Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

Background

The song is built around a distinctive synthesizer line, which comes from a keyboards arrangement by Phil Harrison. Its lyrics are simple and sparse but deliver a direct message. James Warren, the lead singer and bassist, wrote the song in just 10 or 15 minutes by singing the first thing that came to mind while playing chords and melody on the piano in his Bath flat—he was a guitarist but used the piano for ideas. He wanted to create a slow, plodding ballad that would appeal to US radio.

Producer David Lord later added the larger arrangement and strings. After each chorus, an eighteen-string Chinese zither called the guzheng is played. The song also includes a brief violin section in the middle and some pizzicato after each chorus. Warren explained that the lyrics came from his interest in new wave philosophies about self-improvement and meditation.

He said the song was not romantic but philosophical, about an individual changing, finding the root of inner confusion, and becoming a better person.

Releases

The Korgis released "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" on April 11, 1980, as a track from their second album, Dumb Waiters. It became their biggest hit, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached number one in France and Spain, number five in Ireland, number six in Switzerland, number 11 in the Netherlands and Australia, number 12 in New Zealand, and number 14 in Belgium. This marked the high point of the band's commercial success.

The original 1980 recording appears on several compilations: The Best of The Korgis (1983), Archive Series (1997), Greatest Hits (2001), and Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis (2003). In 1989, original members James Warren and Andy Davis reunited after the Bristol-based International Hostage Release Foundation asked them to contribute to a charity album. Since they did not own the rights to the original recording, they cut a new version at Coach House Studios in Bristol, with former member Stuart Gordon returning to play the violin solo.

This version was originally slated for release as a single in November 1989 but was delayed until August 13, 1990. It later appeared on the foundation's 1991 charity album, the band's 1992 album This World's for Everyone, and their 2005 compilation Kollection. In 1993, the Korgis worked with the electronic duo DNA on another version, inspired by what they called "dreadful 'rave' cover versions" of the song. Released by Euro Records on June 14, 1993, this single reached number 78 on the UK charts.

A live, acoustic version was recorded in the summer of 2005, originally intended for Kollection but eventually released in 2006 on the Unplugged CD.

Baby D version

British electronic music group Baby D released a successful cover of the song, titled "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving", on 22 May 1995 by Production House and Systematic Records. It was the fifth single from their only album, Deliverance (1996). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and was also a top-20 hit in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. The accompanying partially black-and-white music video was a Box Top on British music television channel The Box for three weeks in June 1995.

Taylor Parkes from Melody Maker praised the song's "spectral saintliness". Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote that a female voice in the intro is the first variation on the Korgis' 1980 hit, then dub techniques and electronic percussion are used to take it to the jungle grand finale. Red Rose Rock FM head of music Andy Roberts said it takes you by surprise, starting as a ballad and becoming jungle, which is an original way of updating an old hit.

Music Week described it as "jungle pop which is right on track with this revamped version", noting an impressive and melodic vocal complements the jungle beat. Jake Barnes from Muzik viewed it as "jungle-lite". The Record Mirror Dance Update named it "another catchy pop dance track that borrows from the past. James Hamilton in Record Mirror considered it a "sure-fire smash hit attractively warbled junglistic remake.

Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it four out of five, writing that it is even better than the chart-topping "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" and turns the song into the kind of hypno-trance track that blindin' nights out are made of.

Other versions

The song "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" has been recorded by many artists. Charting versions in the UK include those by the Dream Academy (1987), Brian Davis (1991), Yazz (1994), Army of Lovers (2001), and the Cantamus Girls Choir (2005). NRG put their own spin on it for their 1991 album The Real Hardcore.

The King's Singers, with James Warren on lead vocals, recorded it in 1997. German duo Marc et Claude sampled the track for their 2000 song "I Need Your Lovin' (Like the Sunshine)". Erasure included their take on the 2003 cover album Other People's Songs.

Zucchero and Vanessa Carlton released a version that charted in France in September 2004. That same year, Beck covered it for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, later including it on his 2026 Valentine's Day mixtape. Nicola Roberts put out a version on her 2011 debut solo album Cinderella's Eyes.