The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

A remarkably contrasting interpretation of Please Stay by the Cyrin' Shames to the Drifters' US hit. This got to No.26 in the UK in 1966 and was apparently Joe Meek's last production before his violent end. Maybe it's this fact that lends the record an almost eerie atmosphere. My favourite Bacharach/Hilliard song, other than Three Wheels on my Wagon!

I hear that Duffy's recorded it for a new film biopic of Joe Meek and it will be her next single. Could take Burt back to No.1 for the first time in decades.

I know that she's been singing it on tour (see the Youtube link below) but I haven't heard anything about it being a single. The last thing I heard was that her recording of it was going to feature over the credits at the end of the film. Let's hope her keyboard player plays the right chord sequence on the record!

Elvis Costello recorded Please Stay for his Kojak Variety album. Below is a link to a live performance of the song in a small Greenwich Village club in 2007.

For those of you who are interested, Duffy's recorded version of Please Stay has just been released on the re-vamped album Rockferry. According to Wikipedia, it's earmarked to be her next single, probably timed to coincide with the opening of the Joe Meek biopic in which it's featured.

I've heard it and it's good. Using the Cryin' Shames' version as the template, with exactly the same alterations in the lyrics and chords, it's possibly even slower than their rendition, which I think really helps to fulfill the song's emotional potential. Besides, I've always thought that the Drifters' original version sounded too jaunty, certainly after hearing Duffy's!