"I Just Don't Have the Heart" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard, released as the second single from his 1989 album Stronger. It was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and became another UK top ten hit for him, peaking at number three.

Background and writing
Richard first approached SAW at a music industry awards lunch, where he complimented them on their work with Rick Astley, and suggested they contact him if they had any more songs as good. After agreeing to work together, Richard had to be convinced to come into the studio without first hearing the song, as SAW did not record demos, and preferred to develop their music while their vocalists were in the recording booth. Richard only agreed to release the track after his milkman had heard it and deemed it a hit, a process he claimed he used regularly, and always worked.

Critical reception
David Giles of Music Week gave a negative review of "I Just Don't Have the Heart", saying: "Cliff crashes to earth with a bump and teams up with SAW. The result is a standard SAW somp, putting one of pop's great legends on a level with Sonia". A review of Richard's Stronger in the same magazine considered the song as the "worst" track of the album and a "SAW abberation". MTV Australia host Richard Wilkins pulled the video off air mid-play, controversially disparaging both the track and its high-profile producers.

More positively, before releasing his 100th single, Richard invited 2,000 British fans to the London Palladium for a preview of six songs from his album Stronger to choose the one they liked the most as the possible 100th single, and "I Just Don't Have the Heart" ranked at the third position. Similarly, a review in Pan-European magazine Music & Media presented "I Just Don't Have the Heart" as an "happy and cheerful chart-bound pop music, produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman" and ranked it in the "sure hits" category.

Chart performance
"I Just Don't Have the Heart" was the second most successful single from the Stronger album, behind "The Best of Me". In the UK, it entered the singles chart at number ten on 26 August 1989, then jumped to number three, which was its peak position, and charted for eight weeks, earning a silver certification awarded by the British Phonographic Industry. It reached number seven in Ireland, and remained on the chart for six weeks. However, in Continental Europe, it did not do so well, being only a top 20 hit in Finland (15) and Austria (18), and a top 30 hit in the Flanders part of Belgium (25). It stalled outside the top 40 in Germany, peaking at number 41 with a 16-week chart run, peaked at number 67 in the Netherlands, and made only the top 100 in Australia. On the overall Eurochart Hot 100, it debuted at number 38 on 2 September 1989, then climbed straight to a peaked of number 11 due to its sales in the UK and Ireland, and totaled ten weeks on the charts. Mostly aired on UK, French, German and Austrian radios, it reached number nine on the European Airplay Top 50 on which it charted for nine weeks.

Track listing
 UK single
"I Just Don't Have the Heart" (3:27)
"Wide Open Space" (4:38)
"I Just Don't Have the Heart" [Instrumental] (4:00)

 12" single (12 EMP 101)
"I Just Don't Have the Heart" (Extended Version) (5:54)
"Wide Open Space" (4:38)
"I Just Don't Have the Heart" (4:00)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1989 songs
1989 singles
Cliff Richard songs
Songs written by Mike Stock (musician)
Songs written by Matt Aitken
Songs written by Pete Waterman
Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman
EMI Records singles