Cambodia (song)
| "Cambodia" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Kim Wilde | |||||||
| from the album Select | |||||||
| B-side | "Watching For Shapes" | ||||||
| Released | 2 November 1981 | ||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | ||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop, synthpop, New Wave | ||||||
| Length |
3:56 (7" Version) 7:13 (Album Version, including "Reprise") | ||||||
| Label | RAK | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Ricky Wilde, Marty Wilde | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Ricky Wilde | ||||||
| Kim Wilde singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
"Cambodia" is the fourth single by British singer Kim Wilde. It was released at the end of 1981; a year in which Wilde had already scored three highly successful hit singles and a best-selling debut album.
The single was another international success, topping the charts in France, Sweden and Switzerland and hitting the Top 10 in several other nations. In France alone it sold one million copies.[1] It was released on the 7" format but also as a 12" single in Germany, although not in a remixed or extended version. The B-side of both releases was an exclusive non-album track called "Watching For Shapes".
"Cambodia" was later included on Wilde's second original album, Select and was followed by a more uptempo, instrumental version of the song with the title "Reprise".
Musically and lyrically, "Cambodia" showed a change in direction for Wilde from the New Wave feel of her debut album. The song was mainly synth-driven, with oriental-sounding percussion. The lyrics, telling the story of the wife of a Thailand-based airforce pilot, who mysteriously disappears after flying out to Cambodia and never returns, are inspired by some of the tragedies that occurred in South Vietnam. In writing the lyrics, Marty Wilde imagined an American pilot flying in a F-4 Phantom II and getting shot down by a surface-to-air missile. In fact, the "Reprise" track was originally intended to include sound of jet engines followed by the sound of a rocket blowing the Phantom up, but the sleeve of the single showed a cartoon featuring helicopters, so these sounds had to be replaced.[citation needed]
12" (Germany) RAK 052-64632
A. Cambodia (3:56)
B. Watching For Shapes (3:42)
Chart performance
| Chart (1981/2) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 12 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Sweden | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Netherlands | 5 |
| South Africa | 2 |
| Norway | 3 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Belgium | 4 |
| Australia | 7 |
| Ireland | 15 |
Cover versions
- German DJ Pulsedriver released a cover of the song in 2001 and a remake in 2013.
- One shot Belgian trance project Nobody released a cover of the song in 2003.
- In 2004, the Italodance project Brothers released a b-side to the single "Memories", called "This Is" and based on the song's music.
- Apoptygma Berzerk's 2005 album You and Me Against the World includes a cover version of the song.
- The Swedish Death'N'Roll band Hearse released a cover of the song in 2004 on their album Armageddon, Mon Amour.
- An Italian house remix of the song was featured in the 2005 compilation album by Gigi D'Agostino, Disco Tanz.
- The German dance group Scooter covered the song on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World. Jumpstyle artist Vorwerk also covered this song.
- In 2008 Serbian punk rock band Six Pack recorded a version on their cover album Discover.
- In 2009 Dutch DJ Marco V released a track called Coma Aid incorporating a re-recorded version of the song's main synthesizer tune.
References
- ↑ "Les Meilleures Ventes Tout Temps de 45 T. / Singles". Infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved 2012-09-09.
