Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2693 Date: 04/19/1986
Debut: 95
Peak: 9
Weeks: 21
Genre: Synthpop, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: The 80s started off well for the classic rock band with their #1 album Long Distance Voyager and its two Pop Top 20 hits. Yet the Moodies still had not had a Pop Top 10 single since 1972's "Nights in White Satin" (#2), which had actually first been a failed single in 1967. For their twelfth studio album The Other Side of Life, the band wanted to keep their sound current and brought in producer Tony Visconti (of David Bowie fame) to help shape their music for the mid-80s. With a more synth-based, programmed sound, the band released this first single. The nostalgic tune wasn't an immediate hit debuting low on the Pop chart, but then a clever video started gaining attention on MTV and the song began climbing the chart. It would eventually reach the Pop Top 10 while hitting #1 at AC and #2 Rock. After a 14-year wait and 22 years after their first ("Go Now," #10, 1964), the Moodies finally grabbed their third Top 10 hit.
ReduxReview: This is a lovely tune written by the band's lead singer Justin Hayward and even though it sounds a bit dated now, the synth-led production was just right for it at the time. The song is well-written with great melodies and it stands on its own, but I do think the video had quite a bit to do with the song's success. It had a nostalgic storyline that was effective and even a bit moving. It did play like a 4-minute mini-movie. Billboard would even name it their Video of the Year. The tone of the song and the theme of the video married well and it hit all the right buttons for many folks. It was a well-deserved late-career Top 10 for the band.
ReduxRating: 9/10
Trivia: The video featured a flashback to what appeared to be the early days of the The Moody Blues. The guys who portrayed the younger band members were actually a UK mod revival band called Mood Six. They formed in 1981 and the following year signed with EMI. A couple of singles were issued that went nowhere and the band was dropped. They would go on and issue a few albums for some indie labels, but the band never really hit the big time. The main claim to fame would be their appearance in the Moody Blues video. However, their first single "Hanging Around," would end up being covered by US artist Toni Basil. The song would not appear on her debut album Word of Mouth in the US, but it did make it on to the UK version of the LP. It was also the b-side to her single "Mickey" there as well. The song would see the light of day in the US on the 1994 compilation The Best of Toni Basil: Mickey and Other Love Songs.
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