Sunglasses at Night
| "Sunglasses at Night" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Corey Hart | ||||
| from the album First Offense | ||||
| A-side | "Sunglasses at Night" | |||
| B-side | "At the Dance" | |||
| Released | January 21, 1984 | |||
| Format |
7" Vinyl 12" Vinyl | |||
| Recorded | London, 1983 | |||
| Genre | New wave, soft rock | |||
| Length |
5:20 (LP version) 3:53 (7" version) | |||
| Label | EMI America (U.S.) | |||
| Writer(s) | Corey Hart | |||
| Producer(s) |
Jon Astley Phil Chapman | |||
| Corey Hart singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Sunglasses at Night" is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released in January 1984 as the first single from his debut album, 1984's First Offense, and became a hit single in the United States, rising to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1984. The song combines an unflagging synthesizer hook, characteristic arpeggio, rock guitar and cryptic lyrics. AllMusic has since described it as "an instant classic with its distinctive melody and catchy chorus."[1]
According to co-producer Phil Chapman, during recording sessions they were working in a studio where the air conditioning-heating vents were above the mixing console that blew air right in their faces while recording the album. Because of that they started to wear sunglasses in the control room. Corey was working on a new song without words and started improvising lyrics that included the line "I wear my sunglasses at night".
Music video
The music video, directed by Rob Quartly, shot at the Don Jail in Toronto, reflects the vision of a "fashion" police state, with scenes of Hart in a prison cell, without sunglasses, being strong-armed by police officers and paraded past various citizens wearing their regulation shades. Near the end of the video, Hart is taken to the office of a female police officer (who releases Hart in the song's end), played by Laurie Brown, who later became the host of The NewMusic as well as a VJ on MuchMusic.[2]
Charts
Peak positions
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 16 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] | 24 |
| Germany (Media Control Charts)[5] | 21 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] | 48 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
Cover Versions
Considered as one of the new wave influenced classics of the early 1980s[8] the tune inspired several artists and remixers especially from Europe as there are:
- 2001: Tiga feat. Zyntherius
- 2008: VooDoo & Serano
- 2009: Skepta
- 2013: Blind Passengers
References
- ↑ Simon Cantlon. "First Offense". AllMusic.
- ↑ "Laurie Brown". Internet Movie Database.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 134. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
- ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada".
- ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Corey Hart – Sunglasses at Night (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Corey Hart – Sunglasses at Night" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Corey Hart – Sunglasses at Night". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ allmusic.com