In spring 1987, a reggae-pop single by a singer from St. Vincent climbed the UK chart to number 2. Judy Boucher’s “Can’t Be With You Tonight” first entered the Official Singles Chart on 28 March 1987, and its peak position was 2. It remains the record she is best known for.
The song was written by Felix Da Silva, not by Boucher. Chart listings and the original single’s label credit him as writer, and Boucher was the voice he chose to carry his material. The single came out on Orbitone, with Sonny Roberts credited as producer.
What the song is about
The song is a gentle but firm refusal. A woman is drawn to someone and admits it, but she is committed to a partner and will not act on the attraction. She asks the other person to understand, and she stays warm throughout. There is no anger and no scorn.
One account of Boucher’s career describes it as a tale of the trials of cuckoldry, sung over a steadfast rhythm. The reading is fair. The tension is in the situation, while the groove stays calm and unhurried. That contrast is much of why the record works. The narrator stays in control, and the steady rhythm sounds like her resolve.
How it reached the mainstream
Boucher’s path to the charts was gradual. She began in her brother’s band, Judy Jack and the Beanstalk. In 1985 she recorded several songs by Da Silva, including “Dreaming of a Little Island”. Da Silva then arranged a session with Roberts, who wrote and produced that debut and its follow-up, “Lovely Paradise”. Those releases did not make a big impression on the charts.
The title track changed that. It was lifted from her album as a single and earned a place on the national radio playlist. Its chart run was slow. Official Charts shows it at 80 in its first week, then 37, then 14, before it reached the top ten. Overall it spent 7 weeks in the top 10 and 23 weeks in the top 75, and it also charted elsewhere in Europe.
The album and the follow-up
The parent album carries the same title. It briefly entered the UK Top 100 album chart in 1987, and Official Charts lists a peak of 95. Its track listing includes “Dreaming of a Little Island”, “Lovely Paradise”, “A Love Affair”, “I Was Such a Fool” and “Tears Are Burning My Eyes”.
The follow-up, “You Caught My Eye”, also came from Da Silva’s pen. It reached number 18 on the UK Singles chart in 1987. One account describes it as marking the end of her brush with international fame. Official Charts counts two UK Top 75 entries for Boucher, one of them a top-ten hit.
The record today
Boucher is filed as a reggae and R&B singer, and her sound sits where lovers rock meets pop. The album got its first vinyl reissue on 24 November 2023, with a new cover and two bonus tracks, “Dreaming of a Little Island” and “You Caught My Eye”. The label described it as a reissue of her best-selling album. Nearly four decades after it charted, the song is still available in new editions.