Electric Blue (song)

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This article is about the Icehouse song. For the Arcade Fire song, see Everything Now.
"Electric Blue"
ElectricBlueFront01.jpg
"Electric Blue" Australian release
Single by Icehouse
from the album Man of Colours
B-side"Over My Head"
Released17 August 1987 (1987-08-17)[1]
RecordedEMI Studio 301, Sydney
GenrePop rock, new wave
Length4:23
LabelRegular
Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)Iva Davies, John Oates
Producer(s)David Lord
Icehouse singles chronology
"Crazy"
(1987) 		"Electric Blue"
(1987) 		"My Obsession"
(1987)

"Electric Blue" is a 1987 hit single by the Australian rock / synthpop band Icehouse. It was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of the U.S. band Hall & Oates.[2] 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.[3]

Released in August 1987, 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. In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7 inch blue vinyl. It is played regularly on Australian radio stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.[4]

The Icehouse single was a hit in Australia, New Zealand, and North America, achieving minor success in the United Kingdom. It reached number one on the Australian singles chart on 16 November 1987,[5] #7 on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 21 May 1988,[6] #10 on the Canadian Singles Chart, #53 on the UK singles charts, and #4 on the NZ Top 40 Singles chart in November 1987.[7]

A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.[8] 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.

The American indie rock band, The Killers, performed the song in a livestream in August 2020, which Davies later called, "the most impressive" cover he'd seen.[9]

Background[]

John Oates created the falsetto backing vocals as one of the first parts of the song, which took Iva Davies by surprise, because he was used to adding backing vocals as a finishing touch. Davies said the title was inspired by the 1970 T. Rex song "Jewel", which contained the verse, "Her eyes electric blue." Davies said, "I was taken by the description of a girl's eyes as 'electric blue'."[3]

Music video[]

Icehouse lead singer Iva Davies in the 1987 video for the song "Electric Blue".

The music video for "Electric Blue" was shot on the roof of the New South Wales Teachers Federation building at 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia. The actress featured in the video is Paris Jefferson who also features in the Icehouse music video, "Crazy".

It was directed by John Jopson.

Track listing[]

Australian release (7")[]

  1. "Electric Blue"
  2. "Over My Head"

Australian release (12")[]

  1. "Electric Blue" (Extended mix)
  2. "Electric Blue" (7" version)
  3. "Electric Blue" (Dub Version Mix)
  4. "Over My Head"

UK release (12")[]

  1. "Electric Blue" (Extended Mix)
  2. "Electric Blue" (Dub Mix)
  3. "Over My Head"

UK (CD single)[]

  1. "Electric Blue" (Extended Mix)
  2. "Crazy" (Manic Mix)
  3. "Over My Head"

US (12")[]

  1. "Electric Blue" (Extended Mix)
  2. "Electric Blue" (Dub Mix)
  3. "Electric Blue" (Instrumental);
  4. "Electric Blue" (ST Edit)

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1987–88) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 83
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 53
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 7
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 36
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 10

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] 8
Chart (1988) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[18][19] 77

References[]

  1. ^ "Australian Music Report No. 682 – 17 August 1987 > Singles: New Releases". Australian Music Report. Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via Imgur.com.
  2. ^ "APRA search engine". APRA. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. ELECTRIC BLUE
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Interview with Iva Davies of Icehouse". Kickin' it Old School. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown". Triple M. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  6. ^ "Billboard Music Charts - Search Results - Icehouse". Billboard. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  7. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 15 November 1987.
  8. ^ "Meltdown credits". allmusic guide. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  9. ^ Adams, Cameron (8 October 2020). "Iva Davies says The Killers' cover of Icehouse favourite Electric Blue is 'the most impressive ever'". Herald Sun. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Icehouse – Electric Blue" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Icehouse – Electric Blue". Top 40 Singles.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  14. ^ "Icehouse Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Icehouse Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Icehouse Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report. Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via Imgur.com.
  18. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 100 (52): Y-20. 24 December 1988.
  19. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1988". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
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