"What I Want" is a song written and recorded by English New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

/Dance

Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

 band Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive (band)

Dead or Alive were a British New Wave band from Wirral, England, United Kingdom, Europe. The band rose to fame in the 1980s with their number one single on the UK Singles Chart, "You Spin Me Round ". They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team Stock Aitken Waterman...

. It was co-produced by the band and Zeus B. Held

Zeus B. Held

Zeus B. Held is a German music producer and musician, known for his work in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. He was involved with several artists of the Krautrock, Disco and New Wave era, such as Birth Control, Rockets, Gina X Performance, Dead Or Alive, John Foxx, Fashion and Men Without Hats on their...

 and released as the second single from Dead or Alive's album Sophisticated Boom Boom

Sophisticated Boom Boom

Sophisticated Boom Boom is the debut album by the British pop group Dead or Alive, released in 1984. Containing mostly synth pop and dance elements, the record was a minor success in the UK where it peaked at #29 and contained the band's first UK Top 40 single, a remake of KC & the Sunshine Band's...

.

The song was not a success when released, peaking at number eighty-eight in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. After Dead or Alive's UK top-forty success of "That's the Way (I Like It)

That's the Way (I Like It)

"That's the Way " is a song written by H.W. Casey and Richard Finch, and recorded and released in 1975 by KC and the Sunshine Band for their eponymous second album...

", "What I Want" was re-issued in 1984. It did not fare much better during its second chart run, placing only one position higher, at number eighty-seven.

Chart performance

The single was re-released in 1984, however, it proved to be a slight, but bigger hit than the original. Both versions charted in the UK, separated by only a few positions between the two.

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	88
Chart (1984)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	87