Beat the Clock (Sparks song)
Encyclopedia
Beat the Clock is a Disco
single by Sparks
released 1979. It is named after the game show
Beat the Clock
.
The song peaked at #10 in August 1979 and spent six weeks in the UK top forty singles chart
. It was their third and final top ten single in the UK.
The song was lifted from the album No. 1 In Heaven
and produced by Giorgio Moroder
for Mellow B.V. During the late seventies he was one of the premier producers, his working relationship grew from Sparks appreciation of Donna Summer's
dynamic "I Feel Love
" which Moroder co-wrote and co-produced.
The 12 inch remix was the first of the groups extended remixes. The remix utilised the drum pattern from the songs mid-section and added a new keyboard melody line during the chorus. The "long version" as it was dubbed was edited to three and a half minutes and released as the b-side to seven inch single. Long versions of "The Number One Song in Heaven
" and "Tryouts for the Human Race" - both singles from the same album as "Beat the Clock" were merely the standard album versions.
An additional b-side on twelve inch versions was a commercial promoting the album No. 1 in Heaven, which featured clips of most of the tracks. The advert was narrated by Peter Cook
. Twelve inch versions came as colored picture discs, the inner seven inch was a picture disc while the outer five inches came in a variety of differing colors such as blue, pink, green, and yellow.
The song was subsequently reworked for the album Plagiarism
in 1998 and a live version was released as a b-side on the UK CD single "Now that I Own the BBC" in January 1996.
Twelve inch Virgin VS27012
" by Stars On
(StarSound
in the UK), a quick lyrical reference to "Beat The Clock" can be heard on the extended side-length (mostly) Beatles medley.
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
single by Sparks
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
released 1979. It is named after the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
.
The song peaked at #10 in August 1979 and spent six weeks in the UK top forty singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It was their third and final top ten single in the UK.
The song was lifted from the album No. 1 In Heaven
No. 1 In Heaven
-Personnel:* Chris Bennett - Backing Vocals* Keith Forsey - Drums* Ron Mael - Keyboards, Synthesiser, Vocals* Russell Mael - Vocals* Jack Moran - Backing Vocals* Giorgio Moroder - Synthesiser, Vocoder, Producer* Dan Wyman - Synthesiser Programming...
and produced by Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
for Mellow B.V. During the late seventies he was one of the premier producers, his working relationship grew from Sparks appreciation of Donna Summer's
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
dynamic "I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
" which Moroder co-wrote and co-produced.
The 12 inch remix was the first of the groups extended remixes. The remix utilised the drum pattern from the songs mid-section and added a new keyboard melody line during the chorus. The "long version" as it was dubbed was edited to three and a half minutes and released as the b-side to seven inch single. Long versions of "The Number One Song in Heaven
The Number One Song in Heaven
-Track listing:*Seven inch Virgin VS 244# "The Number One Song in Heaven" — 3:48# "The Number One Song in Heaven" — 6:56-Personnel:* Chris Bennett, Backing Vocals* Keith Forsey, Drums* Ron Mael, Keyboards, Synthesiser, Vocals...
" and "Tryouts for the Human Race" - both singles from the same album as "Beat the Clock" were merely the standard album versions.
An additional b-side on twelve inch versions was a commercial promoting the album No. 1 in Heaven, which featured clips of most of the tracks. The advert was narrated by Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
. Twelve inch versions came as colored picture discs, the inner seven inch was a picture disc while the outer five inches came in a variety of differing colors such as blue, pink, green, and yellow.
The song was subsequently reworked for the album Plagiarism
Plagiarism (album)
-Personnel:* Russell Mael - Vocals, production, mixing* Ron Mael - Keyboards, production* Tony Visconti, Orchestral, choral arrangements and conducting on "Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat", "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", "When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'", "Change", "Something For The Girl...
in 1998 and a live version was released as a b-side on the UK CD single "Now that I Own the BBC" in January 1996.
Track listing
Seven inch Virgin VS270- "Beat the Clock" — 3:49
- "Beat the Clock" (Alternative Mix) — 3:32
Twelve inch Virgin VS27012
- "Beat the Clock" — 3:49
- "Untitled Commercial"
- "Beat the Clock" (Long Version) — 6:43
Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.K. Singles chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
10 |
Personnel
- Chris Bennett, Backing Vocals
- Keith ForseyKeith ForseyKeith Forsey is an English soundtrack composer, drummer, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Forsey's first recordings were as the younger member of the group The Spectrum, better known for the end title theme for Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet, but hit makers across Europe in their own...
, Drums - Ron MaelRon MaelRonald David Mael , is an American musician and songwriter. He and his younger brother Russell, make up the pop duo Sparks.Ron Mael was born in Culver City, California. Ron plays keyboard and writes most of the songs for Sparks...
, Keyboards, Synthesiser, Vocals - Russell MaelRussell MaelRussell Mael is an American singer and songwriter who, with his older brother Ron, is in the band Sparks....
, Vocals - Jack Moran, Backing Vocals
- Giorgio MoroderGiorgio MoroderHansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, Synthesiser - Dan Wyman, Synthesiser Programming
- Dennis Young, Backing Vocals
Trivia
On the album "Stars on Long PlayStars on Long Play
Long Play Album was the first album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in 1981. In the US the album was retitled Stars On Long Play, released on Atlantic Records' sublabel Radio Records and credited to 'Stars On'...
" by Stars On
Stars on 45
Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound...
(StarSound
Stars on 45
Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound...
in the UK), a quick lyrical reference to "Beat The Clock" can be heard on the extended side-length (mostly) Beatles medley.