Victoria (Dance Exponents song)

"Victoria" is a song by New Zealand rock band The Exponents from their 1982 album Prayers Be Answered and their debut single. Released in 1982 it reached Number 6 on the New Zealand singles chart.^[1] The song was selected by a panel of New Zealand songwriters to have been the #8 top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.

Background

"Victoria" was inspired by Luck's landlady in Christchurch (with the name Victoria used as a pseudonym). She successfully ran an escort agency but lived with an abusive man: Luck questioned her relationship with the line "What do you see in him?".

Victoria was 23 and earned [sic] the whole apartment block. She was a hard worker. And yes, she read Alvin Toffler. But we'd wake up in the morning and she'd be bruised because her boyfriend was beating her up.

— Jordan Luck, New Zealand Herald^[2]

The band moved to Auckland before the release of the song. After the single became a success, Luck visited 'Victoria' in Christchurch and was happy to find that she not only loved the song but had also split from her abusive boyfriend.^[3]

Music video

The video was funded by the New Zealand Broadcasting Association but, unusually for the time, included a story rather than just a studio performance. Shot in the band's hometown of Christchurch, it features Jordan Luck as "Victoria's" taxi driver.^[4]

Alternate Versions

The recording of "Victoria" on the Prayers Be Answered album differs from the original single. Another version was also included on the 1985 Amplifier album.

References

External links

• Victoria Music Video (New Zealand On Screen)
• Victoria - the evolution of a great pop song, Radio New Zealand

See also

• Nature's Best