Two Tribes: Difference between revisions
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=June 2012}} | {{Use British English|date=June 2012}} | ||
{{Infobox song | {{Infobox song | ||
| name = Two Tribes | | name = Two Tribes | ||
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* [[Sarm West]] (London) | * [[Sarm West]] (London) | ||
| venue = | | venue = | ||
| genre = {{hlist|[[Hi-NRG]]<ref>{{cite web|first= Paul |last= Lester |author-link= Paul Lester |url= http://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=486 |title= Revolutions per minute – The Power of Love |website= [[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |publisher= [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] |access-date= 31 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="80s disco">{{cite web|website=[[Evening Standard]]|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/box-of-sin-album-gay-1980s-highenergy-disco-b1109604.html|title=Only one kind of music makes clubbers dress up like this|last=Flynn|first=Paul|date=28 September 2023}}</ref><ref name=wapo/>|[[disco]]<ref name="80s disco"/><ref name=wapo>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title='Pleasuredome': Little Pleasure|date=3 November 1984|last=Brown|first=Joe|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1984/11/04/pleasuredome-little-pleasure/a7542692-128d-4162-9ee9-3f1970493c3f/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=[[The New York Times]]|title=THE POPLIFE; FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD|date=14 November 1984|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/14/arts/the-poplife-frankie-goes-to-hollywood.html}}</ref>|[[synth-pop]]<ref name="Weisbard & Marks 1995">{{cite book|editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |year=1995 |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=155}}</ref><ref name= "Marsh 1989">{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]]|isbn=0-452-26305-0|page=450}}</ref>}} | | genre = {{hlist|[[New pop]]<ref name="Now That's What I Call New Pop!">Harvel, Jess. [http://pitchfork.com/features/article/6139-now-thats-what-i-call-new-pop/?page=3 "Now That's What I Call New Pop!".] ''[[Pitchfork Media]]''. 12 September 2005.</ref>|[[Hi-NRG]]<ref>{{cite web|first= Paul |last= Lester |author-link= Paul Lester |url= http://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=486 |title= Revolutions per minute – The Power of Love |website= [[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |publisher= [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] |access-date= 31 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="80s disco">{{cite web|website=[[Evening Standard]]|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/box-of-sin-album-gay-1980s-highenergy-disco-b1109604.html|title=Only one kind of music makes clubbers dress up like this|last=Flynn|first=Paul|date=28 September 2023}}</ref><ref name=wapo/>|[[disco]]<ref name="80s disco"/><ref name=wapo>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title='Pleasuredome': Little Pleasure|date=3 November 1984|last=Brown|first=Joe|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1984/11/04/pleasuredome-little-pleasure/a7542692-128d-4162-9ee9-3f1970493c3f/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=[[The New York Times]]|title=THE POPLIFE; FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD|date=14 November 1984|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/14/arts/the-poplife-frankie-goes-to-hollywood.html}}</ref>|[[synth-pop]]<ref name="Weisbard & Marks 1995">{{cite book|editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |year=1995 |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=155}}</ref><ref name= "Marsh 1989">{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]]|isbn=0-452-26305-0|page=450}}</ref>}} | ||
| length = 3:56 <br> 3:23 (edit) | | length = 3:56 <br> 3:23 (edit) | ||
| label = [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] {{small|(ZTAS 3)}} | | label = [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] {{small|(ZTAS 3)}} | ||
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}} | }} | ||
"'''Two Tribes'''" is an [[anti-war song]] by British band [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]], released in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] by [[ZTT Records]] on 4 June 1984.<ref name="ChartArchive.org">{{cite news|url=http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1984/24%20-%2016%20Jun%20Record%20Mirror%20Singles.jpg|title=Record Mirror|date=16 June 1984}}</ref> The song was later included on the album ''[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome]]''. Presenting a [[Nihilism|nihilistic]], gleeful lyric expressing enthusiasm for [[nuclear war]], it juxtaposes a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff inspired by American funk and [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] pop with influences of Russian classical music, in an opulent arrangement produced by [[Trevor Horn]]. | "'''Two Tribes'''" is an [[anti-war song]] by British band [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]], released in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] by [[ZTT Records]] on 4 June 1984.<ref name="ChartArchive.org">{{cite news|url=http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1984/24%20-%2016%20Jun%20Record%20Mirror%20Singles.jpg|title=Record Mirror|date=16 June 1984}}</ref> The song was later included on the album ''[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome]]''. Presenting a [[Nihilism|nihilistic]], gleeful lyric expressing enthusiasm for [[nuclear war]], it juxtaposes a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff inspired by American funk and [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] pop with influences of Russian classical music, in an [[opulent]] arrangement produced by [[Trevor Horn]]. | ||
