"Can The Rhythm'" is a song by British female pop duo Girl Talk

Girl Talk (girl group)

Girl Talk was a British girl group, formed by Karen Wright and Leigh Pearce. The girls, aged 12 and 13 respectively, released their debut single, "Can The Rhythm", in 1983 on Park Records. By the next year Pearce had been replaced by Karen's sister, Julie Wright...

. The song was written solely by group member Karen Wright, who wrote it at the age of 12.

1983 version

The song was initially released as Girl Talk's debut single in 1983, produced by Mick Clarke and released on the label Park Records. At that point, the group was composed of Karen Wright and Leigh Pearce, who were aged 12 and 13 at the time. Wright sings the first verse and Pearce the second, with both singing on the song's chorus. The single did not hit the charts.

1984 version

In 1984, Pearce left the group and was replaced by Karen's sister Julie. The pair got signed by Innervision Records

Innervision Records

Innervision Records was an independent record label distributed by CBS Records. The label was established around 1981 by Mark Dean and Shamsi Ahmed which included Wham! on their artist roster, who scored four top-ten hits while signed to Innervision...

 that year and re-released "Can The Rhythm" as their second single for that label in October 1984. This is the best known version of the song.

For this release, the song was re-recorded with Karen and Julie on vocals, and was produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman. The trio of producers, who would become hugely successful in the late 80's in the UK, had established in 1984 as a production team, and by that time had had top 40 successes in the UK with Hazell Dean

Hazell Dean

Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...

 and Divine. "Can The Rhythm" was given a Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

 reworking similar to the sound of these artists.

The single was released in three formats: 7" single, 12" single, and a 10" shaped picture disc. The single made the charts in the UK, but only reached a low #92. It would become the group's only chart entry in the UK.

In December 1984, the single was released in the USA by Geffen Records

Geffen Records

Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...

, where it peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in January 1985, spending 5 weeks on the chart.

Formats

• 1983 release

7" Single

1. Can The Rhythm 3:51
2. Can The Rhythm (Instrumental) 3:45

• 1984 release

7" Single, 10" Picture Disc

1. Can The Rhythm 3:47
2. Can The Rhythm (Instrumental) 4:30

12" Single

1. Can The Rhythm (Extended Mix) 7:00
2. Can The Rhythm (Instrumental) 4:30

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	92
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	26