"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the U.S. BillboardHot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat.
Original version
"I Want Candy" was written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer in 1965. As writer/producers, Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer had already scored big hits for other artists, including "My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels. For this song, the trio took on the moniker of the Strangeloves, and recorded the tune themselves, augmented by studio musicians. The female vocalist heard half-screaming, half-singing "Baby!" in the middle of the track was an unknown session singer. Although Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer used their real names in the writing and production credits of this single, they claimed the Strangeloves were actually three Australian brothers named Giles, Miles and Niles Strange. Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer dressed up in shaggy wigs and exotic clothing for publicity photos as the Strangeloves. "I Want Candy", the Strangeloves' second single, became a top 10 hit in Canada and hit No. 11 in the US. The record failed to chart in the UK—or in the Strangeloves' so-called "native" country, Australia. In the UK, the song first hit the UK Singles Chart in 1965, covered by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, who took it to No 25. This version also peaked at No. 81 in Australia.
English new wave group Bow Wow Wow released their version as the first and only single from their EP The Last of the Mohicans. For many in America, "I Want Candy" was their first introduction to young lead singerAnnabella Lwin and the band. The song barely scraped the Top 50, but became an enduring new wave classic. To capitalize on the success of the "I Want Candy" music video, RCA compiled an album called I Want Candy for their newfound American audience. The album peaked at No. 123 on the Billboard 200. The Bow Wow Wow recording appeared on two VH1 countdowns:
Candy Girls, consisting of Rachel Auburn and Paul Masterson, released a cover of "I Want Candy", which became their third hit single in 1996, peaking at No. 30 in the UK. It was their last release. After releasing this single, the duo split. Masterson went on to have hits as Amen! UK, Clergy, Yomanda, Dorothy and Hi-Gate.
Track listings
;Disc 1
"I Want Candy"
"I Want Candy"
"I Want Candy"
"I Want Candy"
"I Want Candy"
;Disc 2
"I Want Candy"
"Wham Bam"
"Fee Fi Fo Fum"
Charts
Aaron Carter version
released a cover of "I Want Candy" as his seventh overall single, and the second single from his second album, Aaron's Party . This version of "I Want Candy" begins with a phone conversation with a friend about a girl named Candy and features the participation of his brother Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Carter promoted it by performing it on the show Lizzie McGuire. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Andrew MacNaughtan. Carter released a remix of the song in 2018, self-produced on his LøVë album.
"I Want Candy" was the second single to be taken from Melanie C's fourth album This Time, in the UK, Denmark and Italy. The song was also the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, and the video featured Melanie dancing for the first time since the Spice Girls. Melanie split her time between the UK and Europe, where she was promoting "The Moment You Believe", and as a result, the single was not heavily promoted and reached No. 24 — although on the physical chart, the single reached No. 7. "I Want Candy" went on to sell 12,510 copies in the UK, but had better success in Italy and Denmark. Melanie premiered her version of the song during Al Murray's Happy Hour on ITV1 on 24 February 2007. The video was premiered on 2 March 2007 in the UK. The song was released as Italy's and Denmark's first single from the new album, where it reached No. 9 in both countries, while in other European countries, the ballad "The Moment You Believe" was chosen.
Music video
In the video for "I Want Candy", Melanie C is featured in a skin-tight catsuit, featuring a sexually suggestive dance routine with half-naked bodybuilders in crowd-controller uniforms. The video instantly grabbed the No. 1 spot on YouTube with 200,000 hits in its first day.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I Want Candy" by Melanie C.
In the UK, the song first hit the UK Singles Chart in 1965, covered by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, who took it to No 25. This version also peaked at No. 81 in Australia.