The single was a phenomenal success in the UK, helped by a wide range of [[remix]]es and supported by an advertising campaign depicting the band as members of the [[Red Army]]. It entered the [[UK Singles Chart]] at number one on 10 June 1984, where it stayed for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group's previous single "[[Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song)|Relax]]" climbed back up the charts to number two.<ref name="www.number-ones.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.number-ones.co.uk/Frankie-Goes-To-Hollywood-number-ones/Two-Tribes.html|publisher=number-ones.co.uk | The single was a phenomenal success in the UK, helped by a wide range of [[remix]]es and supported by an advertising campaign depicting the band as members of the [[Red Army]]. It entered the [[UK Singles Chart]] at number one on 10 June 1984, where it stayed for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group's previous single "[[Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song)|Relax]]" climbed back up the charts to number two.<ref name="www.number-ones.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.number-ones.co.uk/Frankie-Goes-To-Hollywood-number-ones/Two-Tribes.html|publisher=number-ones.co.uk | ||
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==Title and lyrics== | ==Title and lyrics== | ||
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2026}} | |||
The single was released at a time when the [[Cold War]] had [[Cold War (1979–85)|intensified]] and fears about global [[nuclear warfare]] were at a peak. Although Johnson would attest in a 1984 radio interview that the "two tribes" of the song potentially represented any pair of warring adversaries (giving the examples of "[[cowboy]]s and [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]] or [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] and [[Klingon]]s"), the line "On the air America/I modelled shirts by Van Heusen" is a clear reference to then [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. Reagan had advertised for [[Phillips Van Heusen]] in 1953 (briefly reviving the association in the early 1980s). The title of his first film had been ''[[Love Is on the Air]]''. | The single was released at a time when the [[Cold War]] had [[Cold War (1979–85)|intensified]] and fears about global [[nuclear warfare]] were at a peak. Although Johnson would attest in a 1984 radio interview that the "two tribes" of the song potentially represented any pair of warring adversaries (giving the examples of "[[cowboy]]s and [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]] or [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] and [[Klingon]]s"), the line "On the air America/I modelled shirts by Van Heusen" is a clear reference to then [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. Reagan had advertised for [[Phillips Van Heusen]] in 1953 (briefly reviving the association in the early 1980s). The title of his first film had been ''[[Love Is on the Air]]''. | ||
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American magazine ''[[Cash Box]]'' called it "a more scintillating anti-war track than ["[[The War Song]]"]", saying it is "both an effective dance cut and a piece of modern art."<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-10-20.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814200503/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-10-20.pdf |archive-date=2020-08-14 |url-status=live|date=October 20, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-26|page=9}}</ref> Richard Harris from ''[[New Musical Express|NME]]'' wrote, {{"'}}Two Tribes' is a fine example of why over-production is a musical virtue, not least when it ceases to be a pop song and tries to [[disco]]-ise [[Tchaikovsky]]."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Harris|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53008798379/|title=Long Play|magazine=[[New Musical Express|NME]]|date=30 October 1993|page=28|access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref> | American magazine ''[[Cash Box]]'' called it "a more scintillating anti-war track than ["[[The War Song]]"]", saying it is "both an effective dance cut and a piece of modern art."<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-10-20.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814200503/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-10-20.pdf |archive-date=2020-08-14 |url-status=live|date=October 20, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-26|page=9}}</ref> Richard Harris from ''[[New Musical Express|NME]]'' wrote, {{"'}}Two Tribes' is a fine example of why over-production is a musical virtue, not least when it ceases to be a pop song and tries to [[disco]]-ise [[Tchaikovsky]]."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Harris|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53008798379/|title=Long Play|magazine=[[New Musical Express|NME]]|date=30 October 1993|page=28|access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref> | ||
== | ==Release== | ||
ZTT | [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] released "Two Tribes" on 4 June 1984, with the 7-inch single including "One February Friday" as its B-side.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2 June 1984 |title=New Singles |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1984/Music-Week-1984-06-02.pdf |access-date=12 April 2026 |magazine=[[Music Week]] |page=14 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> "One February Friday" was an interview between Morley and the group's three musicians, [[Mark O'Toole (musician)|Mark O'Toole]], [[Brian Nash (musician)|Brian Nash]] and [[Peter Gill (FGTH drummer)|Peter Gill]], over an otherwise untitled instrumental track. A similar track had been included on the B-side of "[[Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song)|Relax]]", with the title "One September Monday". The principal B-side to the original 12-inch single was a cover version of "[[War (Edwin Starr song)|War]]", which became the subject of an extended remix (subtitled "Hidden") on the single's third UK 12-inch release, where it was promoted as a [[double A-side]] with "Carnage".{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} | ||
