"Private Number" is a song recorded by American soul singers Judy Clay and William Bell (1968). In the US, it was released as a single, where it peaked at number 17 on the Best Selling Rhythm and Blues chart and number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Outside the US, "Private Number" went to number eight in the United Kingdom.
English boy band 911 covered "Private Number" for their third studio album, There It Is (1999). There are two different versions of the song: one version featuring English singer Natalie Jordan and one featuring Singaporean singer Fann Wong.[2] The song was released as the third and final single from the album on May 3, 1999, and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It was the last of their string of 10 consecutive top-10 singles in the UK.
Music video
The music video for "Private Number" was filmed in Hackney, East London. Band member Spike Dawbarn said it was the best video the trio had ever done.[3] It features 911 performing the song in pouring rain. There are two different versions of the video, one featuring Natalie Jordan and one featuring Fann Wong. In Jordan's version, she can be seen singing her parts whilst on a television screen and in a dark room. In Wong's version, she is standing by herself in the rain as well.
English rock band Babe Ruth covered this song in 1975. It featured on their Stealin' Home album and was released as a single on the Harvest Records label.
The opening seconds and guitar riff of Clay and Bell's original version of the song were prominently sampled in Rappin' 4-Tay's hip-hop single, "Playaz Club", which reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1994.
^Private Number (UK CD1 liner notes). 911. Virgin Records. 1999. VSCDT 1730, 7243 8 95746 23.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Private Number (UK cassette single sleeve). 911. Virgin Records. 1999. VSC 1730, 7243 8 95746 47.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Private Number (UK CD2 liner notes). 911. Virgin Records. 1999. VSCDX1730, 7243 8 95747 22.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)