music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Electric Blue" is a song 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]

"Electric Blue"
"Electric Blue" Australian release
Single by Icehouse
from the album Man of Colours
B-side	"Over My Head"
Released	31 August 1987 (1987-08-31)[1]
Studio	EMI Studios 301 (Sydney)
Genre	Pop rock new wave
Length	4:23
Label	Regular Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Iva Davies John Oates
Producer(s)	David Lord
Icehouse singles chronology
"Crazy" (1987) "Electric Blue" (1987) "My Obsession" (1987)

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

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

References

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