I Know Him So Well

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I Know Him So Well is a song from the concept album and subsequent musical Chess by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. In this duet, two women – Svetlana, the Russian chess champion's estranged wife, and Florence, his mistress – express their bittersweet feelings for him and at seeing their relationships fall apart.

The duet was number one in the UK for four weeks in 1985 when released as a single by Elaine Paige (as Florence) and Barbara Dickson (as Svetlana), who – astonishingly, considering the close harmonies – laid down their vocals separately and never met during the recording of the song, only for subsequent performances on Top of the Pops. This recording remains in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling UK Chart single ever by a female duo. Paige also appeared in the original London stage production of Chess.

In the UK on 18 September 2004, the BBC's All-Time Greatest Love Songs (hosted by Lionel Richie) saw the duet performed live by Paige and Dickson, together for the first time in under 20 years, to a rapturous reception. The song had also been covered by Steps and released as a single on their The Last Dance album. Other covers were by Whitney Houston and her mother Cissy Houston on the album Whitney, and by Barbra Streisand on her box-set Just for the Record. A Cantonese version (男人心) was covered by Vivian Chow and Shirley Kwan. A Dutch version (Ik Ken Hem Te Goed) was made in 1989 by Willeke Alberti and Simone Kleinsma.

Preceded by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

UK number one single February 3, 1985 - March 3, 1985

Succeeded by "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive