Men Without Hats "The Safety Dance"

chendagam wrote: Just heard another song that radio uses the LP version over the 45: Phil Collins in the air tonight.

Not in the day they didn't though (at least in Southern Ontario and Western New York). Only AOR and rock FM stations played the "Face Value" version. Most CHR stations played the 45-rpm edit with the drums mixed through.


Edited by Jody Thornton

I never really cared for the longer "Safety Dance" version (although I did hear it on the radio at the time). IMO, this is
a case of the short version getting right to the point and nailing it (same goes for "Tainted Love").

I agree with Paul on Safety Dance. For some reason, Men Without
Hats just clicked for me and I became a huge fan and they are still in
my top 5 for favorite all-time bands. Having said that I think the single
mix is far superior. It has a much fuller sound leaving the LP version
rather dry in comparison. I don't really care if they spell out "safety" or
not.

Paul Haney wrote: I never really cared for the longer "Safety Dance" version (although I did hear it on the radio at the time). IMO, this is a case of the short version getting right to the point and nailing it (same goes for "Tainted Love").

I can see your point on Safety Dance. I agree with Hykker that without the "Where Did Our Love Go" part of Tainted Love, the song wouldn't have lasted so long on the charts as it did. I never heard Tainted Love without Where Did Your Love go at any time. The two are tied together for me in that one song.

I remember in the summer of '83 it was anyone's guess what version of "The Safety Dance" and Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" would be played on the
radio in my area. I'm pretty sure I heard the longer "Safety Dance" on the radio more often, and when I finally heard the shorter version I was
surprised because it seemed too short and it didn't seem right without the spelling of "Safety" in it. Even to this day, I rarely listen to the
shorter version.

Same exact thing with "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". At least one station here played the longer 12" Version, and I assumed that was the regular LP/45 Version
until I heard the shorter 2 1/2 minute version. I didn't know until years later that the longer version I'd heard was actually a 12" version. Hearing
the shorter version never sounded quite right to me, which is why I rarely ever listen to it now, like the shorter "Safety Dance".

"Tainted Love" happened a little different in my area. As I remember it, the shorter version was the only one that was played for awhile, and then
suddenly they started playing the version with "Where Did Our Love Go" attached to it. From that point on, I don't think the shorter version was ever
played again and I grew to love the medley version much more. When I started collecting CD's in the late 80's, the medley seemed to be impossible to
find on CD. I think the first comp I ever had with the medley contained the 12" Version running almost 9 minutes. That was OK, but I preferred the
shorter medley I'd always heard up to that point. I think it was mid-90's when it finally showed up on the Rhino Hard Rock Cafe CD. I didn't know
until later that the short medley was only on a Promo 45 up to that point, which probably explained why it was so hard to find on CD at the time. I
agree with Rich that the inclusion of "Where Did Our Love Go" helped its longevity on the charts, although it was only ever listed as "Tainted Love"
during its entire chart run. I assume that had something to do with the medley only being available on a Promo 45, and the requirement being that a
song had to be commercially available as a single in order to chart.