"Living in a Dream" by Pseudo Echo

Song#:  3068
Date:  03/28/1987
Debut:  93
Peak:  57
Weeks:  9
Genre:  Synth Rock, New Wave



Pop Bits:  Formed by a couple of high school friends, this Australian band got a break when a demo recording of a song they did was featured on the popular music TV program Countdown. The buzz generated from it led to the band signing with EMI and a formal recording of their demo song "Listening" was released. It reached #4 on the Aussie chart. A full album titled Autumnal Park followed in the summer of '84 and reached #11. A second LP, Love an Adventure, came out in '85. It would be a platinum seller in Australia and spawn three Top 20 hits including a pair of Top 10s. With that success, it seemed like the right time to try and conquer other territories including the US. The Love an Adventure album was reconfigured for international release with RCA picking up the distribution for the US. This first single, which had hit #15 in Australia earlier in '86, was issued out. It got some minor attention reaching the Dance (#35), Rock (#44) and Pop (#57) charts. It didn't look too good for the band, but then a second single would boost their profile significantly.

ReduxReview:  This song strangely starts out like a ZZ Top track done by Duran Duran. I like the rock edge to it, but then it shifts into more of a dance-rock/new wave direction. It reminds me of fellow Aussie band The Models ("Out of Mind, Out of Sight," #37 Pop). I like the tune and it had enough hooks to make it memorable and a good single contender. It was just strange that this was selected as their first US single over their next one, a remake of "Funky Town," which had already hit #1 in Australia. Perhaps they wanted to try and establish their sound with an original rather than a cover tune. Whatever it was, it didn't work out. They were lucky that their remake was strong enough to overcome this slow start.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Back when synth keyboards and other newfangled electronic music gadgets came out, many had various "voices" and effects installed on them. There were standard sounds like piano, organ, woodwinds, strings, bass, etc. along with wacky stuff like birds, clapping, and helicopter sounds. There were also effects that could be used on the sounds such as reverb. Apparently, this Aussie band liked the name of one of the effects that was on their equipment so much that they adopted it as their moniker - Pseudo Echo.

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