Move Closer

"Move Closer" is a song by American singer-songwriter Phyllis Nelson, which topped the charts in the United Kingdom in April 1985.[1]

"Move Closer"
Single by Phyllis Nelson
Released28 January 1985
Recorded1984
GenrePop
Length5:54 (album version)
4:35 (single re-recording)
4:01 (radio version)
LabelCarrere Records
Songwriter(s)Phyllis Nelson
Phyllis Nelson singles chronology
"Don't Stop the Train"
(1981)		 "Move Closer"
(1985)		 "I Don't Know"
(1985)

History

Nelson wrote the ballad in 1984. It was a complete departure from the type of music she had been recording; she had been recording dance and disco records, and decided to write her own record because, in her words, "not much music lets you dance close".[2] The lyrics of "Move Closer" were based on a long-term love affair she had with a much younger man in Philadelphia, who was struggling to start his own computer business.

British success

While "Move Closer" failed to make an impact on the US Billboard Hot 100, the song was hugely successful in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart, making her the first black woman to top the charts in Britain with her own sole composition.[3] The song was originally released in April 1984 but failed to chart, and was re-released in February 1985 after BBC Radio London started to play it. Move Closer also benefited from extensive airplay on the hugely successful offshore pirate station, Laser 558. The song began to climb the charts, taking 12 weeks to reach the top spot.[4] "Move Closer" remained on the UK Singles Chart for just over five months during 1985, becoming Britain's seventh biggest-selling song of the year.[5] and the 82nd highest selling single of the decade.[6] In 1994 it was reissued and returned to the UK Singles Chart, this time peaking at number 34, on the back of it being featured in an anti-persperant television commercial.[4]

The song was also featured in the British film The Supergrass (1985).

B-side

In the UK, the B-side was "Somewhere in the City".

Chart positions

The song failed to make any impact on the American charts, but did chart in Europe, Australia and New Zealand during 1984 and 1985.

Covers

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 448. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. One-Hit Wonders at the BBC. 17 April 2015. BBC Four.
  3. "Move Closer by Phyllis Nelson Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  4. "Move Closer - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  5. "1980s Singles Chart Archive". everyHit.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  6. "Official Biggest Selling Singles Of The '80s". Buzzjack.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Move Closer". Irish Singles Chart.
  10. "Charts.nz – Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer". Top 40 Singles.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. "Phyllis Nelson: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  13. "AMR Top Singles of 1985". www.top100singles.net. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  14. "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 18 January 1986. p. 10.
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