"Satisfaction Guaranteed" by The Firm

Song#:  2305
Date:  05/04/1985
Debut:  90
Peak:  73
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The British supergroup scored a #1 Rock track right out of the gate with "Radioactive," the first single from their self-titled debut album. The song did a little business at Pop getting to #28. For a follow-up, this next track was selected. Once again, it did well at Rock entering the Top 10 and peaking at #4. Pop listeners didn't bite this time and the single remained near the bottom quarter of the chart for a few weeks. The airplay popularity of the two songs helped to get the album to gold-level sales.

ReduxReview:  I'm not sure why, but based on the title I wasn't expecting an after-hours rock ballad like this, so it threw me for a bit of a loop. In a good way though. I like the sultry chorus and the whole feel of the song. I could imagine driving down a dark road on a hot summer night with the windows down and this coming on the radio. In general, it's not really a great single nor is it all that memorable, but I dig its vibe.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  It's a bit rare for two artists to share the same name. Especially if they are from the same country. Many artists have had to change their name or alter them due to potential lawsuits from other same-name artists or entities, such as the UK's Yazoo having to become Yaz in the US due to issues with the US-based label Yazoo. However, in the 80s there existed two artists called The Firm. The first Firm was not really a band, but a novelty studio act headed up by songwriters John O'Connor and Grahame Lister. The pair wrote and recorded "Arthur Daley ('e's Alright)," which was a song based on a character from the British TV show Minder. It was a bit of a left-field hit when released as a single getting to #14 on the UK chart. A couple of years later, Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page formed their rock supergroup under the same name. Apparently, neither party cared about having the name in common or certain agreements were reached. Whatever it was, after the rock group disbanded in '86, O'Connor and Lister revived the Firm name when they recorded and released the novelty song "Star Trekkin'." The Star Trek parody and its associated claymation video were a sensation in the UK and the single ended up hitting #1 for two weeks in '87. While the tune got some attention in the US at the time, it didn't fully catch on and failed to chart. It would become more well-known when Dr. Demento featured it on his radio show and album compilation.

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