"Tell Me When"
Single by the Applejacks
B-side"Baby Jane"
Released14 February 1964 (1964-02-14)
Recorded12 January 1964[1]
StudioDecca Studios, London[1]
GenreBeat
Length2:17
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mike Smith
The Applejacks singles chronology
"Tell Me When"
(1964)		 "Like Dreamers Do"
(1964)

"Tell Me When" is a song by British group the Applejacks, released as their debut single in February 1964. It became their only top-ten hit, peaking at number seven on the Record Retailer chart.[2]

Background and release

"Tell Me When" was written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens. On the suggestion of publisher and producer Frank Poser, Stephens teamed up with Les Reed, with neither having yet written a hit song. After being played part of a tune Reed had written, Stephens thought that the words 'tell me when' fitted exactly. The phrase, used when pouring a drink, was applied metaphorically in the song to refer to a relationship, i.e. per the lyrics 'tell me when you're ready to be mine'. [1][3]

Recorded at Decca Studios in January 1964, it was released as a single a month later with the B-side "Baby Jane", written by Pete Dello and Ray Cane, who would go on to form Honeybus and have their own hit "I Can't Let Maggie Go".[3]

Personnel

  • Al Jackson – lead vocals
  • Martin Baggott – lead guitar
  • Phil Cash – rhythm guitar
  • Megan Davies – bass guitar
  • Don Gould – organ
  • Gerry Freeman – drums

Charts

Chart (1964) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 50
Canada (Vancouver CFUN)[5] 15
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[6] 7
UK Disc Top 30[7] 5
UK Melody Maker Top 50[8] 5
UK New Musical Express Top 30[9] 5
UK Record Retailer Top 50[2] 7
US Bubbling Under the Hot 100 (Billboard)[10] 135

References

  1. 1 2 3 Thompson, Gordon (2008). Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside Out. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780195333183.
  2. 1 2 "APPLEJACKS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 Dunbavan, Peter (28 February 2017). An Avid's Guide to Sixties Songwriters. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-5246-3345-5.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  5. ↑ "C-Funtastic Fifty Week of May 30, 1964". 30 May 1964. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search lever". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Disc's Top Thirty" (PDF). Disc. 18 April 1964. p. 3. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "National Chart". Melody Maker. 18 April 1964. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "NME Top Thirty". New Musical Express. 17 April 1964.
  10. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. ISBN 9780898201802.
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