Eighties (song): Difference between revisions

"Eighties"
"Eighties"
Single by Killing Joke
from the album Night Time
B-side	"The Coming Mix"
Released	April 1984
Genre	Post-punk; new wave; gothic rock;
Length	3:51
Label	E.G.
Songwriter(s)	Jaz Coleman; Paul Ferguson; Paul Raven; Kevin Walker;
Producer(s)	Killing Joke; Chris Kimsey;
Killing Joke singles chronology
Music video
	"Eighties" on YouTube

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"Eighties" is the lead single from English post-punk band Killing Joke's fifth studio album, Night Time (1985), produced by Chris Kimsey. The song had been premiered during a three track live performance for UK TV show The Tube in December 1983.^[1] Upon its release, the single reached No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart.

A short snippet of "Eighties" was the opening theme to the 2002 sitcom That '80s Show. It was used for a party scene in the 1985 movie Weird Science. It is also used as the theme song for the Investigation Discovery series The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade. It was also used as the music at the closing credits of Season 1, Episode 6, "Bent", of The Lincoln Lawyer.

Reception

A retrospective review of AllMusic said: "Guitarist Geordie Walker shines on "Eighties," playing cyclical and repetitive riffs, each one a variation or inversion of the song's main theme, and each one a hook unto itself".^[2]

Release

The studio version was released in April 1984 by E.G. Records as a 12-inch and 7-inch single. The 12-inch single A-side featured the track "Eighties (Serious Dance Mix)" with "Eighties" and "Eighties (The Coming Mix)" as B-sides. The 7-inch single exempted the "Serious Dance Mix" and instead, featured "Eighties" as the A-side. Also, the 7-inch single was sold with a bonus 7-inch single of "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)".

Music video

The official 1984 music video to "Eighties" was directed by Anthony Van Den Ende,^[3] and shows the band performing the song while frontman Jaz Coleman stands in front of a microphone stand which has the U.S. flag draped over it. Behind him the flag of the Soviet Union can be seen. Their performance is intercut with stock footage of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Leonid Brezhnev (with the footage deliberately skipping), Anwar Sadat, Pope John Paul II, Ruhollah Khomeini, Konstantin Chernenko and John DeLorean. Other footage shows a space shuttle being launched, nuclear bomb explosion, a female bodybuilding contest, a group of punks at a concert in Hammersmith, book burnings, Beatles albums being burned after the "bigger than Jesus" comment and a dog wedding.^[3]

Conflict with Nirvana

The song "Come as You Are", by American grunge band Nirvana, featured a riff similar to "Eighties". Nirvana and their management company, Gold Mountain, were unsure about releasing the song as a single from their 1991 studio album, Nevermind. Danny Goldberg, head of Gold Mountain, later revealed that "we couldn't decide between 'Come as You Are' and 'In Bloom.' Kurt [Cobain] was nervous about 'Come as You Are' because it was too similar to a Killing Joke song but we all thought it was still the better song to go with. And, he was right, Killing Joke later did complain about it".^[4] Nirvana biographer Everett True wrote that "Come as You Are" was eventually chosen for release as a single because "Goldberg favoured the more obviously commercial song".

After Nirvana released the single in 1992, members of Killing Joke claimed the main guitar riff of "Come as You Are" plagiarized the riff of "Eighties", but according to Rolling Stone magazine, they did not file a copyright infringement lawsuit because of "personal and financial reasons".^[4] However, conflicting reports, such as Kerrang!, have stated differently.

Cobain's death in 1994 effectively dissolved Nirvana and the conflict with Killing Joke.^[5] If there was a lawsuit filed as Kerrang! claimed, it was either thrown out of court,^[6] or it was dropped to take the burden off the remaining members of Nirvana and their management. However, the court that supposedly took the case was not named and many doubted that Killing Joke ever filed a lawsuit against Nirvana.^[7]

An interview with Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker that same year^[8] confirmed the possibility of a lawsuit along these lines, thus proving that the claim by Kerrang! was not fabricated. Walker stated:

We were very pissed off about that, but it's obvious to everyone. We had two separate musicologists' reports saying it was. Our publisher sent their publisher a letter saying it was and they went 'Boo, never heard of ya!', but the hysterical thing about Nirvana saying they'd never heard of us was that they'd already sent us a Christmas card!

