Original release date: April 1st 1989
Billboard Hot 100 chart debut: April 1st - 7th 1989 chart
Billboard Hot 100 peak: 11
UK Singles Chart peak: 14
Buy Electric Youth on Electric Youth here (Amazon GB)
Read my anniversary celebration of Debbie's second album, Electric Youth, here
THE #EY30 PROJECT:
On January 24th 1989, Debbie Gibson's sophomore album, Electric Youth, was released. She had already won over millions of fans with her percolating debut album (Out Of The Blue) and I was already a dedicated fan. Electric Youth took her song craft and ability to create musical magic to the next level. In a year that had some truly stellar music releases (Madonna's Like A Prayer, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, Kylie Minogue's Enjoy Yourself), Electric Youth quickly cemented itself as my favourite album of the year. To celebrate its 30th anniversary I will be revisiting all four singles (plus one that absolutely should have been a single) on the anniversary of their release date as a way to revel in the timeless tunes Ms Gibson provided but also to try and put into words what these glorious songs have meant to me and my life over the years. Time has gone onto prove that this is still my very favourite album of all time - it remains eternally electric.
Electric Youth (the single):
It is a testament to both the persuasive nature of Debbie's songs and how immersed the USA was in her music that just 10 weeks after the lead single, Lost In Your Eyes, (from her second album Electric Youth) had hit the Billboard Hot 100, the title track raced out the gate to become the hot shot debut (number 62) on the April 1st 1989 chart. Former 3 week number one, Lost In Your Eyes, was still top ten on the singles charts, whilst (at time of debut) Electric Youth was ruling the album chart for a fourth (of five) week. It really felt like there was a special glow of musical magic coming from Ms Gibson's sophomore set and I for one was just happy to bask in its reflective glory. From the moment I heard the song Electric Youth I felt really connected to it on a personal level. If Lost In Your Eyes had showered hopeful glitter over the desolate moments of being a closeted gay teen (teaching me that love could exist for everyone), then Electric Youth lit a fire in my soul, inspiring me not to use my circumstances as an excuse but to turn them into fuel for achieving everything I wanted to. My mum was totally on board with the ethos of this song (particularly loving the line at the start of the video "youth has nothing to do with age"). She was a dazzling woman who fuelled my love of music, using the message of Electric Youth to lift me up and let me know I could do anything I wanted to, be anything I wanted to be. I have this really vivid memory of coming home after a really tough day at school and breaking down in front of her, telling her this was it for me. I had accepted that my life would be nothing better than people taunting me, telling me I was different and making me an outcast. She was not having it. She sat me down, put Electric Youth on and made me listen to every word. Afterwards, unflagging in her efforts to lift me up and use Debbie Gibson as the type of role model I should aspire to, she quoted the lyric "don't underestimate the power of a lifetime ahead". It was a lightbulb moment and one that she would repeat over and over again. "What shouldn't you underestimate" she would ask many times over the next few years. "The power of a lifetime ahead" I would say, resolve strengthened. It is the main reason that this remains my favourite of all the many excellent Debbie songs released.
There is so much more to love than just my personal connection to the song - I often refer to it as a Bohemian Rhapsody for a new generation. I always loved that the length wasn't edited for radio. It kept all 4 minutes and 55 seconds of horn filled, beat-laden, high-octane instrumental majesty which, in turn, ensured the whole glorious flow of the song remained intact. It was a risky gamble not to edit it down to a more radio-friendly 3 minutes or so, but artistic integrity won out and an anthem was born. I always thought how the song was constructed was really important to retain as it was always like 3 cohesive parts that lead to increasingly exhilarating rewards. 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 propels the tune to giddy heights. All of this coalesces to make that final chorus run through absolutely euphoric. And 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. It was layered much like one of those timeless ABBA tracks and I don't think she ever got enough credit for that. That's not to say it didn't race up the US charts - it may have peaked at 11 (partially because I think radio found it slightly more challenging to programme) but it was a huge sales smash (ranking top ten in sales for a couple of weeks after radio play started to die down) and reignited her chart fortunes in the UK...
By the time Electric Youth was released in the UK (on April 17th 1989), I had already shelled out for the US 12" import and several promo copies (more on what they contained in part 2 of this feature). I was rather charmed by the alternative cover art which graced the shelves of Britain's finest record emporiums - Debbie looking rather chilled out, holding her EY flag. I thought her hair looked great in this shot and it was a marked difference from the album cover (I heard Atlantic UK were concerned people would think the US single cover art was too similar and get it confused with the album). I was particularly thrilled when it debuted one position higher than Lost In Your Eyes had peaked at in the UK, rocketing up to number 21 the next week. Clearly wanting to capitalise on the buzz from this song, Debbie appeared on Top Of The Pops (see here on YouTube) to perform the song (and dance routine) with dancers Buddy and Keith. I was absolutely smitten with this performance (and still am), particularly as it, rather fortuitously, landed on television on my 15th birthday. What a gift! I had the foresight to tape it onto VHS and, in the ensuing months, lost a lot of puppy fat by incessantly practising that routine until I was as step perfect as the three folks performing it on that TOTP stage. I attribute that performance (and a healthy array of limited editions including a poster pack and picture disc) to a decent chart bump the week after (when it lingered at or around 14/15 for 3 weeks). Its success also launched the album back into the top 40 (hello yellow vinyl edition) and for those two glorious months of April and May 1989 Electric Youth mania seemed to have the nation gripped.
UK chart run: 33-21-15-14-15-26-41-65
Read part two of this post here - the video and remixes!
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