Backfired
| "Backfired" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Debbie Harry | ||||||||||
| from the album 'Koo Koo' | ||||||||||
| Released | July 1981 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||||||||
| Genre | New Wave, Dance rock | |||||||||
| Label | Chrysalis Records | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards | |||||||||
| Debbie Harry singles chronology | ||||||||||
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Backfired is the debut solo single from the American singer-songwriter and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her Gold-selling debut solo album KooKoo.
Song information
Despite Blondie having two number one singles ("The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and a top 10 album (Autoamerican) within the previous twelve months, "Backfired" failed to make a significant impact on any of the charts, peaking at #32 in the UK. On the U.S. charts, "Backfired" peaked at number forty-three, where it was Harry's highest charting solo single on the Billboard Hot 100. It crossed over to Black radio and peaked at number seventy-one on the Soul charts.[1] On the dance charts, "Backfired" peaked at number twenty-nine.[2] The single managed to become a hit in only a few other countries such as Sweden and Australia.
In an attempt to distinguish herself as a solo artist, Harry's image upon the single's release was quite different from her established image with Blondie. She had dyed her hair darker and had a new sci-fi inspired look, as seen in the music video for the song directed by H.R. Giger, who appeared in the video wearing a mask and mimes the male back-up vocals on the song.
Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the Chic Organisation who had just produced a huge hit album for Diana Ross, "Backfired" further developed Harry's experimentation with dance music as seen in some of Blondie's material (the Chic-inspired "Rapture" having been a No. 1 hit for them earlier the same year), this time delving more into funk music.
The 7" edit of "Backfired" appears on the Chrysalis Records/EMI compilation Most of All - The Best of Deborah Harry. A remix of the track by Bruce Forrest and Frank Heller was included on the 1988 Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation Once More into the Bleach. The original extended 12" mix from 1981 appears as a bonus track on both the 1994 and 2005 CD re-issues of the album Koo Koo.
Track listing
7"
- "Backfired" (7" Edit) (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards) - 3:34
Listen (help·info) - "Military Rap" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:47
12"
- "Backfired" (12" Mix) (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards) - 6:23
- "Military Rap" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:47
Chart positions
| Chart (1981) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US | 43 |
| UK | 32 |
| Australia | 23 |
| Sweden | 16 |
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 247.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 118.
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