistible” used lead guitar as a more dominant instrument and featured a verse that was not included in the studio version.
Harley originally offered “Irresistible” to Rod Stewart. The singer expressed an interest in recording it but, knowing how keen Harley was for a hit of his own, he ultimately encouraged Harley to record it himself in the hope that it would put him back in the charts. In a 1985 interview, Harley commented, “I think it’s gonna be a single, it’s the one Rod’s gone away with. [He] wants it as a single, but I want it, I think it’s my new ‘Make Me Smile’. I think it [could be] a hit [for] anybody. I’m not boasting, I just believe that.”
After signing a three-album recording contract with Mickie Most’s label RAK, Harley recorded “Irresistible” in 1985 with Most at the producer’s helm. It featured Harvey Hinsley on guitar, Adrian Lee on keyboards and Mark Brzezicki of Big Country on drums. Harley told the Daily Mirror in 1985, “I wrote the song for Rod Stewart, but when he heard it he told me it was so good I should do it myself. So I did.”
“Irresistible” was released in May 1985 as Harley’s debut single for RAK. It peaked at number 81 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for five weeks. Speaking of the song to the Newcastle Journal in 1985, Harley said, “‘Irresistible’ is pure me. The more I hear it, the more I’m proud of it. It has got its own sound.”
Release
“Irresistible” was released by RAK Records as a 7-inch and 12-inch single in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal. The B-side, “Such is Life”, was written by Harley and produced by Most. It was exclusive to the single and has not appeared on any other release with the exception of the 1988 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilation The Collection. “Such is Life” received its live debut during Cockney Rebel’s 1980 UK Christmas tour
For the 12-inch release, an extended version of “Irresistible” was made by Harley, with Calvin Hayes and Mike Nocito, who would both soon achieve fame in Johnny Hates Jazz. At the time, Hayes, being Most’s son, was an A&R man at RAK, while Nocito was an in-house engineer. Cockney Rebel’s 1973 song “Sebastian” was included as an additional track on the 12-inch release. Following the song’s release as a single, the version has made its only outside appearance on the 1988 compilation The Collection.
“Irresistible” began to receive airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Independent Local Radio from the week commencing 27 May 1985. It continued to be played by many I.L.R. stations until the end of June 1985.
Promotion
The song’s music video was directed by Marcelo Anciano and produced by AWOG. It features Harley performing the song in a dark room with the use of various lighting and spotlight tricks throughout. RAK booked the use of a studio in West London to shoot the video.
Critical reception
Upon its release, Di Cross of Record Mirror described Harley as a “purveyor of the perfect pop song” and considered “Irresistible” to be “a catchy little number”, adding that it is “not quite Cockney Rebel, but then Steve isn’t 21 anymore”. In another issue of Record Mirror, “Irresistible” was one of a number of singles reviewed by ABC. Mark White commented that the song “sounds like it was written, arranged and produced on a poolside in LA”, and David Yarritu added, “This would be good if someone like Lulu was singing it… jaunty, I liked the marimbas.” Phil Murphy of Newcastle Journal commented on the unlikely blend of pairing of Harley’s “original melodic rock” and Most’s “sometimes crass pop”. He added, “An ironic letter home from a soldier in Belfast, it is couched in jaunty love song format and works well.” John W. Milne of the Banffshire Journal noted that Harley had returned with an “excellent single”.
Max Bell of Number One was negative in his review, writing, “Irresistible? Hardly. Remember ‘Mr Soft’? ‘Come Up and See Me, Make Me Smile’? You don’t? You’re not missing much, except that they were a thousand times more entertaining than this hackneyed dirge. Knock it on the head Steve, there’s a good chap.” Jack Barron of Sounds stated, “Lo! Look what this way slithers from the ago of pop purgatory – ’tis Cockney Rebel. Lo! Look what slips that way into the bin – ’tis a Steve Harley record.”
In his 1990 book The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Donald Clarke noted, “Harley came back in ’85 and skirted the charts with the catchy ‘Irresistible’.”
Track listing
7-inch single (UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal)
- “Irresistible” – 3:30
- “Such is Life” – 3:52
12-inch single (UK and Germany)
- “Irresistible” (Extended Version) – 4:07
- “Sebastian” – 5:42
- “Such is Life” – 3:52
Personnel
“Irresistible”
- Steve Harley – vocals
- Harvey Hinsley – guitar
- Adrian Lee – keyboards
- Mark Brzezicki – drums
Production
- Mickie Most – producer
- Mike Nocito – engineer, remixer of “Irresistible (Extended Version)”
- Steve Harley – remixer of “Irresistible (Extended Version)”
- Calvin Hayes – remixer of “Irresistible (Extended Version)”
- Neil Harrison – producer of “Sebastian”
Other
- Crocodi Le Suite (London) – sleeve design
Charts
UK Singles Chart: 81
