Wouldn't It Be Good

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"Wouldn't It Be Good"
Wouldnt It Be Good.jpg
Single by Nik Kershaw
from the album Human Racing
B-side"Monkey Business"
Released6 January 1984
RecordedSummer 1983
Genre
Length
  • 4:32 (album version)
  • 4:29 (single version)
  • 6:50 (extended version)
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)Peter Collins
Nik Kershaw singles chronology
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
(1983) 		"Wouldn't It Be Good"
(1984) 		"Dancing Girls"
(1984)

"Wouldn't It Be Good" is a song by British singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was released one month prior to his debut studio album Human Racing. The release was Kershaw's second single, and features the non-album track "Monkey Business" as the B-side, which was also released as a bonus track on the 2012 re-release of the album.

Background & Recording[]

"Wouldn't It Be Good" was the second single from Kershaw's debut solo album Human Racing and turned out to be among his more popular single releases. It spent three weeks at number four on the UK charts and became a hit throughout Europe, as well as a top 10 hit in Canada and Australia. Kershaw is also most closely associated with this song in the U.S., where it narrowly missed going Top 40. Kershaw performed this song at Live Aid in London's Wembley Stadium in July 1985.

Kershaw's first single from this album had failed to be a major hit, and it was on the strength of this recording's success that the earlier single, "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", was promoted for a re-release. This time the single went all the way to #2 in the UK, becoming his highest-charting single there to date but not the most known[according to whom?].

Kershaw remembers that this was one of the last songs he wrote for the Human Racing album, firstly mapping out the chords on a keyboard. However, the aggressive guitar sound he wanted led to a clash in harmonics and therefore the result sounded rather unpleasant. Thus he decided to create a kind of "guitar orchestra", inspired by work of Queen's Brian May, where the notes were separated into single lines and harmonies.[1] Kershaw elaborates on the layering of the guitar lines:

I think I’m playing fifths in one go. But some of the more subtle notes just didn’t work, so I think I did about four takes of each note, so there were a lot of takes, and this was all on analogue tape, obviously. We then bounced them all together to make that one sound.[1]

According to Kershaw, there were about 20 guitars on this song alone, and there was a bit of trouble in trying to get the other instruments being overdubbed (such as bass and keyboards) in tune with the guitars.[2]

The main synth riff was produced using a combination of PPG Wave 2.2 and a Yamaha DX7.[3]

Release[]

"Wouldn't It Be Good" was released in a single version and an extended 12" version. A remix by Simon Boswell, clocking in at 7:20, appears on the album Retro:Active 4: Rare & Remixed.

In 1985, "Wouldn't It Be Good" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Gotcha.

Music video[]

The music video for "Wouldn't It Be Good", which features Kershaw cast as an alien visitor who observes the characteristics of the people around him, was directed by graphic designer Storm Thorgerson,[4] was released in 1984 and received heavy rotation on MTV, which helped the song reach No. 46 on the US charts. It used chroma key technology to achieve the alien suit's special effects. The music video was filmed in mid-January 1984 over a period of three days, primarily in and around St. James' Court Hotel, London. The closing scenes were recorded at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, near Cambridge.[5][6]

According to Kershaw, the song was about "always wanting it better than everyone else", a concept which the director of the video further developed and integrated into the video plot of Kershaw being the alien who steps into other people's shoes. But in the end the alien realises that it wasn't such a good idea at all, and decides to return to his home planet.[5]

Track listings[]

7" single
  1. "Wouldn't It Be Good" — 4:35
  2. "Monkey Business" — 3:28
12" maxi
  1. "Wouldn't It Be Good" (special extended mix) — 6:50
  2. "Monkey Business" — 3:28

Charts and certifications[]

Cover versions[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b O'Neill, Eamon (June 2017). "Nik Kershaw". Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ^ Webb, Nick (January 1986). "Nik Kershaw: Recording Secrets". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. ^ "The Official Nik Kershaw Website". Nikkershaw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Wouldn't It Be Good (1984)". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Nik Kershaw Picture Show". It.kershaw.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Nik Kershaw". The London Salad. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 165. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA from mid 1983 until 19 June 1988.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Radio 2 Top 30". Top 30 (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6753." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  12. ^ CHART NUMBER 1429 – Saturday, May 19, 1984 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  13. ^ "Lescharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wouldn't It Be Good". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Hit Parade Italia". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 11, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Lista Przebojów Programu 3" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  21. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts K". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  25. ^ "Billboard May 26. 1984" (PDF). Billboard. New York, NY, USA. 26 May 1984. p. 60. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  26. ^ "Billboard June 16, 1984" (PDF). Billboard. New York, NY, USA. 16 June 1984. p. 18. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  27. ^ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JUNE 2, 1984 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 October 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  28. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  29. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9638." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts 1984". GfK Entertainment Charts (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  31. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - I singoli più venduti del 1984". FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  32. ^ "Podsumowanie roku 1984 na LP3" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  33. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1984". Swiss Singles Chart (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  34. ^ 1984 in British music#Best-selling singles
  35. ^ "British single certifications – Nik Kershaw". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 October 2016. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Nik Kershaw in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. ^ "Juliane Werding auf Platz 7 der Trendcharts von Music Control". OpenPR.de (in German). 14 January 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  37. ^ Green, Thomas (6 August 2012). "Interview: 10 Questions for Nik Kershaw". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  38. ^ Allen, Jeremy (9 June 2017). "The 'Pretty In Pink' Soundtrack Was a Gateway to Alt-Pop and Proletarian Revolution". Noisey. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  39. ^ "Obati Kerinduan, Tommy Page Konser di Jakarta Mei 2015". SINDOnews.com (in Indonesian). 27 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
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