Come Back and Stay by Paul Young

Former Nerves member Jack Lee wrote ‘Come Back and Stay’ and Blondie’s ‘Hanging on the Telephone’.

9/10

Come Back and Stay—Paul Young

Topped the NZ charts for 1 week, starting on 29 January 1984.

More about my NZ number #1 project.

Come Back and Stay

Jack Lee was born in Alaska. At 15, he left home and moved to San Francisco. He met fellow busker Peter Case, and the pair formed the power-pop band The Nerves.

The Nerves released one highly regarded EP before splitting. Jack Lee released his first solo album in 1981, featuring ‘Come Back and Stay’.

Paul Young

Confusingly, two different English singers named Paul Young enjoyed hits in the 1980s. Paul Young fronted Mike + the Mechanics and Sad Café before passing away in 2000. But in this post, we’re discussing Paul Anthony Young, who delivered a series of smooth blue-eyed soul covers in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Young was born in Luton, an English town known for hat-making and a Vauxhall factory. He had minor successes fronting Streetband and Q-Tips. His debut album, 1983’s No Parlez, started slowly, but the third single, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)’, reached the top of the UK charts.

‘Come Back and Stay’ was the fourth single from the album, and cemented Young’s reputation as a budding star.

My Verdict

With his varnished sound and reliance on covers, it’s difficult to take Young seriously. His mild-mannered covers of classics like Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ are inferior to the originals.

But this record is amazing – Young reinvents the raw original into a haunting sophisti-pop song that’s one of the best from the era. Session ace Pino Palladino plays a sublime bass line that gives the song energy and melodic interest.

The aftermath

Young peaked early in his solo career – No Parlez and 1985’s The Secret of Association are his best-loved records. He also sang the opening line on ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’.