Cars and Girls

"Cars and Girls"
Single by Prefab Sprout
from the album From Langley Park to Memphis
B-side "Vendetta"
"Nero the Zero" (12" single only)
Released February 1988
Recorded 1988
Genre Pop, rock
Length 4:27
Label Kitchenware - SK 35
Writer(s) Paddy McAloon
Producer(s) Paddy McAloon
Prefab Sprout singles chronology
"Johnny Johnny"
(1986)
"Cars and Girls"
(1988)
"The King of Rock 'N' Roll"
(1988)

"Cars and Girls" is a single released by the British rock group Prefab Sprout in 1988.[1] It was the first single taken from their album of that year, From Langley Park to Memphis. The single reached number 44 in the UK Singles Chart, and spent five weeks in that listing.[2] It is one of their best-known songs, despite its comparatively low chart placing.

The song is a critique of Bruce Springsteen's perceived limited subject matter in his songs.[3] McAloon suggests that Springsteen's worldview is too restricted and that "some things hurt more, much more, than cars and girls". Ironically, the song's popularity is partly due to it being misinterpreted as a "driving song", leading it to appear on compilation albums such as Summer Cruisin' and Top Gear (a spin-off from the BBC Television motoring show of the same name).

References

  1. "Overview by Jason Ankeny". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 433. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 760. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.