On this day in 1986, singer Jermaine Stewart released his biggest hit, We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off.
Stewart sang backing vocals on Culture Club’s “Miss Me Blind” in 1984, which led to him securing his own recording contract.
We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off was released in 1986 and was widely seen as a reflection of the era, when people were being urged to abstain from sexual contact due to the rise of HIV/AIDS.
The song was written by Preston Glass and Narada Michael Walden, and the original video was directed by David Fincher.
Fincher went on to direct landmark music videos for Madonna and Paula Abdul before becoming a highly successful film director, with hits including Seven, The Game, Fight Club, The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Stewart hailed from Columbus, Ohio, and began his career as a dancer on the US music show Soul Train. He auditioned to join the band Shalamar, and while he did not make the final lineup, he spent the next few years working as a professional dancer.
While in London, he met Culture Club bassist Mikey Craig, who helped him put together a demo tape and invited Stewart to sing backing vocals on “Miss Me Blind”, one of the band’s biggest hits.
Stewart died of AIDS-related liver cancer in 1997 at the age of 39. We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off remained his biggest hit. His career included four albums, and he worked with a wide range of producers, including Narada Michael Walden, John “Jellybean” Benitez, Andre Cymone, Michael Sembello, Dick Rudolph, and Phil Harding and Ian Curnow.