Nine years later, in 2003, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl took a leave of absence from his current band, the Foo Fighters, to record drums for Killing Joke's second self-titled album. The move surprised some Nirvana fans, given Nirvana's past conflict with Killing Joke. However, Foo Fighters had previously recorded a cover of another Killing Joke song, "Requiem", as a B-side to their 1997 single "Everlong."

AllMusic writer Bill Janovitz reviewed "Eighties", comparing and contrasting "Come as You Are" and "Eighties":^[2]

While 'Eighties' unflinchingly displays the band's aggressive punk rock roots—cold and hard to mirror the socio-political message—it also embraces dance-music grooves and a certain sort of melodic sensibility. One main, perhaps, crucial difference between the bands is that while Kurt Cobain practiced whisper-to-a-scream vocal dynamics, Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman was almost always full-on in his approach, with a terrifying growl of a voice that is similar to that of Motörhead's Lemmy.

However, The Big Takeover magazine's Jack Rabid reported that Captain Sensible's "Life Goes On", recorded by The Damned for their 1982 album, Strawberries, "features the exact same, extremely unique riff as both 'Eighties' and 'Come as You Are'".^[9] Coleman and Paul Ferguson separately claimed to have no knowledge of this.^[10]^[9]

Track listings

7-inch vinyl single

Side A

"Eighties" – 03:35

Side B

"Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33

12-inch vinyl single

Side A

"Eighties (Serious Dance Mix)" – 06:02

Side B

"Eighties" – 03:35
"Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak Position
UK Singles (OCC)^[11]	60

References

^ "The Tube - Killing Joke live on The Tube ( Channel Four UK television)". Youtube. 16 December 1983. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b Janovitz, Bill. "Song Review-Eighties". AllMusic. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
^ ^a ^b Pitalo, Stephen (20 March 2012). "Director Recalls Shooting "Eighties" Video For Killing Joke: "They Were a Frightening Band"". The Golden Age of Music Video. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (10 April 2003). Nirvana Pay Back Killing Joke. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
^ History Link biog of Cobain retrieved 12 December 2008
^ "Conspiracy of Two". Kerrang!. 12 April 2003
^ "Interview with Killing Joke's Geordie". BBC. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
^ Slater, Tim. "Killing Joke interview". Guitarist. December 1994.
^ ^a ^b Rabid, Jack. "What's This For? More Revelations from Jaz Coleman". The Big Takeover. Issue 54, Summer 2004. Archived here Archived 7 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Smith, Alex (4 September 2004). Interview with Big Paul Ferguson. Flaming Pablum. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.

External links

"Eighties" at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] "The Tube - Killing Joke live on The Tube ( Channel Four UK television)". Youtube. 16 December 1983. Retrieved 2 January 2019.

[allmusic-2] Janovitz, Bill. "Song Review-Eighties". AllMusic. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.

[Gold.Age_of_MV-3] Pitalo, Stephen (20 March 2012). "Director Recalls Shooting "Eighties" Video For Killing Joke: "They Were a Frightening Band"". The Golden Age of Music Video. Retrieved 22 October 2018.

[RS-4] Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (10 April 2003). Nirvana Pay Back Killing Joke. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.

[5] History Link biog of Cobain retrieved 12 December 2008

[6] "Conspiracy of Two". Kerrang!. 12 April 2003

[7] "Interview with Killing Joke's Geordie". BBC. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.

[8] Slater, Tim. "Killing Joke interview". Guitarist. December 1994.

[TBT-9] Rabid, Jack. "What's This For? More Revelations from Jaz Coleman". The Big Takeover. Issue 54, Summer 2004. Archived here Archived 7 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.

[FP-10] Smith, Alex (4 September 2004). Interview with Big Paul Ferguson. Flaming Pablum. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.

[sc_UK_Killing_Joke-11] "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.

