Buy Electric Youth here (Amazon UK)
UPDATE: Buy a 2017 7th Heaven remix of Electric Youth on Debbie's new box set, We Could Be Together, here (Amazon UK)
Hurrah for 1989 - it was a very good year for pop songs beginning with EY. There was Madonna's ebullient girl power anthem Express Yourself (but which was better - the LAP album version or the Immaculate Collection remix? Answers on twitter please!). There was also Kylie's good time girl party piece with the uplifting Enjoy Yourself. And of course there was Debbie Gibson's pop fable, Electric Youth. It was the title track of her smash 1989 album and remains one of my fave songs to this very day. It popped up on mp3 shuffle on 3 separate occasions this week after not hearing it for a while. So it's a sign, a sign I tell you, for me to give you some reasons to discover/re-discover this peppy little classic...
- Length! I was always happy that the 4m55s album version wasn't edited for the single release. It kept the whole flow of the song intact which gave the tune a certain energy and zest. It was a risky gamble not to edit it down to a more radio-friendly 3m or so, but artistic integrity won out! Hurrah. This is also directly linked to...
- It's like 3 songs in one! Those urgent verses and choruses flow together brilliantly, but then there is not one but two middle 8s that bring something new - one's a more paced down vocal pause, while the other is a frenetic musical attack (almost like someone gave the song red bull), that urges the tune to giddy heights before bringing a final chorus run through. It's exhilarating...
- Dance routine! Such an energetic song requires an energetic dance routine - and yes, I did spend hours practising it and yes I still remember it to this day. I taped her when she performed on TOTP in the UK (the song went up to #14 the week after) and watched it incessantly. And i've seen her perform it live vocally while still not missing a step. Today's younger dance routine fuelled pop strumpets owe Ms Gibson a debt of gratitude for paving the way...
- It's genre hopping goodness! While at it's heart, Electric Youth is an out and out dance-pop number, it still has audible roots in other musical influences. There's that funky r'n'b bass lick powering the song forward; the almost theatrical cabaret of those dramatic synth bursts at the end of each chorus; and all of this is underpinned by an organic, live sounding instrumental (paving the way for some mesmerising stage shows, including when she supported Bros in 2 Summer). It was layered much like one of my beloved Abba tracks and I don't think she ever got enough credit for that...
- The video! BLimey o reilly's trousers! Following on from her massive US number one, Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie got a full on set for this video. The dance routine was prominent, but so was an enormous Disney-esque castle with trumpeteers that seemed right for the pop princess of the moment...
Top 21 songs of the week:
21 ~ Jason Mraz, I Won't Give Up
20 ~ Marcus Collins/Ben L'Oncle Soul, Seven Nation Army
19 ~ Le Kid, Human Behaviour
18 ~ Christopher, Nothing in Common
17 ~ Olly Murs, Oh My Goodness (VID)
16 ~ Gravitonas, Call Your Name (NE)
15 ~ Little Jackie, 31 Flavours
14 ~ William Young, Losing Myself
13 ~ Eric Saade, Love is Calling
12 ~ Madonna, Girl Gone Wild
11 ~ fun, We Are Young
10 ~ Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe
09 ~ Nicki Minaj, Starships
08 ~ Simon Curtis, Starlight
07 ~ Stooshe, Love Me
06 ~ JLS, Proud
05 ~ Madonna, Give Me All Ur Luvin'
04 ~ Smash, Let Me Be Your Star
03 ~ Marie Serneholt, Salt and Pepper
02 ~ Darin, Nobody Knows
01 ~ Danny Saucedo, Amazing (1 week)
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