Let Me Be Your Fantasy
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is a song by the British musical group Baby D. Originally released by Production House Records in 1992, it became a number-one UK hit in November 1994 when re-released by London Records subsidiary Systematic. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single peaked at number five. A partially black-and-white music video was made to accompany the song. The track, which originated in 1992 at the height of the rave scene is widely regarded as a classic of its genre. It was written and produced by band member Floyd Dyce and the vocals were sung by Dorothy Fearon (also known as Dorothy "Dee" Galdes and Dee Galdes-Fearon).[1][2] Dyce has said "My idea for Fantasy was to try to develop an original song on top of hard beats: something you could sing along to as you were raving."[3]
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" | ||||
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Single by Baby D | ||||
from the album Deliverance | ||||
Released |
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Recorded | 1992 | |||
Length |
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Label | Systematic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Floyd Dyce | |||
Producer(s) | Floyd Dyce | |||
Baby D singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" on YouTube |
In 1996, Mixmag ranked the song No. 42 in their ranking of the "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time".
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Now here is a melting pot of street vibes. Hip-hop-induced break beats percolate beneath aggressive, rave-ish keyboards while Baby D purrs and pouts like a peppy pop ingenue. The end result is a gem of a single with a left-of-center quality that endears after repeated listens. Could become a sleeper smash with the right amount of promotional TLC."[4] Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger noted the song as "uplifting, always ready to drop in a big hook, keeping the rushy spirit of UK house alive." He added that "its breakbeat undercarriage gives "Let Me Be" a rough, robust chunkiness which plays well off Baby D's powerful vocals."[5] Jake Barnes from Muzik described it as "jungle-lite" in his review of Deliverance.[6]
Impact and legacy
Mixmag ranked the song No. 42 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time" list in 1996, adding:
"It took almost three years for Let Me Be Your Fantasy to worm its way into the British public's affections, to shift from hardcore anthem to chart topping smash. In retrospect, the only thing that's surprising is that it took so long. Let Me Be Your Fantasy - a sneaky paen to ecstasy's "warm embrace" disguised as a love song - was perhaps the most commercial tune that the hardcore scene ever produced. Massive pianos, crunching breaks and a ravealong chorus meant its appeal spread wider than white gloved Vicks sniffers. Far enough, in fact, to get it voted the Kiss listeners' favourite tune of all time in a recent poll."[7]
MTV Dance placed the song at #13 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.[8]
In 2015 Sam Richards from The Guardian wrote that "Let Me Be Your Fantasy was the biggest crossover hit of the rave era."[3]
In 2018, Mixmag listed "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" as one of "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever",[9] and The Vinyl Factory included the song in their list of "10 essential piano-driven UK rave records from 1990-1994".[10]
In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song at number 76 in their list of "The 100 greatest UK No 1s".[11]
Chart performance
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" only reached No. 76 when first released in 1992 by Production House Records.[12] It remained popular however, and the single was reissued in the UK on 7 November 1994 by London Records subsidiary Systematic Records.[13] It entered the chart at No. 3 before climbing to No. 1 the following week, where it remained for two weeks.[14] It was the 18th best-selling single of 1994 in the UK.[15] On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" peaked at number 5 in December 1994. It was also a top 20 hit in Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The song was released for a third time in 2000 as a UK garage remix by Trick or Treat. This version, featuring MC Tails, peaked at No. 16.[16]
Music video
The music video for "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is mostly made in black-and-white, but some scenes are shown in colours. In many scenes, singer Dorothy Fearon is seen in the middle of three lit candles on each side. Other scenes show the two male members of Baby D or several dancers performing. Sometimes these are also seen in the middle of the six lit candles. A woman with a long head scarf and a couple, both with bald heads, also appear in the video. Some scenes are made to look like billowing water, with Fearon wearing black sunglasses in the background.[17]
Track listing
- UK CD single - 1994 issue on Systematic Records [SYSCD4]
- Radio Edit
- Original Mix
- Dancing Divaz Club Mix
- Ruffer Remix
- Cool Breeze Slow + Low Remix
- DJ Professor's X Club Mix
- Ray Keith Remix
Charts
Original versionWeekly charts
Year-end charts
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Trick or Treat Remix
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Cover versions
- In 2007, the song was covered by German trance project 4 Clubbers.
- In 2010, Pictureplane sampled the whole song in his version, "Beyond Fantasy".
- In 2020, the song was covered by Gok Wan & Craig Knight and featured vocals by Kele Le Roc.
References
- 1000 UK Number One Singles by Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh, page 401, ISBN 978-1844492831
- "Dee-finitive times". Leicester Mercury. Leicester. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- Richards, Sam (3 September 2015). "From Voodoo Ray to Infinity and beyond – the story of the UK's biggest rave anthems". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- "BABY D – "Let Me Be Your Fantasy"". Freaky Trigger. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Albums" (PDF). Muzik. 1 February 1996. p. 78. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "The 100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time". Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- MTV Dance Tuesday 27.12.2011
- "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever". Mixmag. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- "10 essential piano-driven UK rave records from 1990-1994". November 30, 2018.
- Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Petridis, Alexis; Snapes, Laura (2020-06-05). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- 1992 UK singles chart peak for "Let Me Be Your Fantasy": "The 76-100 pos. UK-Charts-Thread > 14 November 1992". Imgur. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- The Complete Book of the British Charts (Third Edition) by Neil Warwick, Jon Kutner & Tony Brown, page 95
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Top 100 Singles 1994". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 9.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "BABY D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Original Version)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 7 November 1992. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 07 May 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- "Ultratop.be – Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- "Music & Media: Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Let Me Be Your Fantasy". Irish Singles Chart.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy". Singles Top 100.
- "Swisscharts.com – Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy". Swiss Singles Chart.
- "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Baby D feat. MC Tails – Let Me Be Your Fantasy [Trick or Treat Remix]". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Swisscharts.com – Baby D feat. MC Tails – Let Me Be Your Fantasy [Trick or Treat Remix]". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2019.