The story behind If I Say Yes

Five Star – If I Say Yes (1986) · 10 November 2026

5 Star on the sleeve, Five Star on the label — a small printing quirk on a 1986 Five Star 12" that still catches collectors' eyes today.

Two names, one record

On the German 12" single (Tent/RCA, catalogue PT 40982), the main artist is printed as "5 Star" on the sleeve but as "Five Star" on the labels themselves. Even the catalogue number shifts slightly, appearing as "PT40982" on the labels and "PT 40982" on the sleeve. Small details, but the kind that make a pressing worth a second look.

Following a big hit

"If I Say Yes" came out in 1986 as the follow-up to Five Star's biggest UK single, "Rain or Shine", which had reached number 2. It was the fourth single pulled from their Silk & Steel album, keeping the group's run of hits going through a strong year for them.

What's on the record

The German 12" paired the Phil Harding PWL extended mix of the title track with "Let Me Down Easy" and an 8:36 M&M New York remix of "Can't Wait Another Minute". A second 12" added Shep Pettibone's urban and dub mixes. A shorter, remixed edit later turned up on the group's 1989 Greatest Hits set.

What the critics said

Record Mirror's Jim Reid called it "typically bubbling disco-pop", noting it stuck close to the band's earlier singles, "with a sax solo, silly clothes and plenty of big grins". Fellow writer James Hamilton described it as a "speedily wriggling and tinkling Jackson 5-ish 120 bpm galloper".

Part of a golden run

Five Star were five siblings - Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson - who between 1985 and 1988 landed four top-20 albums and 15 top-40 singles in the UK, including hits like "System Addict" and "Stay Out of My Life". They also won the 1987 Brit Award for Best British Group.

Got this one on your shelf?Scan your records with VinylDesk: see what you own, what it is worth, and BPM and key for DJs. Free for 7 days.
Get VinylDesk on Google Play This release on Discogs

Sources