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"I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" was the fourth and final US Top 40 hit for Lulu.

History

"I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" was introduced on Lulu's 1978 album Don't Take Love For Granted, a Rocket Records release co-produced by Mark London the co-writer of Lulu's signature song "To Sir, With Love" and also the husband of Lulu's longtime manager Marion Massey. The album's other co-producer was Lem Lubin onetime bassist with Unit 4 + 2 and Christie and from 1977 a&r head for Rocket Records.

According to Lulu, Mark London had discovered Neil Harrison and asked Lulu to record demos of Harrison's compositions to pitch to another singer: (quote Lulu:) "as soon as we did the demos it was very obvious that they weren't going to be demos. They were obviously going to be for me." A total of four Harrison compositions would appear on the Don't Take Love For Granted including the title cut and "Love is the Sweetest Mistake" which were respectively the A-side and B-side of the overlooked lead single.

In 1981 Alfa Records acquired Lulu's Rocket Records recordings and released "I Could Never Miss You" as a single backed with "Dance to the Feeling in Your Heart" - the latter track had been a non-album B-side being the flip of "I Love to Boogie" the second single off the UK edition of the Don't Take Love For Granted album. "I Could Never Miss You" was issued in July 1981 in the US where Lulu's US profile had received a recent boost via her participation in two ATV series devoted to rock and roll music: Oh Boy aired in the autumn of 1980 while Let's Rock ran over the summer of 1981. Also the early 1980s saw a considerable boost in the popularity of easy listening music as exemplified by the success of the comparable Sheena Easton.

The 1981 success of "I Could Never Miss You" resulted in Alfa issuing a self-titled album by Lulu featuring "I Could Never Miss You" plus two other tracks from the Don't Take Love For Granted album: the title cut plus "You Are Still a Part of Me", with seven newly recorded tracks completing the album.

Chart performance

"I Could Never Miss You" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1981, rising to a #18 peak in October. This marked Lulu's first appearance in the US Top 20 since "To Sir, with Love" in 1967. "I Could Never Miss You" - whose Cash Box peak was #14 - also reached #2 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

The US success of "I Could Never Miss You" translated into only a glimmer of interest in Lulu's native UK, where the single - issued October 1981 - peaked at #62 in the final week of 1981 – it would mark Lulu's sole UK charting between "Take Your Mama For a Ride" in 1975 and "Shout" in 1986. "I Could Never Miss You" also charted low in Australia at #71, although this was somewhat offset by a 16-week run. Canada's RPM magazine ranked "I Could Never Miss You" with a #10 peak. The track had its strongest chart impact in New Zealand with an April 1982 peak of #3, which remains the highest post-1960s' peak on a national Pop chart for a solo recording by Lulu (tying with the 1974 UK chart peak of "The Man Who Sold the World").

Other versions

• Melba Moore as "I Could Never Miss You More" for her 1980 album Closer
• Bobbi Walker as "I Could Never Miss You" for her 1980 album Diamond in the Rough
• Shirley Bassey as "Nadie Más Te Quiso (Como Yo)" (Nobody loves you more ) for her 1989 Spanish language album La Mujer whose producer Leonardo Schultz wrote the new lyrics.
• Syd Dale as an instrumental on his album Love Isn't Just For The Young

References

1. "La Bible de la Westcoast Music - Cool Night -: Lulu "Don't Take Love for Granted" (1979) -Blue-Eyed Soul-". 18 December 2016.
2. The Palm Beach Post 27 November 1981 p. 28
3. "The Lulu Web Site-Singles". Retrieved 31 March 2009.
4. "The Lulu Web Site-Bio". Retrieved 3 April 2009.
5. ^ "AMG-Lulu". Retrieved 31 March 2009.
6. "Cash Box 10/10/81". Retrieved 31 March 2009.
7. "The Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
8. "Soul & FunkMusic-Melba Moore". Retrieved 31 March 2009.
9. "Soul & Funk Music-Bobbi Walker". Retrieved 31 March 2009.
10. "Songs of Shirley Bassey". Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
11. "Love Isn't Just For The Young". iTunes. January 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2011.

• Lulu (singer) songs
• 1981 singles
• 1978 songs
• Songs about heartache