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| prev_title = China
| prev_title = China
| prev_year = 1982
| prev_year = 1982
| title = Dance Hall Days
| title = Dance Hall Days
| year = 1982
| year = 1982
| next_title = [[Don't Let Go (Wang Chung song)|Don't Let Go]]
| next_title = [[Don't Let Go (Wang Chung song)|Don't Let Go]]
| next_year = 1984
| next_year = 1984

Revision as of 19:46, 16 July 2023

"Dance Hall Days"
Single by Wang Chung
from the album Points on the Curve
B-side"Ornamental Elephant"
Released
  • 1982 (original)
  • 1983 (re-recorded version)
StudioAbbey Road Studios (London) (re-recorded version)
GenreNew wave[1]
Length3:58
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Jack Hues
Producer(s)
Wang Chung singles chronology
"China"
(1982) 		"Dance Hall Days"
(1982) 		"Don't Let Go"
(1984)
Audio sample
"Dance Hall Days"

"Dance Hall Days" is a song by the English new wave band Wang Chung. It was originally released as a single in 1982 when the band was called Huang Chung, then it was re-recorded and re-released a year later in 1983 for the studio album Points on the Curve. It was the band's only single to make the top 40 charts in the UK, narrowly missing the top 20. In the US, it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went to number one on the Dance Club Songs chart.

Background

Lead vocalist Jack Hues said,

I used to teach guitar in various schools in London, to high school kids. One afternoon someone didn't show up for a lesson and I just came up with "Dance Hall Days" – it seemed to write itself. I fiddled around with it to get the lyrics right and so on but the basic ideas – the rhythm, the "take your baby by the hand" melody, the opening chords – they all came together. The essentials of the song were there in that spare 20 minutes when the kid forgot his guitar lesson! Nick [Feldman] says when he heard it he immediately phoned David Massey, our manager, and said, "Jack's written a hit!!"[2]

Music videos

Two different music videos were made to promote the single. The first version of the video, directed by Derek Jarman,[3] is a collection of home movies with the majority of the archive footage consisting of a stage show with swimmers and fountains, and other World War II-era material. Apparently, the footage is courtesy of the director's father, who was one of the first people to use a colour home movie camera. The toddler in the home movie footage is the director himself as a child. The home movies are interspersed amid footage of Jack, Nick, and Darren, lip-synching and playing the violin. The band are also dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz (1900) at the end of the video, with Jack Hues as the Tin Man, Nick Feldman as the Scarecrow, and Darren Costin as the Lion.

The second version of the video is the most well-known, and received heavy rotation airplay at MTV.[citation needed] It is a magical fantasy concept video set in the 1940s, the heyday of dance halls. The video begins in black and white, with Jack Hues stopping in front of a closed-down hall, setting down the suitcase he carries, and picking up a flyer. The scene shifts to colour, featuring the band performing in the packed hall with the backing of a big band as couples dance (played by heavily made-up children from a local dancing school).[citation needed] Later, a disco ball descends to the floor and breaks open, allowing a mirror-covered dancer to emerge. The video ends in black and white, with Hues walking past the hall and down the street; he leaves his suitcase behind, but it sprouts legs and hurries off after him.

This version was nominated for Best New Artist at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, losing to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics.

Track listing

7" Geffen / A3837 (UK) – 1983[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Dance Hall Days"3:58
2."There Is a Nation"3:37
12" Geffen / TA3837 (UK) – 1983[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Dance Hall Days (Remix)"8:02
2."There Is a Nation"3:37
CD August Day / 042 (UK) – 2019[5]
No.TitleLength
1."Dance Hall Days (Orchestral Version)"4:22
2."Dance Hall Days (Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca Vocal Remix)"5:27
3."Dance Hall Days (Kim and Buran Disco Mix)"6:13
4."Dance Hall Days (Psychemagik Remix)"4:01
5."Dance Hall Days (Orcapella)"4:05

Charts

See also

References

  1. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Dance Hall Days – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Interview with Jack Hues of the band Wang Chung". Kickin' it Old School (Interview). 7 January 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. ^ Wymer, Rowland (2005). Derek Jarman. Manchester University Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-7190-5690-X.
  4. ^ a b c "Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  5. ^ Dance Hall Days orchestral version (liner notes). Wang Chung. Spirit Music Group. 2019. ADAY42.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 29. 21 July 1984. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ^ "Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  8. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ontario: Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896-594-13-1.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6737." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  10. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1, no. 7. 14 May 1984. p. 8.
  11. ^ "Le Détail par Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Select "Wang Chung" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dance Hall Days". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, with "Dance Hall Days" in the "Titolo" field, click "cerca". Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 16, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Wang Chung – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  20. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 21, 1984". Cashbox. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  22. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. 31 December 1984. Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  23. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. 5 January 1985. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1984". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  27. ^ "Top Dance Singles/Albums". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. 22 December 1984. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1984" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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