Dennis achieved her first success as a vocalist with Dancin' Danny D's dance project D Mob, when their single "C'mon and Get My Love" reached #15 in the UK Singles Chart and #10 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. Originally, it had only reached #93 (UK). It is regarded as an underground classic in the dance music field, and a second collaboration with D Mob, "That's The Way Of The World," was also a major dance hit. It was followed by Dennis' debut album, Move to This.
She subsequently scored three solo Top 20 UK / Top 10 U.S. hits and had considerable success in Japan in the early 1990s with "Just Another Dream" (#13 UK, #9 U.S., #14 Australia), "Touch Me (All Night Long)" (#5 UK, #2 U.S., #16 Australia), which is probably her most remembered hit to date, and "Too Many Walls" (#17 UK, #8 U.S., #57 Australia).
Subsequent releases were only minor hits. Her final Top 40 hit in the U.S. was "You Lied to Me" in 1992, and her final Top 40 hit in the UK was "Waterloo Sunset", which made #11 during 1997. That same year her last solo single "When Your Dreams Turn To Dust", peaked in the UK at #43.
"Touch Me (All Night Long)" stayed at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and was kept out of the #1 spot by Hi-Five's "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" the first week and Mariah Carey's "I Don't Wanna Cry" the second week. The song was a cover of a 1985 single by Wish featuring Fonda Rae, which had hit #70 on the U.S. R&B chart that year. "Touch Me" did reach #1 on the U.S. Dance chart, and its follow-up, "Too Many Walls," which Dennis co-wrote with Anne Dudley of Art of Noise, was a #1 Adult Contemporary hit. It was around this time Dennis agreed to join MTV Club's first tour, booked for six weeks. She dropped out on the third date, later publicly accussing one of Milli Vanilli's members (the tour's headline act) of sexual harassment.
Dennis released her second album, Into The Skyline, in December 1992 written with an aim toward the U.S. market. The album featured the singles "You Lied To Me", "Irresistible", "Falling" and "Why [D Mob with Cathy Dennis]". The album got to #8 in the UK, whilst in the U.S., "You Lied to Me" was a Top 40 hit and "Irresistible" made the Adult Contemporary Top Ten; however, the album descended the chart rapidly. Dennis experienced a brief peak of fame, making a cameo in Beverly Hills 90210 singing the song "Moments of Love" (a minor U.S. AC chart hit), "Why" and "Touch Me (All Night Long)". In Japan the album was called Into the Skyline +1, and featured three extra tracks, "Nothing Moves Me", a previous b-side, and two tracks that were both released as singles, "It's My Style" and "Love's a Cradle."
Dennis started to record her third album Inspiration. The title track was recorded with Todd Terry, along with another song "Is There Life After You", plus other songs as yet unknown. She decided to stop recording this album and only two songs have ever been released, "Find the Key to Your Life" with David Morales for the then-popular movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and "SOS", which can be found on the Beverley Hills 90210, The College Years soundtrack.
Dennis made her first attempt at co-writing a song for Dannii Minogue called "Love's on Every Corner".
In 1996 Dennis changed musical track away from the dance-pop sound of previous releases, to a more traditional singer-songwriter approach. The resulting album Am I the Kind of Girl? was more in keeping with the Britpop sound of bands such as Blur and performers such as Stephen Duffy, and featured collaborations with Guy Chambers of The Lemon Trees and Andy Partridge of XTC. However, even though a couple of singles charted in the UK (including a Number 11 cover of Ray Davies' "Waterloo Sunset"), the album failed to make much inroads into the album charts.
Dennis' last release appeared on the OST Robin Hood Men in Tights singing "Marian (Duet Version) - Cathy Dennis & Lance Ellington".
In recent years, her greatest success has come as a songwriter: in 1996 she co-wrote "Bumper to Bumper", which was the B-Side to Spice Girls' first hit single "Wannabe". Five of her compositions have reached number one in Britain. "Never Had a Dream Come True" and "Have You Ever" (both recorded by S Club 7), "Anything Is Possible" (recorded by Will Young), and "Toxic" (recorded by Britney Spears) all reached number one, with "Toxic" and "Never Had a Dream Come True" also hitting the Top 10 in the United States. Her highest-selling composition, "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (recorded by Kylie Minogue), spent four weeks at number one in Britain, rekindled interest in Minogue in America, where it hit #7 on the Hot 100, and sold over three million copies worldwide to become the world's second highest selling single in 2001. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" also won Dennis an Ivor Novello Award for the year's most performed composition. She also won this award two years later for "Anything Is Possible" (Cathy Dennis, Chris Braide).
She co-wrote the Pop Idol theme for the television series, and in Britain and the United States contestants Will Young, Gareth Gates, Kelly Clarkson, and Clay Aiken have recorded her songs as their first singles. Other artists who have recorded her songs include Dannii Minogue, Delta Goodrem, Céline Dion, Spice Girls, Emma Bunton, Ronan Keating, Rachel Stevens, Hear'Say, S Club Juniors, P!nk, Janet Jackson, Brooke Hogan, Michelle McManus, Hooverphonic, Jentina, Thalia, Katy Perry, Rosin Murphy, Heidi Montag, David Cook, Le Toya Lucket.
