The War Song
- This article is about the song by The Culture Club. For other uses, see War (disambiguation).
"The War Song" | ||||
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File:The War Song.jpg | ||||
Single by Culture Club | ||||
from the album Waking Up with the House on Fire | ||||
B-side | "La Cancion de Guerra", "La Chanson de Guerre" "Der Kriegsgesang" "Senso Hantai" |
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Released | 6 October 1984 | (US)|||
Format | 7" 12" |
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Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | New wave, reggae fusion | |||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | Virgin Records Epic Records (US) |
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Writer(s) | Roy Hay, Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Levine | |||
Culture Club singles chronology | ||||
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"The War Song" is a 1984 song by the British band Culture Club which features background vocals by Clare Torry. It was the lead single from the band's third album Waking Up with the House on Fire. The song became the group's seventh top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two.[1] In the U.S. the single peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and hit the top ten in many countries including Canada (#7), Ireland (#1), Italy (#3) and Australia (#2). While very popular at the time, it was not appreciated by some music critics for some weakness in the lyrics and less original arrangements.
The song was assisted by a popular music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy,[3] which features hundreds of children dressed as skeletons. Lead singer Boy George is shown with his new flame-red hair, and also employs four wigs in black, white, yellow and blue. The video cost more than £100,000 to make.[citation needed]
In many countries, the single was released with a B-Side consisting of a native-language version (Spanish, French, Japanese or German) of the song. It was available in two different extended versions, a first in Culture Club discography. Its 7" picture disc was shelved, and the only remaining copies are very rare.
It was Culture Club's last UK top 5 hit before 1998's "I Just Wanna Be Loved".
At the time of its release, Boy George claimed that the song was "the best thing we've ever done." However, since then he has joked about the song: "It ruined my career", mentioning often that he is not proud of this song.[citation needed] It has also been excluded from some music compilations of the band. Though not performed live by Culture Club since 1985, it was performed on New Years Eve 2011 when Culture Club reunited for a one-off gig. The band also played the song in 2014.[4] It was parodied on the satirical British TV series Spitting Image as "War Is Naughty", a reference to the main phrase of the original song's chorus ("War is stupid").
Chart
Chart (1984-1985) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 2 |
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[6] | 4 |
Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[7] | 3 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles) | 3 |
France (SNEP)[8] | 7 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] | 12 |
Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 1 |
Italy (FIMI)[11] | 3 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] | 7 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] | 5 |
Norway (VG-lista)[14] | 5 |
Spain (AFYVE)[15] | 4 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 6 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 10 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] | 2 |
US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 17 |
Track listing
7"
- Released at least in UK, USA, Australia, Spain
A. The War Song
B. La Cancion De Guerra
- Released in France and Canada
A. The War Song
B. La Chanson De Guerre
12"
- Released at least in UK, Australia, Spain, USA
A1. The War Song (Ultimate Dance Mix)
B1. The War Song (Shriek Mix)
B2. La Cancion De Guerra
References
- ↑ Chartstats.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0611683/otherworks?ref_=nmbio_sa_1
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/22/culture-club-review-boy-george-reunion
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Culture Club – The war song" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Culture Club – The war song". GfK Entertainment.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
10. The War Song - Culture Club [#3] - ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Culture Club search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Culture Club – The war song". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Culture Club – The war song". VG-lista.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Culture Club – The war song". Singles Top 60.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Culture Club – The war song". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Culture Club: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Culture Club – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Culture Club.
External links
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- Use dmy dates from June 2014
- Use British English from June 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010
- Singlechart usages for Germany2
- Singlechart usages for UKsinglesbyname
- Singlechart making named ref
- 1984 singles
- Culture Club songs
- Anti-war songs
- Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy
- 1984 songs
- Virgin Records singles
- Epic Records singles
- Song recordings produced by Steve Levine
- Songs written by Boy George
- Songs written by Roy Hay (musician)
- Songs written by Mikey Craig
- Songs written by Jon Moss
- 1980s pop song stubs