"Roll the Dice" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released in 1978 as the lead single from his debut solo album Hobo with a Grin. It was written by Harley and Jo Partridge, and produced by Michael J. Jackson.

In 1977, Harley began working on his debut solo album Hobo with a Grin. Once it was completed in early 1978, he decided to leave Britain and live in Los Angeles for almost a year. A week before the release of Hobo with a Grin, "Roll the Dice" was released as the album's lead single in July 1978. Like the album, "Roll the Dice" was a commercial failure, failing to make an appearance in the UK Top 75.

While most of Hobo with a Grin was recorded in London, "Roll the Dice" was one of two tracks from the album to be recorded and mixed at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Any remixing and additional recording was done in Los Angeles as well. Although Harley produced the rest of the album, "Roll the Dice" was produced by the album's assistant producer Michael J. Jackson.

At the time of its release, G. Brown of The Denver Post reported that Harley disdained the song's commercial potential in private. Harley was quoted: "It's 'poppy,' with that Fleetwood Mac-ish shuffle. 'Catchy' is not a good thing in this country. The more AM radio I hear, the more convinced I am that the goal is to bore."

"Roll the Dice" was released by EMI Records on 7" vinyl in the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. In America and Canada, it was released by Capitol Records in August 1978. For its release as a single, an edited version of the song was used, which shortened the song by approximately half a minute. The B-Side, "Waiting", was written and produced by Harley. It remains exclusive to the single, having not appeared on any other release since.

In the UK, a promotional demo/DJ copy of the single was also issued by EMI. In America, Capitol released a promotional version of the single, which featured "Roll the Dice" on both sides of the vinyl; one in stereo and one in mono. In the UK, Germany and Spain, the single was released with colour picture sleeves. In the UK, the first 20,000 copies of the single featured the sleeve. It used similar artwork as on the Hobo with a Grin album.

Following its original release as a single, and on Hobo with a Grin, the song has since appeared on various Steve Harley compilations, including 1981's Collection, 1992's Make Me Smile: The Best of Steve Harley, 1996's Premium Gold Collection 1998's More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley, 1999's The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, and 2006's The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology.

...
Wikipedia