Wrapped Around Her


"Wrapped Around Her" is a song by English singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 18 May 1992 by A&M Records as the lead single from her thirteenth studio album, Square the Circle. The song, which was written and produced by Armatrading and Graham Lyle, reached number 56 in the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Armatrading co-wrote "Wrapped Around Her" with Scottish singer-songwriter Graham Lyle. It was her first writing collaboration since 1976. Both Lyle and Armatrading contributed to the melody, while Armatrading wrote the lyrics about an unfaithful man. She told Musician in 1992, "I've never sat in a room with anybody to write. I explained to that I'd never sat with anybody to write a song and I wouldn't do it now. He thought I was strange but he didn't mind too much."

Release

As the lead single from her forthcoming album Square the Circle, "Wrapped Around Her" was released in the UK on 18 May 1992, three weeks before the album. The 7-inch and cassette B-side and CD bonus tracks were all recorded for a BBC Radio 1 session in 1990 and included on the single by arrangement with BBC Enterprises Ltd.
Armatrading had high hopes that "Wrapped Around Her" would become a big hit for her. She told the Cambridge Evening News in 1992, "My stuff sells very well but it would be really nice to have a big hit. It's still important and you do need things like that to happen. People need to know that what you're doing is there and a big single is the way to spread the word."

Promotion

A music video was filmed to promote the single. Armatrading also performed the song on the British TV show Wogan, which was broadcast on 11 May 1992.

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Jim Whiteford of the Dundee Evening Telegraph wrote, "Love her or hate her, you cannot ignore Joan Armatrading or her new single 'Wrapped Around Her', which appears a few weeks before her new album. Fairly tasty for her fans!" Jim Lawn of the Paisley Daily Express commented that "hopefully the hit it deserves to be". Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner noted that the "jagged feel lacks the usual non-stick, polished Armatrading air". The Rossendale Free Press awarded the single a two out of five star rating, writing, "Joan gets funky as she warbles on about jealousy over a sub-Chic bassline. A Manchester United of a record – just fails to get anywhere."

Track listings

7–inch and cassette single
  1. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  2. "Promise Land" – 3:54CD single
  3. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  4. "All the Way from America" – 5:42
  5. "I'm Lucky" – 3:21
  6. "Can't Lie to Myself" – 4:07CD single
  7. "Wrapped Around Her" – 3:49
  8. "Promise Land" – 3:54

Personnel

"Wrapped Around Her"
Production
Other
  • Andrew Catlin – photography
  • Ruth Rowland – calligraphy
  • Sarah Southin – design
  • Jeremy Pearce – design