Please Don’t Touch By Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Turned Into Heavy Metal By Motörhead & Girlschool

The 1959 song Please Don’t Touch was a breakout hit for British rockers Johnny Kidd and The Pirates.

Johnny Kidd and the Pirates are not as well known in the United States as they are in their native England. They influenced many bands including The Who, The Yardbirds and Wilko.

Please Don’t Touch reached number 25 on the UK music charts. Johnny Kidd’s best known song is the number one Shakin’ All Over. The shtick of the band was that they would play their live shows in pirate outfits. Unfortunately no live footage of the original band is known to exist. Kidd died in a 1966 car crash.

Considering it was the 1950s the lyrics border on risque with stanzas like:

(Well, don’t you touch me baby cause I’m shakin’ so much)
(Now don’t you touch me baby cause I’m shakin’ so much)
Ah, well there ain’t no other woman that makes me feel this way
(Don’t you touch me baby cause I’m shakin’ so much)
When she comes up close, well I just ain’t got a word to say
(Don’t you touch me baby cause I’m shakin’ so much)
Ple-e-ease don’t touch, I shake so much
Ple-e-ease don’t touch, I sha-a-a-a-ake so much

Enter hard rockers Motörhead and the all female band Girlschool who decided to team up for their version of Please Don’t Touch in 1980.

This heavy metal version of the song is not just faster, but sounds dirtier. They also added and changed some lyrics to achieve that result:

I remember the first time I took you to a cheap motel
Don’t you touch me, baby, ’cause I’m shakin’ so much
I woke up drunk, you know I felt like Eskimo Nell
Don’t you touch me, baby, ’cause I’m shakin’ so much

The two versions of Please Don’t Touch each have their fans.