Tag: UK

Culture Club | Victims

Boy George & Culture Club released the ballad “Victims” in 1983. The track was a Top 10 hit throughout Europe, but wasn’t released as a single in the US, despite the fact that the band was enjoying the height of its sudden fame at that time. The associated album, Colour by Numbers, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and appeared on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Best Albums of the 1980s” list.

The intro, in Bb minor, shifts to a verse in Ab major at 0:31, then a brief chorus at 0:45 reverts to Bb minor. A long bridge (1:24 – 2:20) in Bb major then shifts to Bb minor from 2:20 to 2:39. Etc.!

Supertramp | Dreamer

The UK band Supertramp created material that’s a bit tough to categorize; their tune “Dreamer” is no exception, landing somewhere between pop tune, nursery song, and schoolyard taunt. “Dreamer,” a pop hit in two different decades (the studio version went to UK #13 in 1975; in 1980, a live version hit US #15 and Canada #1).

The tune starts in D major, dips into a gentler section in C major at 1:25, and finally returns boisterously to D major at 3:05. There are several other passing extra-key oddities here and there, as well.

Robert Palmer | Know By Now

Unlike his huge 1980s hits, pop/soul artist Robert Palmer‘s 1994 release “Know By Now” was more subtle than flashy. It reached only #25 in the UK and garnered next to no airplay in the US. Sadly, in 2003, Palmer died of a heart attack at the age of only 54. The track, which Billboard magazine reviewed as “stick(ing) to the brain after one spin,” features key changes at almost every turn. The prominent placement of the word “honey” in the lyrics (1:35, etc.) seems to be a nod to the host album’s title.

Palmer told The Canadian Press in 1994: “I happen to think that it is probably the best song I’ve written for many reasons – first of all, it’s three songs in one, in that each piece of it was a separate inspiration at a different time, not merely a reason to get from A to C.”

0:00 C# Major (intro, after a brief F# Minor key of the moment)
0:38 E Minor (verse)
1:11 C# Major (pre-chorus)
1:36 F# Minor (chorus)
1:58 E Minor (verse)
2:30 C# Major (pre-chorus)
2:55 F# Minor (chorus to end)

Thomas Dolby | Cruel

Thomas Dolby is best known for his early-80s New Wave megahit “She Blinded Me with Science.” The UK artist’s 1992 release Astronauts & Heretics featured “Cruel,” a track built around some very mysterious harmonies and Matthew Seligman‘s enigmatic fretless bass.

The main melodic fragment is stated with the first verse, by 0:06 (“Cruel … what a thing to do…”). Later, a beautifully syncopated contrasting passage by guest vocalist Eddi Reader, essentially a chorus, starts at 0:31. By 1:04, we’re at the second verse, but one-half step lower than the first. Eddi’s section, as it repeats (1:35), is also a half-step lower this time. The tune ends on a sustained Dmin7, a full step below where it began. Throughout, the largely stepwise melodies rest on a bed of off-kilter progressions and unusual inversions. It’s as if the modulations were written so that they wouldn’t stand out.

Any theory wonks care to chart this one out?

UPDATE, 6/14/21:

Dolby responded today to a post I made awhile back on a thread about this tune, featured on a Facebook group which he and his staff run. Fascinating!

Genesis | Turn It On Again

One of the singles from Duke, Genesis‘ 1980 album, “Turn It On Again” features plenty of modulations — as well as mixed meters! This album marked the band’s biggest departure from its “prog” rock origins towards its later pop-friendly material — all the while never losing its infectious harmonies. Phil Collins serves yeoman’s duty on both vocals and drums.

0:48 transitions up a half step, then back to the original key at 1:03; back up at 1:17, then back to the original key at 1:26. We start the cycle again with verse two at 1:34. Plenty of pedal point on this track, with the bass note remaining static while chords change above.

10cc | The Things We Do For Love

1977 saw a bouncy, harmonically restless pop hit by British band 10cc, “The Things We Do for Love.” The instrumental intro starts in key A; verse 1 modulates at 0:19 into Key B; another key change at the intro to verse 2 reverts back to Key A (1:15); another at the bridge (which could also be heard as an instrumental verse) into key B at 1:38; back to Key A at 2:16; and finally back to key B at 2:34.

Madness | Our House

Madness occupied a very specific corner of 1980s New Wave — a UK-based ska/pop hybrid band that that was more about the music than the era’s flashy fashions. “Our House,” released in 1982, reached top-5 status in the US, Canada, the UK, and much of Europe.

The tune cycles through piles of modulations: 0:46, 0:54, 1:10, 1:18, 1:26, 1:41, 1:49, 2:05, 2:13, 2:44, and then every four bars all the way to the end.