Two tribes
| Two tribes | |
|---|---|
| Frankie Goes to Hollywood | |
| publication | May 28, 1984 |
| length | 3:54 ("Cowboys And Indians") 4:10 ("We Don't Want To Die") 3:46 ("Surrender") 3:23 ("For the Victims of Ravishment") 9:10 ("Annihilation ") 7:56 (" Carnage ") 6:38 (" Hibakusha ") |
| Genre (s) | Hi-NRG , New Wave |
| Author (s) | Peter Gill , Holly Johnson , Brian Nash , Mark O'Toole |
| album | Welcome to the Pleasuredome |
Two Tribes (German: Zwei Stämme ) was the second single by the British band Frankie Goes To Hollywood and was considered the second part of the single trilogy planned by the record label ZTT Records , which was to deal with the topic of "war". Produced by Trevor Horn , the piece is also included in a modified form ("For the Victims of Ravishment", German for the victims of rape ) on the double album "Welcome To The Pleasuredome".
history
Creation and publication
The song title goes back to a quote from the film Mad Max II - The Executor : “When two great warrior tribes go to war” (German: When two great warrior tribes go to war ). "Two Tribes" was released on May 28, 1984 at the height of the Cold War and highlighted the fear of nuclear war. In a 1984 radio interview, singer Holly Johnson stated that the "Two Tribes" could potentially represent any pair of fighting opponents. In an interview, Johnson said:
“There are two elements in the music - an American funk line and a Russian line. It's the most obvious demonstration of two tribes that we have today. "
“There are two elements in music: an American funk line and a Russian line. It is the most obvious evidence of the two tribes we have today. "
The line “On the air America / I modeled shirts by Van Heusen” also refers to the then US President Ronald Reagan , who advertised the Phillips-Van Heusen fashion group in 1953 and made his film debut in the film “Love Is On The Air” .
The title is characterized by a constantly driving, pumping bassline and the accompanying hectic guitar riff in combination with the commentary excerpts from the episodes "Actions After Warnings" and "Casualties" of the English " Protect and Survive " civil protection information films from the early 1980s and the orchestral arrangements by Anne Dudley .
An early version of the piece was recorded on November 24, 1982 by Anthony Pugh for the BBC's Peel Sessions . This version, aired on December 2, 1982, already clarified the basic structure of the title, including the idiosyncratic introduction, characteristic bassline, rhythm arrangement and the middle eight sections that already existed before producer Trevor Horn made further edits.
Commercial win
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"Two Tribes" was very successful from the start. In Great Britain , the single was able to maintain its position at number 1 for nine weeks, while its predecessor " Relax " also rose to number 2 again during this time. "Two Tribes" was the longest in the top spot of the British sales hit parade in the 1980s, but still lagged behind "Relax" in overall sales. In Germany, the title remained at number 1 for a week (from July 27 to August 2, 1984) and also reached number 1 in the Netherlands and New Zealand .
In the United States, however, the single failed to repeat the success of "Relax" and only reached number 43.
Remix versions
"Annihilation"
With "Annihilation" (Engl .: destruction ) subtitled version was the first of three remix released variants from the year of publication and continues aggressively with aggressive and oppressive sound collages and quotations on the theme of fear of war apart. The version begins with the typical wailing sound of a British siren from World War II . Another feature of this version is the pronounced right-left arrangement of the percussion effects . Explain the topics on the "Protect and Survive" episodes, how to deal with members who by fallout have come ( "Fallout") died. They were re-recorded for the remix by the actor Patrick Allen , while the original sound was used for the 7 "versions. The language sequences, which allegedly originate from the Hitler putsch trial and from Ronald Reagan, come especially in the" Annihilation "version on a larger scale, voiced by actor Chris Barrie .
"Carnage"
The "Carnage" version (English: Massaker ) has string sequences, extended instrumental passages and more pronounced dynamics much more musical than the recently published aggressive "Annihilation" and follows the usual instrumental-vocal scheme of previous 12 "releases by the band the place of speech passages from the English Civil Defense information film "Protect and Survive" occur excerpts of Patrick Allen, the (ger .: as "the last voice" the last voice ) were known.
"Hibakusha"
The " Hibakusha " version was created as a limited edition with a significantly changed timbre for the Japanese market and is based on the "Annihilation" mix. The speech sequences have been replaced by sound collages that have parallels to early recordings of The Art of Noise . The survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known as "Hibakusha" .
Music video
The music video for "Two Tribes" was produced by Godley & Creme , who also directed. The video shows a wrestling match between the then head of state Ronald Reagan and Konstantin Ustinowitsch Tschernenko , which ended in the total destruction of the world.
Cover versions
In the following years, some remix versions were created, among others by 808 State , Fluke , Apollo 440 , Intermission or Rob Searle, which were shaped according to the musical zeitgeist.
- 1984: James Last
- 1992: SNAP! (Do You See the Light (Looking For))
- 1997: The London Symphony Orchestra
- 1999: Think About Mutation
- 2000: Ferry Corsten
- 2001: Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers (Ultimate 80s Party)
- 2002: Ron Thomas
- 2003: D! Nation
literature
- B. Graves, S. Schmidt-Joos, B. Halbscheffel: The new rock lexicon . Rowohlt, Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-499-16352-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Neil Tennant: Frankie Goes To Hollywood in the war game. In: Smash Hits . April 26, 1984, accessed January 1, 2011 .
- ↑ BBC - Radio 1: Peel Sessions 24/11/1982. Retrieved October 26, 2012 .
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US