Baby I Don't Care

Album: Velveteen (1989)
Charted: 3
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Songfacts®:

  • Transvision Vamp were a UK pop-rock band formed in 1986 by guitarist Nick Christian Sayer and vocalist Wendy James. They had four UK Top 20 singles in the late 1980s, with "Baby I Don't Care" their biggest hit.
  • Sayer wrote "Baby I Don't Care" about James' best friend, whom he was crushing on. The singer told The Guardian: "I think it was his way of telling her that she didn't have to love him in return because he loved her anyway."
  • You can tell me all your stories but spare me the plays

    The lyric is a reference to the acting aspirations of James' friend. "Some years later, she took her life," she told The Guardian. "The song is particularly moving now."
  • The actress Jennifer Ellison covered the song in 2003, reaching #6 in the UK. Best known for playing Emily Shadwick in the TV soap opera Brookside, Ellison was attempting to carve out a pop music career, but this was her only hit.
  • Transvision Vamp officially disbanded in February 1992 and Wendy James launched a solo career the following year. She had limited success with her debut album Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears, which was written in its entirety by Elvis Costello.

    Their bassist, Dave Parsons, had the most success post-Transvision Vamp. He formed Bush in 1992 and was with them until 2002.

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