"It Just Won't Do" is a song by English DJ and producer Tim Deluxe, featuring English singer Sam Obernik on vocals. The track, a Latin-inspired house song,^[1] was written by Tim Deluxe and Ben Onono and was produced by the former. The song contains a prominent trumpet riff performed by Simon Finch. Following exposure at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida,^[2] the song gained popularity in dance clubs and was eventually released as a standalone single through Underwater Records on 8 July 2002. The song was later included on Tim Deluxe's debut studio album, The Little Ginger Club Kid, in 2004.

"It Just Won't Do" became Deluxe's and Obernik's highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. In Europe, it became a top-10 hit in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain, and it topped the European Dance Traxx chart for 14 weeks, tying the record for the longest stay at number one on this ranking. In Australia, the track reached number 13 and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The song was nominated for two awards: Track of the Season at the 2002 DJ Awards and the Ivors Dance Award in 2003, winning the former accolade.

Reviewing the song in June 2002, British trade paper Music Week noted the song's "sledgehammer bassline" and its "fiery vocal and trumpet line".^[2] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton called "It Just Won't Do" a "proper" dance song but dismissed its commercial appeal.^[3] In a review for The Little Ginger Club Kid, Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic labelled the track "killer".^[4] In 2002, Tim Deluxe won the DJ Award for Track of the Season for this song, and the following year, it was nominated for the Ivors Dance Award, losing to "Lazy" by X-Press 2.^[5][6]

In the United Kingdom, "It Just Won't Do" became a mainstay on radio throughout mid-2002.^[3] Following its physical release, it debuted and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Tim Deluxe's only top-40 UK hit and Sam Obernik's first. The single spent seven weeks in the top 100, giving both musicians their longest-charting hit.^[7][8] In Ireland, the song peaked at number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart and remained in the top 30 for three weeks.^[9] It became a top-10 hit in the Netherlands and Spain, peaking at number six on the Dutch Top 40, number 10 on the Dutch Single Top 100, and number seven on Spain's PROMUSICAE chart.^[10][11][12] According to the Dutch Top 40, it was the Netherlands' 52nd-most-successful single of 2002.^[13]

Across the rest of Europe, "It Just Won't Do" entered the top 20 in the Flanders region of Belgium and appeared within the lower reaches of the charts in France, Germany, and Switzerland.^[14] It became a significant dance hit, topping Music & Media's Dance Traxx chart for 14 weeks and tying the record for the most weeks spent at number one on this ranking, along with Roger Sanchez's "Another Chance".^[15] On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 55 in late July.^[16] In 2006, the track charted in Hungary, peaking at number eight on the Single Top 40.^[17] It also found success in Australia, where it peaked at number 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart, topped the ARIA Club Chart, and earned a gold certification for shipping over 35,000 copies in Australia alone.^[18][19][20] In September 2003, the song appeared on the US Billboard Hot Dance Radio Airplay chart for a single week, at number 39.^[21]

Credits are lifted from the UK CD single liner notes.^[22]

Studio

• Produced at The Deluxe Room

Personnel

• Tim Deluxe – writing, production
• Ben Onono – writing
• Sam Obernik – vocals
• Fraser T. Smith – guitar
• Simon Finch – trumpet
• Jamie Anderson – saxophone ("We All Love Sax")