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@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | recorded   =
 | studio     =
-| genre      = [[Post-punk]]
+| genre      = *[[Post-punk]]
+*[[new wave music|new wave]]
+*[[gothic rock]]
 | length     = 3:51
 | label      = [[E.G. Records|E.G.]]
-| writer     = {{hlist|[[Jaz Coleman]]|[[Paul Ferguson]]|[[Paul Raven (musician)|Paul Raven]]|[[Geordie Walker|Kevin Walker]]}}
+| writer     = * [[Jaz Coleman]]
+* [[Paul Ferguson]]
+* [[Paul Raven (musician)|Paul Raven]]
+* [[Geordie Walker|Kevin Walker]]
-| producer   = {{hlist|Killing Joke|[[Chris Kimsey]]}}
+| producer   = * Killing Joke
+* [[Chris Kimsey]]
 | prev_title = [[Me or You? (song)|Me or You?]]
 | prev_year  = 1983
@@ Line 23: / Line 29: @@
 | next_year  = 1984
 | misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|x1U1Ue_5kq8|"Eighties"}}}}
-  {{Extra album cover
- | header  = 7-inch release
- | type    = single
- | cover   = Eighties_7"_A_1984.jpg
- | border  =
- | alt     =
- | caption = ''Eighties Side A Inner Sleeve''
-}}
-  {{Extra album cover
- | header  =
- | type    = single
- | cover   = Eighties_7"_B_1984.jpg
- | border  =
- | alt     =
- | caption = ''Eighties Side B Inner Sleeve''
-}}
 }}
+"'''Eighties'''" is the [[lead single]] from English [[post-punk]] band [[Killing Joke]]'s fifth studio album, ''[[Night Time (album)|Night Time]]'' (1985), produced by [[Chris Kimsey]]. The song had been premiered during a three track live performance for UK TV show ''[[The Tube (1982 TV series)|The Tube]]'' in December 1983.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zETNFX-s6Q4&t=219s "The Tube - Killing Joke live on The Tube ( Channel Four UK television)"]. Youtube. 16 December 1983. Retrieved 2 January 2019.</ref> Upon its release, the single reached No. 60 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].
+A short snippet of "Eighties" was the opening theme to the 2002 sitcom ''[[That '80s Show]]''. It was used for a party scene in the 1985 movie ''[[Weird Science (film)|Weird Science]]''. It is also used as the theme song for the [[Investigation Discovery]] series ''The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade''. It was also used as the music at the closing credits of Season 1, Episode 6, "Bent", of ''[[The Lincoln Lawyer (TV series)|The Lincoln Lawyer]]''.
-"'''Eighties'''" is the [[lead single]] from English [[post-punk]] band [[Killing Joke]]'s fifth studio album, ''[[Night Time (album)|Night Time]]'' (1985), produced by [[Chris Kimsey]]. The song had been premiered during a three track live performance for UK TV show ''[[The Tube (TV series)|The Tube]]'' in December 1983.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zETNFX-s6Q4&t=219s "The Tube - Killing Joke live on The Tube ( Channel Four UK television)"]. Youtube. 16 December 1983. Retrieved 2 January 2019.</ref> Upon its release, the single reached No. 60 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].
+==Reception==
-A short snippet of "Eighties" was the opening theme to the 2002 sitcom ''[[That '80s Show]]''. It was used for a party scene in the 1985 movie ''[[Weird Science (film)|Weird Science]]''. It is also used as the theme song for the [[Investigation Discovery]] series ''The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade''. It was also used as the music at the closing credits of Season 1, Episode 6, "Bent", of ''[[The Lincoln Lawyer (TV series)|The Lincoln Lawyer]]''.
+A retrospective review of [[AllMusic]] said: "Guitarist [[Geordie Walker]] shines on "Eighties," playing cyclical and repetitive riffs, each one a variation or inversion of the song's main theme, and each one a hook unto itself".<ref name="allmusic" />
 ==Release==
@@ Line 50: / Line 41: @@
 ==Music video==
 The official 1984 music video to "Eighties" was directed by Anthony Van Den Ende,<ref name="Gold.Age of MV"/> and shows the band performing the song while frontman [[Jaz Coleman]] stands in front of a microphone stand which has the [[Flag of the United States|U.S. flag]] draped over it. Behind him the [[flag of the Soviet Union]] can be seen. Their performance is intercut with [[stock footage]] of [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Leonid Brezhnev]] (with the footage deliberately skipping), [[Anwar Sadat]], [[Pope John Paul II]], [[Ruhollah Khomeini]],  [[Konstantin Chernenko]] and [[John DeLorean]]. Other footage shows a space shuttle being launched, nuclear bomb explosion, a female bodybuilding contest, a group of punks at a concert in [[Hammersmith]], book burnings, [[The Beatles|Beatles]] albums being burned after the "[[bigger than Jesus]]" comment and a dog wedding.<ref name="Gold.Age of MV">{{cite web|url=http://goldenageofmusicvideo.com/director-recalls-shooting-%E2%80%9Ceighties%E2%80%9D-video-for-killing-joke-%E2%80%9Cthey-were-a-frightening-band%E2%80%9D/|title=Director Recalls Shooting "Eighties" Video For Killing Joke: "They Were a Frightening Band"|date=20 March 2012|last=Pitalo|first=Stephen|work=The Golden Age of Music Video|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref>
@@ Line 60: / Line 50: @@
 Cobain's [[Suicide of Kurt Cobain|death]] in 1994 effectively dissolved Nirvana and the conflict with Killing Joke.<ref>[http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3263 History Link biog of Cobain] retrieved 12 December 2008</ref>  If there was a lawsuit filed as ''Kerrang!'' claimed, it was either thrown out of court,<ref>"Conspiracy of Two". ''[[Kerrang!]]''. 12 April 2003</ref> or it was dropped to take the burden off the remaining members of Nirvana and their management. However, the court that supposedly took the case was not named and many doubted that Killing Joke ever filed a lawsuit against Nirvana.<ref>"[https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/music/2003/07/24/killing_interview.shtml Interview with Killing Joke's Geordie]". [[BBC]]. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.</ref>
