The Last Dance

This is the second single released by the British singer-songwriter Clare Maguire. It was premiered on Huw Stephen's BBC Radio 1 show on January 3, 2011 the day it was announced that Maguire had come in 5th place on the BBC Sound of 2011 list of the year's most promising new artists.

Maguire wrote the song a day after the death of her childhood hero, Michael Jackson. She penned the tune in response to the misplaced comments some people were making about the musical legend following his passing. She explained to Artist Direct: "I wrote 'The Last Dance' just after Michael Jackson passed away. I was really angry with the hate people were spreading about him on the internet. I thought it was really wrong because he spread so much happiness with his music. Two days later, I went in the studio, sat at the piano and wrote the song in about 15 minutes. I withdrew my anger and sadness from that. Then, there were other things in my life happening at the time that came into the song. It's one of my favourites."

Maguire discussed her song writing process in an interview with CMU: "It happens differently all the time, but usually I will feel something very strongly and then almost make stories with visions in my head, and the words just flow out; though I usually hear the music first."