| "Pop Muzik" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by M | ||||
| from the album New York • London • Paris • Munich | ||||
| B-side | "M Factor" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||
| Genre | New Wave, synthpop, dance | |||
| Length | 3:21 | |||
| Label | MCA / EMI / Sire | |||
| Writer(s) | Robin Scott | |||
| Producer | Robin Scott | |||
| M singles chronology | ||||
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"Pop Muzik" is a 1979 hit song by M, a project by Robin Scott.
Contents |
Robin Scott describes the genesis of "Pop Muzik" this way:
I was looking to make a fusion of various styles which somehow would summarise the last 25 years of pop music. It was a deliberate point I was trying to make. Whereas rock and roll had created a generation gap, disco was bringing people together on an enormous scale. That's why I really wanted to make a simple, bland statement, which was, 'All we're talking about basically (is) pop music.[1]
The single was released in the UK first, peaking at number 2 on 12 May 1979, unable to break Art Garfunkel's 6 week stint at number 1 with "Bright Eyes". In August of that same year, it was released in North America, where it eventually climbed all the way to number one in Canada on 27 October[2] and in the U.S. on 3 November.
Along with Scott, other musicians who played on the track were his brother Julian Scott (on bass), then unknown keyboardist Wally Badarou, Canadian synthesiser programmer John Lewis (who died of AIDS in 1985) and Brigit Novik, the backing vocalist.
The single was bolstered by a promotional video that was well received in its day; the clip featured Scott as a DJ singing into a microphone from behind an exaggerated turntable setup, at times flanked by two female models who sang and danced in a robotic manner. One of the sight gags in the video depicted Brigit Novik dressed in blue who actually recorded the backup vocals which are then mimed by the models.
The single's B-side, "M Factor", was featured in two different versions. The original cut appeared on the first UK and European releases of the single, while a slightly remixed version appeared on the single released in the United States and Canada.
The image of the baby on "Pop Muzik"'s single disc pictures Robin Scott's daughter, named Berenice, actually a singer and piano/keyboard player and composer herself, and involved with his father's friend Phil Gould and Wally Badarou projects.
The subsequent full-length album New York • London • Paris • Munich was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, at Queen's Mountain Studio, using their regular engineer David Richards, as well as Julian Scott, Wally Badarou (who would later work with Level 42 and Compass Point All Stars, among others) and Brigit Novik. Additional musicians on the album included drummer Phil Gould (later of Level 42), Gary Barnacle on saxophone and flute and (at the time) local Montreux resident David Bowie, who did occasional handclaps. The album was also released in the U.S. on Sire Records (with a different track listing / order) but it was not a commercial success.
The UK 12-inch single version was notable for the A-side having a double groove such that the two tracks ("Pop Muzik" and "M Factor") both started at the outer edge of the record and finished in the middle (with a long silence at the end of "M Factor" since the track was the shorter of the two). This resulted in a random selection of the two tracks, depending on which groove the needle landed in the lead-in. To further market this idea, the UK record sleeve stated "B side included on A side, full length disco mix of Pop Musik on Seaside". 'Seaside' (in other words "C side") was a simple play on words as the letter C, apart from being the logical next "side" after the A and B sides, is pronounced the same way as the English word "sea", and "seaside" means "beside the sea".
| "Pop Muzik" | |
|---|---|
| Single by All Systems Go | |
| Format | 7" and 12" vinyl |
| Genre | Male vocal; instrumental; Pop music |
| Label | Unique Records |
A cover version by male vocal and instrumental band All Systems Go entered the UK Singles Chart on 18 June 1988. It reached a peak position of number 63, and remained in the chart for 2 weeks. [3]
Original 7" single released by MCA Records and EMI in Europe.
Single released as a 7" vinyl in the United States by Sire Records, and as a 12" vinyl in France by Pathé Marconi EMI, both featuring a longer version of the song.
12" single released in the Netherlands by MCA Records. The B-side "M Factor" was featured on the A-side of the vinyl on this release, with a remix of the title song on the B-side.
7" single released in Sweden in 1989 by Freestyle Records.
12" single released in Sweden in 1989 by Freestyle Records.
12" single released in Germany in 1989 by ZYX Records.
CD single released in Germany in 2001 by ZYX Records.
| Preceded by "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer |
Australian Kent Music Report number one single 9 July 1979 - 23 July 1979 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Some Girls" by Racey |
| Preceded by "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" by Robert Palmer |
Canadian RPM number one single October 27, 1979 - November 3, 1979 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Good Girls Don't" by The Knack |
| Preceded by "Rise" by Herb Alpert |
US Billboard Hot 100 number one single November 3, 1979 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Heartache Tonight" by Eagles |