Song · Blancmange
“Don't Tell Me” by Blancmange
From the album Mange Tout (1984)
“Don't Tell Me” by Blancmange appears on 13 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1984 and 2023. It was first released in 1984 on the album Mange Tout. Its best result is #38 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #37 alternative song of 1984 and #2,292 alternative song of all time.
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"Don't Tell Me" was the third single off Mange Tout, the second album from English synth-pop duo Blancmange, and it arrived in April 1984 bouncing like it had springs in its shoes. Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe wrote it and Peter Collins produced, and the pair did something clever with their bright electro-pop: guests Deepak Khazanchi on sitar and Pandit Dinesh on tabla and madal give the synths an exotic, jagged edge.
Arthur sings about scaling mountains and reaching for the sky, and the whole track has a giddy, uplifting lift to match. It hit number 8 in the UK and hung around the chart for ten weeks, with a promo shot in Valencia, Spain, and AllMusic later judged it all but irresistible.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 38 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 | 106 |
| 1984 | 67 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 312 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 284 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1991 | 769 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1992 | 266 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1996 | 436 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 451 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 464 | 91X | 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) | 500 |
| 1999 | 735 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 536 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 140 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 310 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
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