She has recently collaborated with the British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and song-writer Greg Kurstin, on a track called "Catch You". Ellis-Bextor's album entitled Trip the Light Fantastic is set to be released in early 2007 through Fascination Records.
According to news reports, Dennis was working on a new album under the name Sexcassettes which she planned for a 2008 release. The albums' first single, "Killer Love" was also to be released before the end of 2008. There is currently no news information avaliable about this project.
Touch Me
Cathy Dennis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A time to turn over, a better life for you and me
A new recreation, to channel all this energy, hmmm
Let's solve the equation, I need to keep you close to me
So baby let your conscience go
There's no turning back when love takes hold
Hold me baby, drive me crazy
Touch me all night long
Touch me all night long
The more that I see you
The more I know that love belongs
With you in my mind boy
I wouldn't know what's right from wrong
'Cos live will take over
And leave you out of sight and mind
You've got to go with the feeling
And trust fate to be kind
And baby let your conscience go
There's no turning back when love takes hold
Hold me baby, drive me crazy
Touch me all night long
Make me love you, kiss and hug you
Touch me all night long
Hold me baby, drive me crazy
Touch me all night long
Make me love you, kiss and hug you
Touch me all night long
And baby let your conscience go
There's no turning back when love takes hold
Hold me baby, drive me crazy
Touch me all night long
Make me love you, kiss and hug you
Touch me all night long
Repeat to fade
The lyrics of "Touch Me" by Cathy Dennis speak of new beginnings and the power of love. The first verse sets the tone for the song, talking about starting over and making way for destiny. It's a time to turn over a new leaf and embrace a better life that is waiting for "you and me." The second verse continues this theme by talking about how the more the singer sees the person they love, the more they realize that love belongs with that person. Without them, it would be difficult to distinguish between right and wrong.
The chorus is the real heart of the song, repeating the phrase "touch me all night long." The repetition reinforces the importance of physical touch and intimacy in a loving relationship. The lines "hold me baby, drive me crazy" speak to the deep emotional connection between the two people, as physical touch stirs up intense feelings of passion and desire.
Overall, "Touch Me" is a message of hope and love. It encourages taking risks, trusting fate, and letting go of fear to embrace all that love has to offer.
Line by Line Meaning
We're starting it over, we're making way for destiny
We are leaving the past behind us and setting a path towards a more promising future.
A time to turn over, a better life for you and me
It's time for a new beginning to improve our lives, and we will achieve that together.
A new recreation, to channel all this energy, hmmm
We have the opportunity to create something great with all the enthusiasm and vigor we possess.
Let's solve the equation, I need to keep you close to me
We need to work together to figure out what will bring us closer so that we stay that way.
So baby let your conscience go
Don't worry about the consequences, just enjoy the moment and let your guard down.
There's no turning back when love takes hold
When love enters your life, there's no going back to how things were before.
Hold me baby, drive me crazy
Embrace me tightly and send me into a frenzy with your touch.
Touch me all night long
Keep the physical connection between us throughout the night.
Make me love you, kiss and hug you
Show me your affection with your lips and arms making me love you more.
The more that I see you
The longer I spend time with you, the more I realize that I am in love with you.
The more I know that love belongs
The stronger I feel that we are meant to be together because of our love.
With you in my mind boy
With my thoughts always focused on you, whether you are near or far.
I wouldn't know what's right from wrong
Without you, I cannot differentiate between good and bad.
'Cos live will take over
Because life can be overwhelming and uncontrollable at times.
And leave you out of sight and mind
It can make you feel forgotten and insignificant.
You've got to go with the feeling
You have to trust your intuition and follow your heart.
And trust fate to be kind
Believe in destiny to lead you to where you are supposed to be.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Delyle Gregory Carmichael, Patrick P Adams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Hal Chester
This might be one of the best dance tracks of the early 1990s. It's impossible to sit still.
Dream Cage
1991
Kevin
This is the version I been looking for... this regular radio version is perfect
DJ Guche Grande
one of my favourite feel good love dance tunes - a timeless 90s classic.... for anyone who wants to know the source of todays mainstream dance tunes inspiration.
Melanie Wattis
I just adore this track.... Awesome. Proper 90's Can't Beat it!
brickyard2
When I was a kid, this was the radio edit version. One of my favs
Jen X
Cathy Dennis is an amazing singer, but she is an even better songwriter!
Rich Brake
Nah.Singer first and foremost.
Frans Pynappels
Still good to listen to in the summer of 2021
John Prudent
1991. One of the best years of my youth. I was in 5th grade. I remember playing in the backyard with my little brother. The Genesis and SNES were the latest and greatest; XMen #1 featuring Jim Lee's art came out; T2 became one of the greatest sequels ever made. We weren't rich but my family made the best of it in those days. This song helps bring back those awesome memories. That's what music should do.