The original cover art featured a Soviet mural of [[Vladimir Lenin]] in St Petersburg, and images of Reagan and then-[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]. The sleeve notes, attributed to ZTT's [[Paul Morley]], dispassionately reported details of the relative nuclear arsenals of each [[superpower]]. | ZTT aggressively marketed the single in terms of its political angle, promoting it with images of the group wearing American military garb in combat, as well as [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style army uniforms set against an American urban backdrop. The UK [[cassette single]] featured a cut-together combination of "Surrender", "Carnage" and "Annihilation", plus Reagan snippets and interview sections not included on any other release.{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} | ||
The original cover art featured a Soviet mural of [[Vladimir Lenin]] in St Petersburg, and images of Reagan and then-[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]. The sleeve notes, attributed to ZTT's [[Paul Morley]], dispassionately reported details of the relative nuclear arsenals of each [[superpower]].{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} | |||
==Videos== | |||
The [[Godley & Creme]]-directed video depicted a wrestling match between then-US President [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Konstantin Chernenko]], then Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in front of group members and an assembly of representatives from the world's nations. The match eventually degenerates into global destruction. Certain violent moments ("Reagan" is seen, for example, biting "Chernenko's" ear) were edited from the version shown on [[MTV]]. | |||
A longer version of the video (based on the "Hibakusha" mix) included an introductory, heavily [[Film editing|edited]] monologue by [[Richard Nixon]] taken from an ad from his 1960 US Presidential campaign ("No ... firm diplomacy ... No ... peace for America and the world"), plus similar contributions from other world leaders, including [[Lord Beaverbrook]], [[Yasser Arafat]] and [[John F. Kennedy]]. The complete soundtrack to the extended video was eventually released as "Two Tribes (Video Destructo)" on the German version of the ''[[Twelve Inches]]'' compilation. A third version of the video, included on the band's ''From An Wasteland to an Artificial Paradise'' VHS, retains the introduction, but omits most of the inserted clips in the main wrestling sequence. | |||
==Personnel== | ==Personnel== | ||
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Since 1984, "Two Tribes" has been re-issued several times, generally involving third-party remixes bearing little relation to the original releases in terms of either structure or character. | Since 1984, "Two Tribes" has been re-issued several times, generally involving third-party remixes bearing little relation to the original releases in terms of either structure or character. | ||
==Charts== | ==Charts== | ||
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| 20 | | 20 | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop | !scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1984|title=Jaaroverzichten 1984|publisher=Ultratop|access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> | ||
| 2 | | 2 | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| 14 | | 14 | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope="row"|New Zealand ( | !scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ)<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Selling Singles of 1984|website=Official NZ Music Charts.com. Recorded Music New Zealand Limited|url= https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1984-12-31|access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref> | ||
| 12 | | 12 | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| 4 | | 4 | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope="row"|US Dance | !scope="row"|US Hot Dance/Disco (''Billboard'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=Top Dance Songs of 1984|url=https://www.musicvf.com/songs.php?page=year&year=1984&tab=dancesongchartstab&sort=pointsup&filter=all|access-date=17 July 2020|website=www.musicvf.com}}</ref> | ||
| 34 | | 34 | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope="row"|West Germany ( | !scope="row"|West Germany (Media Control)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1984|title=Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts 1984|language=de|publisher=[[GfK Entertainment]]|access-date=26 February 2022}}</ref> | ||
| 10 | | 10 | ||
|} | |} | ||
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{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Two Tribes|award=Platinum|certyear=1984|relyear=1984|id=7837-1960-1|salesamount=1,580,000|salesref=<ref name="guardian nov2012"/>|access-date=29 November 2019}} | {{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Two Tribes|award=Platinum|certyear=1984|relyear=1984|id=7837-1960-1|salesamount=1,580,000|salesref=<ref name="guardian nov2012"/>|access-date=29 November 2019}} | ||
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}} | {{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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{{Frankie Goes to Hollywood}} | {{Frankie Goes to Hollywood}} | ||
{{Jon Stevens}} | {{Jon Stevens}} | ||
{{Music about nuclear war}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
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[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]] | [[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]] | ||
[[Category:ZTT Records singles]] | [[Category:ZTT Records singles]] | ||
[[Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles]] | |||