-An interview with Killing Joke guitarist [[Geordie Walker]] that same year<ref>Slater, Tim. "Killing Joke interview". ''[[Guitarist (magazine)|Guitarist]]''. December 1994.</ref> confirmed the possibility of a lawsuit along these lines, thus proving that the claim by ''Kerrang!'' was not fabricated. Walker stated:
+An interview with Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker that same year<ref>Slater, Tim. "Killing Joke interview". ''[[Guitarist (magazine)|Guitarist]]''. December 1994.</ref> confirmed the possibility of a lawsuit along these lines, thus proving that the claim by ''Kerrang!'' was not fabricated. Walker stated:
 {{cquote|We were very pissed off about that, but it's obvious to everyone. We had two separate musicologists' reports saying it was. Our publisher sent their publisher a letter saying it was and they went 'Boo, never heard of ya!', but the hysterical thing about Nirvana saying they'd never heard of us was that they'd already sent us a Christmas card!}}
@@ Line 68: / Line 58: @@
 [[AllMusic]] writer [[Bill Janovitz]] reviewed "Eighties", comparing and contrasting "Come as You Are" and "Eighties":<ref name="allmusic">Janovitz, Bill. "[{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t968420|pure_url=yes}} Song Review-Eighties]". ''[[AllMusic]]''. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.</ref>
-{{cquote|While 'Eighties' unflinchingly displays the band's aggressive punk rock roots — cold and hard to mirror the socio-political message — it also embraces dance-music grooves and a certain sort of melodic sensibility. One main, perhaps, crucial difference between the bands is that while Kurt Cobain practiced whisper-to-a-scream vocal dynamics, Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman was almost always full-on in his approach, with a terrifying growl of a voice that is similar to that of [[Motörhead]]'s [[Lemmy]].}}
+{{cquote|While 'Eighties' unflinchingly displays the band's aggressive punk rock roots—cold and hard to mirror the socio-political message—it also embraces dance-music grooves and a certain sort of melodic sensibility. One main, perhaps, crucial difference between the bands is that while Kurt Cobain practiced whisper-to-a-scream vocal dynamics, Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman was almost always full-on in his approach, with a terrifying growl of a voice that is similar to that of [[Motörhead]]'s [[Lemmy]].}}
-However, ''[[The Big Takeover]]'' magazine's [[Jack Rabid]] reported that [[Captain Sensible]]'s "Life Goes On", recorded by [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]] for their 1982 album, ''[[Strawberries (album)|Strawberries]]'', "features the exact same, extremely unique riff as both 'Eighties' and 'Come as You Are'".<ref name="TBT">Rabid, Jack. "What's This For?  More Revelations from Jaz Coleman". ''[[The Big Takeover]]''. Issue 54, Summer 2004. [http://www.anirrationaldomain.net/articles/current/bigtakeover54.html Archived here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907215824/http://www.anirrationaldomain.net/articles/current/bigtakeover54.html |date=7 September 2007 }}.</ref> Coleman and [[Paul Ferguson]] separately claimed to have no knowledge of this.<ref name="FP">Smith, Alex (4 September 2004). [http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2006/03/interview_with_.html Interview with Big Paul Ferguson]. ''[[Flaming Pablum]]''. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.</ref><ref name="TBT" />
+However, ''[[The Big Takeover]]'' magazine's [[Jack Rabid]] reported that [[Captain Sensible]]'s "Life Goes On", recorded by [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]] for their 1982 album, ''[[Strawberries (album)|Strawberries]]'', "features the exact same, extremely unique riff as both 'Eighties' and 'Come as You Are'".<ref name="TBT">Rabid, Jack. "What's This For?  More Revelations from Jaz Coleman". ''[[The Big Takeover]]''. Issue 54, Summer 2004. [http://www.anirrationaldomain.net/articles/current/bigtakeover54.html Archived here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907215824/http://www.anirrationaldomain.net/articles/current/bigtakeover54.html |date=7 September 2007}}.</ref> Coleman and [[Paul Ferguson]] separately claimed to have no knowledge of this.<ref name="FP">Smith, Alex (4 September 2004). [http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2006/03/interview_with_.html Interview with Big Paul Ferguson]. ''[[Flaming Pablum]]''. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.</ref><ref name="TBT" />
 ==Track listings==
 === 7-inch vinyl single ===
-;Side A
+'''Side A'''
-#"Eighties" – 03:35
+# "Eighties" – 03:35
-;Side B
+'''Side B'''
-#"Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33
+# "Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33
 ===12-inch vinyl single===
-;Side A
+'''Side A'''
-#"Eighties (Serious Dance Mix)" – 06:02
+# "Eighties (Serious Dance Mix)" – 06:02
-;Side B
+'''Side B'''
-#"Eighties" – 03:35
+# "Eighties" – 03:35
-#"Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33
+# "Eighties (The Coming Mix)" – 03:33
 ==Charts==
 {|class="wikitable"
-!Chart (1984)
+! Chart (1984)
-!Peak<br />Position
+! Peak<br />Position
 |-
 {{Singlechart|UK|60|artist=Killing Joke|song=Eighties|date=1984-04-07}}
@@ Line 101: / Line 90: @@
 ==External links==
-* {{discogs master|16742|type=single}}
+* {{discogs master|type=single|16742}}
 {{Killing Joke}}
@@ Line 107: / Line 96: @@
 {{authority control}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Eighties}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Eighties (Song)}}
 [[Category:1984 singles]]
 [[Category:1984 songs]]

