Turn Me On

Album: Some Kind of Trouble (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Blunt co-wrote this tune with British songwriter Eg White, whose resume also includes Will Young's Ivor Novello winning hit "Leave Right Now" and Adele's international smash, "Chasing Pavements."
  • Blunt discussed the song with Artist Direct: "It's one of my favorites, and I wrote and recorded it in about hours with Eg White. It's a spontaneous moment; it's a little explosion that's so much fun. We play that live, and it goes down really well. It's simple. All of the instrumentation is sort of a mess that work."
  • Blunt told Billboard magazine that the song was purposely left off promotional copies, prior to the release of Some Kind of Trouble, "because [the label] thought it was inappropriate and they didn't want people to review it." He explained the lyric: "Why get complicated?/You know you want to turn me on" is "not as emotionally sensitive as they think my audience would like." However the singer pushed for the song's inclusion on the album's commercial release, and he and Atlantic came up with a solution: "I said, 'OK, look, the album runs numbers one to 11. I'll put the song you really hate on at No. 13.'" The 12th song is "I'll Be Your Man," but "Turn Me On" became "the unlucky song stuck on at the end, which actually in a way highlights it, so I think I've done myself a favor."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.