"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" (released in the United Kingdom as "We Don't Have To...") is a song by American R&B singer Jermaine Stewart, released in 1986 as the lead single from his second studio album Frantic Romantic (1986). The song was written by Narada Michael Walden and Preston Glass, and produced by Walden. "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" remains Stewart's biggest commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Background

Stewart recorded "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" during 1985 and it was released around the world the following summer. The single seemed to reflect more modesty regarding sex due to the AIDS epidemic at the time. When interviewed by Donnie Simpson in 1988, Stewart spoke of the lyrical message within the song, "I think it made a lot of peoples' minds open up a little bit. We didn't only want to just talk about clothes, we wanted to extend that. We wanted to use the song as a theme to be able to say you don't have to do all the negative things that society forces on you. You don't have to drink and drive. You don't have to take drugs early. The girls don't have to get pregnant early. So the clothes bit of it was to get people's attention, which it did and I'm glad it was a positive message." The song reignited Stewart's popularity, as his previous single, "I Like It", had failed to make much impact as a follow-up to Stewart's moderately successful debut single, "The Word Is Out" ("I Like It" did not chart in either the US or the United Kingdom).

Promotion

A music video directed by David Fincher was created for the single, and Stewart guested on numerous TV shows to promote the single, including appearances on Soul Train and American Bandstand.

Legacy

In 2011, the song was used in a Cadbury's TV commercial in the United Kingdom, called The Charity Shop. This exposed the song to a new generation who downloaded the track and returned it to the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 29. The song also appeared in Kevin Smith's film Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the episode "My Dirty Secret" of the television show Scrubs, and the first episode of the second series of the comedy show Peter Kay's Car Share. The song has been covered a number of times, including by Clea, Lil' Chris, and Ella Eyre.

Release

In the US, "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" was released with the B-side, "Give Your Love to Me", the closing track from Frantic Romantic, written by Jakko J. and Stewart. In the UK and Europe, the B-side "Brilliance" was taken from Stewart's 1984 debut album The Word Is Out and was written by Stewart and Julian Lindsay. A dance remix of "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" was made by Lewis A. Martineé.

Formats

7" single (American release) 7" single (Canadian release) 7" single (European release) 7" single (UK and Australian release) 12" single (American and Canadian release) 12" single (European release) 12" single (UK release)

Charts

Original release

2011 reissue

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Album version

Taken from the Frantic Romantic liner notes.

Additional personnel on single release

Clea version

The song was covered by English girl group Clea and was released as their third single in the UK in September 2005. It was their third top 40 hit, charting at number 35. The song appears on their UK debut album, Trinity.

Charts

Lil' Chris version

Lil' Chris covered the song and released it as the only single from his second album, What's It All About, on October 19, 2007. It peaked at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart. This was his last single before his death in 2015.

Track listing

CD single 7" vinyl

Charts

Ella Eyre version

The song was covered by Ella Eyre and appeared first on Virgin Records: 40 Years of Disruptions, a record released on October 5, 2013, by Virgin Records celebrating 40 years in business. It was later included on her EP Ella Eyre, released February 10, 2015, and finally on the deluxe version of her debut album Feline. The song charted on the UK chart at number 54 and was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2022.

Charts

Certifications

Other performances