"Getting a Drag" was the second single released by Lynsey de Paul. The song was co-written with David Jordan,[1] and featured the de Paul penned b-side "Brandy". Released in November 1972 on MAM Records, the single entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 18 and was still in the charts in early 1973.[2] The single also reached number 46 on the German Singles Chart[3] and had a four week run on the Dutch Single Tip chart where it peaked at number 7.[4] It reached number 1 on the Israeli Galei Tzahal chart,[5] No. 2 on the Radio Northsea International chart,[6] and No. 12 in January 1973 on the Turkish singles chart as published in Milliyet.[7]
Chart performance
Chart (1973)
Peak position
Israel
1
Turkey
12
UK
18
Germany
46
Reviews for the single from the music were positive, with the American magazine, Record World, writing "Ms De Paul, who scored quite a hit in England with "Sugar Me", returns with a "Lola" like story of sexual identity confusion. The rocking beat and expertly produced by Gordon Mills keeps this clever song a winner.[8] Commenting on her song, De Paul later said "This was my comment on the times and is about a girl who finds her boyfriend wearing her clothes and is angry, not because he is wearing them, but because he looks better than she does. It was tongue-in-cheek. I did it on Top Of The Pops when Marc Bolan was on set and was waiting to perform his song immediately afterwards".[9] In his article "'Children of the Revolution': Glam Rock and the 70s" published in the New Socialist, Toby Manning wrote "'Getting a Drag' cleverly using gender performativity to queer gender roles (“I thought you were a brother but you turned out like my mother”)".[10][11] The song appeared on the 2023 LP album Queer Sounds La Musique De Genres.[12]
Cover versions
The song has also been covered by Franz Lambert, Excelsior on the album Música Em Sua Vida,[13] and most recently by a group named Grease Jar.[14] A Japanese language version by Kuko & Angels was released as their debut single in 1973.[15] The B-side was also covered by Miki Asakura with new lyrics as "Friday Night"[16] on her 1981 album Sexy Elegance.[17] In 1994, De Paul released a re-recorded and radically different version of the song on her Just a Little Time CD, as well as a remixed club version of the updated song.[18][19]
Awards
De Paul's performance of "Getting a Drag" was a prize winning song at the second International Contest of the Tokyo Music Festival in 1973.[20] The song title was translated as "Sigh of Love" and De Paul was presented with the top singer performer award.[21] She was competing against other international artists such as Olivia Newton-John, Paul Williams, Lauren Copley and Mickey Newbury.[22]
Mentions in books
The song is mentioned in a number of published books, such as In Perfect Harmony Singalong Pop in '70s Britain, by Will Hodgkinson[23] and Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Popular Music.[24]
