Electric Blue (song)
Encyclopedia
"Electric Blue" is a 1987 hit single
by the Australia
n rock
/ synthpop
band Icehouse
and was co-written by Iva Davies
of Icehouse and John Oates
of the U.S. band Hall & Oates
. The single reached number one on the Australian singles chart on 16 November 1987, number seven on the American Billboard Hot 100
singles chart on 21 May 1988, and number 53 on the UK singles charts. Released in August it was the second single from their number one album Man of Colours
on Regular Records in Australia and, with a slightly different cover, on Chrysalis Records
for European and North American releases. It is played regularly on Australian radio
stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M
in 2007.
The video clip for Electric Blue was shot on the roof of 189 Liverpool Street, Sydney City, Australia. It is now the YWCA Hotel aka "Y On The Park".
John Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name then it would have been a Hall and Oates track.
In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7 inch blue vinyl.
A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown
in 2002. In July 2007, it was covered by pop artist Steve Ward at the Pink Lemonade Breast Cancer Foundation fundraiser.
On 5 September 2011, "Electric Blue" re-entered the Australian (ARIA) Singles Chart at #80.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/ synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band Icehouse
Icehouse (band)
Icehouse is an Australian rock band, formed as Flowers in 1977 in Sydney. Initially known in Australia for their pub rock style, they later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synthpop style music and attained Top Ten singles chart success in both Europe and the U.S...
and was co-written by Iva Davies
Iva Davies
Iva Davies , is the frontman for Australian electro/new wave/rock band Icehouse.-Biography:...
of Icehouse and John Oates
John Oates
John William Oates is an American rock, R&B and soul guitarist, musician, songwriter and producer best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates ....
of the U.S. band Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
. The single reached number one on the Australian singles chart on 16 November 1987, number seven on the American Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart on 21 May 1988, and number 53 on the UK singles charts. Released in August it was the second single from their number one album Man of Colours
Man of Colours
Man Of Colours is Australian rock synthpop band Icehouse's best-selling album, which was released in September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at #1 on the Australian album charts for 11 weeks from 5 October 1987 and has sold over 700,000 copies...
on Regular Records in Australia and, with a slightly different cover, on Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
for European and North American releases. It is played regularly on Australian radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
in 2007.
The video clip for Electric Blue was shot on the roof of 189 Liverpool Street, Sydney City, Australia. It is now the YWCA Hotel aka "Y On The Park".
John Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name then it would have been a Hall and Oates track.
In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7 inch blue vinyl.
A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown
Meltdown (Icehouse album)
Meltdown is a remix album by Australian rock synthpop band, Icehouse with tracks remixed by Australian electronic musicians and bands including Infusion, sonicanimation and beXta. It was released in October 2002 within Australia by dIVA Records under Warner Music Australia. The single "Lay Your...
in 2002. In July 2007, it was covered by pop artist Steve Ward at the Pink Lemonade Breast Cancer Foundation fundraiser.
On 5 September 2011, "Electric Blue" re-entered the Australian (ARIA) Singles Chart at #80.
Australian release (12")
- "Electric Blue" (Extended mix)
- "Electric Blue" (7" version)
- "Electric Blue" (Dub Version Mix)
- "Over My Head"
US (12")
- "Electric Blue" (Extended Mix)
- "Electric Blue" (Dub Mix)
- "Electric Blue" (Instrumental);
- "Electric Blue" (ST Edit)