"Hot Child in the City" is a song by English-Canadian musician Nick Gilder. It was released in June 1978 as a single from the album City Nights. It went to No. 1 both in Canada (October 14, 1978) and in the United States (October 28, 1978). It was not his first No. 1 single: as the lead singer of Sweeney Todd, he had hit No. 1 in Canada on June 26, 1976 (in the RPM listing) with the single "Roxy Roller", which remained at the top for three weeks.[2][3][4] He won 2 Juno Awards in Canada and a People's Choice Award in the US. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits it held the record for taking the longest amount of time to reach No. 1. The song became a platinum record.
"Hot Child in the City" | ||||
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Single by Nick Gilder | ||||
from the album City Nights | ||||
B-side | "Backstreet Noise" | |||
Released | June 12, 1978 | |||
Recorded | October 1977 | |||
Genre | Power pop[1] | |||
Length | 3:09 (Single Version) 3:35 (Album Version) | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nick Gilder, James McCulloch | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Chapman | |||
Nick Gilder singles chronology | ||||
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Despite the song's innocent and catchy pop stylings, the tune is based on Gilder's experiences witnessing child prostitution in Los Angeles. "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher – in the guise of an innocent pop song."[5]
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
All-time charts
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![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2019) |
That’s the story that Nick Gilder attempted to tell when his panting power-popper “Hot Child In The City” randomly ascended to #1 for a single week.
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Songs |
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