The Communards
"Don’t Leave Me This Way
(1986)
"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both Thelma Houston and The Communards. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Houston's version of the song became an unofficial theme song for the AIDS epidemic in gay male communities of the west. American artist Neyland Blake created a work for American Foundation of AIDS research about the epidemic that referenced the song and its significance in the community. An art exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia entitled "Don't Leave Me This Way - Art in the age of AIDS" opened in 1994 containing various works about the epidemic. A 246 page publication of the exhibition also followed. The song was covered by The Communards in an avowedly Hi-NRG version. This recording topped the UK charts for four weeks in September 1986, becoming the biggest selling record of the year in the process. The featured guest vocalist was jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris. The song only reached #40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but did top the Billboard Dance chart.
Several remixes were issued, notably the "Son of Gotham City Mix" which was split across two sides of a 12" single and ran for a total of 22 minutes 55 seconds.
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