Never Let Her Slip Away


"Never Let Her Slip Away" is a song written by American musician Andrew Gold, who recorded it for his third studio album, All This and Heaven Too. The single reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury contributed harmony vocals to the song, as an uncredited background singer.
A 1992 cover version by British dance outfit Undercover was also an international hit.

Background

As revealed in his liner notes for All This and Heaven Too, Gold wrote "Never Let Her Slip Away" about meeting actress and Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman, who was his girlfriend when he composed the song. Background vocals were provided by JD Souther, Timothy B. Schmit and an uncredited Freddie Mercury.

Music video

A music video was recorded and released for the song featuring Gold, Stan Kipper, Brian Garafalo, and George Marinelli, all facing each other, clapping along with the beat of the song as the camera pans around them. Brock Walsh also appears miming to the saxophone solo.

Personnel

In popular culture

In 1995, British comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer performed a cover of the song on their show The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. "Never Let Her Slip Away" was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, as a personal favourite of the principal character.
In conversation on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron, Dave Grohl of the rock band Foo Fighters called "Never Let Her Slip Away" "the most beautiful piece of music ever written," and "maybe one of the most melodically sophisticated songs I've ever heard in my entire life," and noted his plans to record a cover version of the song.

Undercover version

British dance group Undercover covered the song on their debut album, Check Out the Groove. This version was released in November 1992 by PWL International and produced by Steve Mac. It also reached number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 2 in Ireland, as Gold's original did. In addition to this, it reached number 3 in Belgium, number 4 in Finland and number 7 in the Netherlands. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the track peaked at number 11 in December 1992.

Critical reception

British Lennox Herald named the song a "stand out" from the Check Out the Groove album. Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Once again Undercover has hit a goldmine with a cover of a '70s singer/songwriter's work. This time it's the Andrew Gold 1978 classic. The crucial difference is that this is more beaty." Alan Jones from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, noting that "already achieving a surprisingly major degree of club crossover, it's very much in the KWS/East Side Beat mould, and could even reach the very summit." Mark Frith from Smash Hits also gave it four out of five, writing that "Undercover bloke John Matthews was born to make this record." He described it as a "gorgeous, poignant ballad that suits him down to the ground."

Track listing

CD single
  1. "Never Let Her Slip Away" – 3:28
  2. "Never Let Her Slip Away" – 4:59
  3. "Sha Do" – 5:41

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Belgium 54
Germany 85
Netherlands 125