Can't Help Myself (Flowers song)

"Can't Help Myself"
"Can't Help Myself" by Flowers
Single by Flowers
from the album Icehouse
B-side	"Send Somebody"
Released	13 May 1980 (1980-05-13)
Recorded	1980
Genre	Synth-pop new wave
Length	3:10
Label	Regular Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Iva Davies
Producer(s)	Cameron Allan Iva Davies
Flowers singles chronology
"Can't Help Myself" (1980) "We Can Get Together" (1980)
Music video
"Can't Help Myself" on YouTube
"Can't Help Myself" by Flowers Alternative cover
10" version (July 1980)
"Can't Help Myself" by Icehouse Alternative cover
Chrysalis Records (US / UK 1981 release)

"Can't Help Myself" is the first single released by the Australian synthpop/rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse.[1][2] It was released in May 1980 as a 7" vinyl single on independent label, Regular Records, five months ahead of debut album Icehouse. A 10" vinyl single was released in July and had a cover depicting individual images of band members diagonally across the band's name and the single's title (see infobox at right middle). It peaked at #10 on the Australian Singles Charts.[3]

The music video was filmed in 1980 in a car park in Chatswood, Sydney.[4]

It was also released in the UK on Chrysalis Records in October 1981 as the second single under the band name Icehouse (see infobox at right below) as both a 7" and 10" vinyl single and later in the U.S. as a 7" and 12" single.[5] A remix version by Australian Trance DJ, beXta, was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.[6]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Can't Help Myself" was ranked number 85.[7]

Reception

In a single review Cash Box magazine called it "a quick stepping rhythm embellished by both guitar and synthesiser, draws the listener in."[8]

Track listing

All tracks written by Iva Davies (as Ivor Arthur Davies) unless otherwise indicated.[9][10][11]

7" single (Australian release)

1. "Can't Help Myself" - 3:10
2. "Send Somebody" (Iva Davies, Michael Hoste)[10] - 3:42

10" single (Australian release)

1. "Can't Help Myself"
2. "Send Somebody" (Davies, Hoste)
3. "Can't Help Myself" (Extended version)

7" single (UK release)

1. "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 1) - 3:27
2. "Fatman"[11] - 3:50

12" single (UK release)

1. "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 1)
2. "Can't Help Myself" (Club Mix 2)
3. "Fatman"

12" single (US release)

1. "Can't Help Myself" (Version 1) - 5:56
2. "Can't Help Myself" (Version 2) - 5:56

Personnel

Credits:[12]

Flowers members

• Iva Davies – vocals, guitar, oboe, keyboards
• Michael Hoste – keyboards
• John Lloyd – drums, backing vocals
• Keith Welsh – bass guitar, backing vocals

Recording details

• Engineer: John Bee, David Cafe, Gerry Nixon
• Producer: Cameron Allan, Iva Davies
• Studios: Studios 301 except "Can't Help Myself" and "Send Somebody", recorded at Paradise Studios.
• Re-mix — Ed Thacker, Daniel Coulombe
• Mastering: David Hemming, Rick O'Neil

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980)	Peak Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13][14]	10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15]	29

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14]	44

References

1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Icehouse'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on May 17, 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
2. Magnus Holmgren (ed.). "Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 5 December 1998. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
4. "IVA DAVIES & ICEHOUSE - 1994 Mum & Dad Davies Interview". Spellbound-icehouse.org. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
5. "Can't Help Myself". Connolly & Company. 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
6. "Meltdown > Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
7. "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
8. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 7 November 1981. p. 13. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
9. ""Can't Help Myself" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
10. ""Send Somebody" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
11. ""Fatman" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 7 November 2009.
12. Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
14. "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. 5 January 1981. Retrieved 17 January 2022 – via Imgur.
15. "Flowers – Can't Help Myself". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 December 2021.