Electric Blue (Icehouse song)

"Electric Blue" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of US band Hall & Oates.^[2] Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name, then it would have been a Hall & Oates track.^[3]

"Electric Blue"
"Electric Blue" Australian release
Single by Icehouse
from the album Man of Colours
B-side	"Over My Head"
Released	31 August 1987 (1987-08-31)
Studio	EMI 301 (Sydney)
Genre	Synth-pop[1]
Length	4:23
Label	Regular Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Iva Davies John Oates
Producer(s)	David Lord
Icehouse singles chronology
"Crazy" (1987) "Electric Blue" (1987) "My Obsession" (1987)
Music videos
"Electric Blue" on YouTube

"Electric Blue" was released in August 1987 as the second single from Icehouse's fifth studio album, Man of Colours (1987). It was issued through Regular Records in Australia and through Chrysalis Records in Europe and North America. In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7-inch blue vinyl. It is played regularly on Australian radio stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.^[4]

"Electric Blue" reached number one on the Australian Music Report, number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 10 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart, and number four on New Zealand's RIANZ Singles Chart. In the United Kingdom, where the song was released in April 1988, it stalled at number 53 on the UK Singles Chart the following month.

Background

John Oates created the falsetto backing vocals as one of the first parts of the song, which took Iva Davies by surprise, because he was used to adding backing vocals as a finishing touch. Davies said the title was inspired by the 1970 T. Rex song "Jewel", which contains the verse, "Her eyes electric blue". Davies said, "I was taken by the description of a girl's eyes as 'electric blue'."^[3]

Music video

The music video for "Electric Blue" was shot on the roof of the New South Wales Teachers Federation building at 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia. The actress featured in the video is Paris Jefferson,^[5] who also appeared in the music video for Icehouse's previous single, "Crazy".

Remixes and covers

A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.^[6] Electropop group Ming and Ping recorded a cover as a track on their 2014 album "The Light of Day/The Darkness of Night". American indie rock band the Killers performed the song in a livestream in August 2020, which Davies later called "the most impressive" cover he'd seen.^[7]

Track listings

7-inch and US cassette single[8][9] A. "Electric Blue" B. "Over My Head" Australian 12-inch and cassette single[10][11] "Electric Blue" (12-inch) "Electric Blue" (7-inch) "Electric Blue" (dub version mix) "Over My Head"

UK 12-inch single[12] A1. "Electric Blue" (extended mix) – 7:32 B1. "Electric Blue" (dub mix) – 5:03 B2. "Over My Head" – 3:48 UK CD single[13] "Electric Blue" (extended mix) "Crazy" (Manic mix) "Over My Head"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987–1988) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 83 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[18] 53 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 7 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[20] 36 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] 10

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position Australia (Australian Music Report)[22] 8 Chart (1988) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 89 US Billboard Hot 100[24][25] 77

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Australia	31 August 1987	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl cassette	Regular	[26]
United Kingdom	18 April 1988	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD	Chrysalis	[27]

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (15 January 2022). "Rock 'n Soul Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
2. "APRA search engine". APRA. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. ELECTRIC BLUE
3. "Interview with Iva Davies of Icehouse". Kickin' it Old School. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
4. "Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown". Triple M. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
5. "Simply 80's". Bitchute.com. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
6. "Meltdown credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
7. Adams, Cameron (8 October 2020). "Iva Davies says The Killers' cover of Icehouse favourite Electric Blue is 'the most impressive ever'". Herald Sun. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
8. Electric Blue (Australian 7-inch single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. K-389.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Electric Blue (US cassette single sleeve). Icehouse. Chrysalis Records. 1987. VST 43201.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Electric Blue (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. X-14508.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Electric Blue (Australian cassette single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. C 14508.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Electric Blue (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Icehouse. Chrysalis Records. 1987. CHS 12 3239.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. Electric Blue (UK CD single liner notes). Icehouse. Chrysalis Records. 1987. CHSCD 3239.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8946." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
16. "Icehouse – Electric Blue" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Icehouse – Electric Blue". Top 40 Singles.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
19. "Icehouse Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
20. "Icehouse Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
21. "Icehouse Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
22. "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report. Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via Imgur.
23. "Top 100 Singles of '88". RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 9.
24. "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. 24 December 1988. p. Y-20.
25. "Billboard Top 100 – 1988". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
26. "Australian Music Report No. 682 – 17 August 1987 > Singles: New Releases". Australian Music Report. Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via Imgur.
27. "New Singles". Music Week. 16 April 1988. p. 8.