“I Don’t Wanna Dance” by Eddy Grant

On the surface the narrative of Eddy Grant’s “I Don’t Wanna Dance” features the singer addressing a lady who is obviously a romantic interest. And it is she whom he is stating he does not want to dance with. And on one hand, it does have something to do with her personally. That’s because the singer has become disappointed upon learning the addressee is a loose woman, so to speak. But overall, the mood meant to be conveyed is that of not feeling like dancing in general.

You see Eddy, being a conscious artist, also intended this to serve as a protest song. And as such the title is actually a double entendre. And in terms of its more-hidden meaning, what it speaks to is that artist’s dissatisfaction with his homeland, the United Kingdom, in terms of its racist and classist tendencies. In other words, the phrase “I don’t wanna dance” can also be interpreted as not wanting to go along with a certain idea or trend.

Eddy Grant is a musician based in England. And this song was a major success in his homeland, where it reached number one (his only track to do so). It was not as successful stateside, peaking at number 53 on the States’ Hot 100, but it did also score number ones in five countries outside of the UK.

This track was originally released by Portrait Records in 1982, being a part of the singer’s album entitled “Killer on a Rampage”. And it served as the B-side to another track from that project which went on to become the signature song of Eddy Grant’s career, “Electric Avenue“.

The multi-faceted Eddy Grant served as both writer and producer of “I Don’t Wanna Dance”.