| "Hot Child in the City" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Nick Gilder | |
| from the album City Nights | |
| Released | 1978 |
| Recorded | October 1978 |
| Genre | Pop rock |
| Length | 3:09 |
| Writer(s) | Nick Gilder |
"Hot Child in the City" is a pop rock ode to runaways from the album City Nights. It was recorded by Nick Gilder and it went to number one both in Canada (October 14, 1978) and in the United States (October 28, 1978). It was not his first number one single: as the lead singer of the glam rock band Sweeney Todd, he had hit #1 in Canada on June 26, 1976 (in the RPM listing) with the single "Roxy Roller", which remained at the top for three weeks.[1][2][3] He won 2 Juno Awards in Canada and a People's Choice Award in the US. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits it held the record for taking the longest amount of time to reach number one.
Despite the song's innocent and catchy pop stylings, the tune is based on Gilder's experiences witnessing child prostitution. "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher – in the guise of an innocent pop song."[4]
Sex and the City has an episode named after and also featuring the song.
The song was covered by London on their 1990 album Playa Del Rock.