v t e Killing Joke
Jaz Coleman Paul Ferguson Youth Paul Raven Geordie Walker Dave Kovacevic Martin Atkins Dave "Taif" Ball John Bechdel Nick Holywell-Walker Geoff Dugmore Troy Gregory Dave Grohl Ted Parsons Ben Calvert Reza Udhin
Studio albums	Killing Joke What's THIS For...! Revelations Fire Dances Night Time Brighter Than a Thousand Suns Outside the Gate Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions Pandemonium Democracy Killing Joke Hosannas from the Basements of Hell Absolute Dissent MMXII Pylon
EPs	Turn to Red Lord of Chaos
Live albums	Ha BBC in Concert The Courtauld Talks ...No Way Out but Forward Go (Love Like Blood) The Peel Sessions 1979–1981
Compilation albums	Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!
Singles	"Nervous System" "Wardance" "Change" "Requiem" "Follow the Leaders" "Empire Song" "Chop-Chop" "Birds of a Feather" "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)" "Me or You?" "Eighties" "A New Day" "Love Like Blood" "Kings and Queens" "Adorations" "Sanity" "America" "My Love of This Land" "Money Is Not Our God" "Change: Spiral Tribe Mix" "Exorcism" "Pandemonium"
Related articles	Discography Niceland Brilliant Pigface Murder, Inc. The Damage Manual Transmission
Category:Killing Joke