I Don't Smoke

Album: Maximum Bass 2007 (2000)
Charted: 11
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • DJ DeeKline is UK DJ/producer Nick Annand, who was 21 years old when this hit the UK Top 20. Annand has refused to disclose what it is that isn't being smoked.
  • This was the first record Annand ever recorded. He told Mojo magazine August 2008 about the recording: "My friend Donna Dee from the garage scene showed me how to operate the equipment. I put it out myself on the off chance. I didn't expect it to do anything. Then East West Picked it up."
  • This samples the comedian Jim Davidson repeating the title phrase "I don't smoke the reefer" in a faux Rasta accent. Annand originally came across the sample when he'd rang a friend and heard Davidson on the answering machine. He thought it would make a good hook for a track. The DJ/producer told Mojo magazine: "I think he was a bit cheesed off that it had been used. He wanted a slice of the cake. I'd love to have met him though."
  • The actor/comedian Marcus Brigstocke from the British TV show Argumental was also sampled on this track - that's him saying "I don't smoke cigarettes, I don't smoke cigars, I don't smoke a pipe, pipe, pipe..." He talked about it on the Graham Norton Show in 2011, where he explained that he was on a comedy show copying the style of Jim Davidson's character Chalkie White, and that was sampled on the track. Brigstocke said he was "delighted and mortified at the same time" when he heard the sample. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Nobby - Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Annand is a true one hit wonder, having never released a follow-up to his hit recording. Instead he prefers to concentrate on his DJ work and running Rat Records. He explained to Mojo: "At the time I wasn't capable of making a pop record-beats and bassline is what I do. They (his record company) wanted another record, but it wasn't going to happen."

Comments: 1

  • Bmn from Hisuan, ArgentinaWait, one hit wonder..? Is this not the same Deekline who did Ill Street Blues & Truth is A Lie? =S
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.