You're a Lady

Skellern wrote "You're a Lady" in the summerhouse at his home in Shaftesbury, Dorset. He kept his piano there so as not to bother anyone with his practice.^[6] The song has been described as "a breathless love song".^[6] Skellern's vocals and piano accompaniment are supplemented by the Congregation, a choral pop ensemble who had already had their own top ten UK hit with "Softly Whispering I Love You",^[7] and by the Hanwell Band, heard unaccompanied in the introductory bars.

Skellern once played with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain as a child, and he sought to recapture his "speechless amazement" at their sound by using the brass band on the record.^[6] The euphonium, played by John Luckett, is prominently featured.^[8] Skellern wanted the song to evoke the North of England, saying: "I wanted people to see the wet cobblestones and the Lowry paintings when they heard 'You're a Lady'".^[9]

The single was placed on Radio Luxembourg on a pay-for-play basis, but was then picked up by Terry Wogan on his BBC Radio 2 programme. The single went on to sell over 800,000 copies^[10] and the song was also the first track on Skellern's 1972 album of the same name.^[11] The song's great success and the demands that came with it led Skellern to a six-month period, a couple of years later, where he "got drunk every day".^[9]