I Won't Let You Down (Ph.D. song)

"I Won't Let You Down" is a song by British band Ph.D., released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album (1981). It entered the Australian charts in October 1981 and reached number five;^[3] it entered the UK Singles Chart in April 1982 at number 34, peaked at number three the following month. It went on to become the 23rd best-selling single of 1982 in the UK.

"I Won't Let You Down"
UK 7-inch single cover
Single by Ph.D.
from the album Ph.D.
B-side	"Hideaway"
Released	17 April 1981[1]
Studio	Ramport (London)
Genre	Synth-pop[2]
Length	4:10
Label	WEA
Songwriter(s)	Jim Diamond Tony Hymas
Producer(s)	Ph.D.
Ph.D. singles chronology
"Little Suzi's on the Up" (1981) "I Won't Let You Down" (1981) "There's No Answer to It" (1982)

It was the band's best known biggest selling single and indeed became one of lead singer Jim Diamond's signature songs (the song is often incorrectly credited to Diamond himself). Diamond re-recorded the song on his eponymous 1993 album Jim Diamond with a slightly different arrangement, and it remained a staple of his live shows up until his death in 2015.

Music video

The original music video for the song was set in and around the Queensway area of West London. As with the band's previous single "Little Suzi's on the Up", the video is shot in a slapstick comedy style and features Jim Diamond as a well-dressed man trying to win back the affections of his lover (played by Nina Carter) (thus mirroring the theme of the song) using presents and taking her to upmarket bars and restaurants. Tony Hymas appears as the video's antagonist; in various scenes dressed in various disguises he makes unsuccessful attempts to assassinate, or maim Diamond's character in order to win the affections of the woman. He is finally successful when, posing as a car dealer, he lures Diamond into a second hand car, which is revealed to be on the end of a crane in a scrapyard being lifted up, whilst Hymas walks away with the girl as the camera zooms out and fades to black.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "I Won't Let You Down" Chart (1982) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3][4] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[6] 3 Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 1 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[10] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[12] 3 West Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 14

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "I Won't Let You Down" Chart (1982) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 37 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 17 UK Singles (BMRB)[18][19] 24 West Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 28

Certifications

Certifications for "I Won't Let You Down"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[21]	Gold	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22]	Silver	250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

• In 1992, the song was covered by '2 Boys', which was then released in 1993, produced by Pascal Blach, Samy Deep and Bobby Luccini. The song hit the Dutch and Belgian Charts in 1993, and stayed there for 9 weeks in the Netherlands, peaking on the 20th position, and it stayed for 14 weeks in the Belgian Charts, with a 6th position peak. ^[23]

• In 1999, Australian singer Kate Ceberano recorded a cover version of "I Won't Let You Down", which was released in July 1999 as the first single for her first compilation album, True Romantic. She performed the song on Hey Hey It's Saturday.^[24] The single reached position 50 on the Australian charts.^[25]

• An Italian version of the song by Zucchero, titled Tutti i colori della mia vita ("All the Colours of My Life"), was released in 2008. It reached position 7 on the Italian charts.^[26]

• American DJ Armand van Helden covered the song under the title Wings (I Won't Let You Down) in 2022, featuring singer Karen Harding.^[27]

References

1. "Releases". Record Mirror. 25 April 1981. p. 26. Retrieved 8 February 2021 – via Flickr.
2. Sweeting, Adam; MacAskill, Ewen (11 October 2015). "Jim Diamond obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
3. Kent, David (2007). Australian Top 20 Book 1940–2006. Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 978-0-646-47665-0.
4. "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via Imgur.
5. "Ph.D. – I Won't Let You Down" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
6. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – PHD". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
7. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 8 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "I Won't Let You Down" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – PH-D" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
9. "Ph.D. – I Won't Let You Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
10. "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts P". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
11. "Ph.D. – I Won't Let You Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
12. "P-H-D: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ph.D. – I Won't Let You Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
14. "Jaaroverzichten 1982 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
15. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
16. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
17. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1982". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2019.
18. Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
19. Copsey, Rob (12 March 2021). "The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1982". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
20. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1982" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
21. "Dutch single certifications – Ph. D. – I Won't Let You Down" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 16, 2022. Enter I Won't Let You Down in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1981 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
22. "British single certifications – Ph D – I Won't Let You Down". British Phonographic Industry. 1 May 1982. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
23. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl".
24. "Kate Ceberano - I Won't Let You Down - Hey Hey It's Saturday 1999". 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 23 April 2016 – via YouTube.
25. "australian-charts.com - Kate Ceberano - I Won't Let You Down". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
26. "italiancharts.com - Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari - Tutti i colori della mia vita". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
27. Major, Michael. "Armand Van Helden Enlists Karen Harding For Rework of 'Wings (I Won't Let You Down)'". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.