Dancing Girls (song)
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Dancing Girls
| cover = Nik Kershaw Dancing Girls.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Nik Kershaw
| album = Human Racing
| B-side = Drum Talk, She Cries
| released = 2 April 1984
| recorded = Summer 1983
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = * Synth-pop
| length = {{ubl|3:46 (album version)|3:36 (single remix)|8:00 (extended version)}}
| label = MCA
| writer = Nik Kershaw
| producer = Peter Collins
| prev_title = Wouldn't It Be Good
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (re-issue)
| next_year = 1984
}}
"Dancing Girls" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was the third single from his debut studio album, Human Racing, and released on 2 April 1984.{{cite journal |title=Record News |periodical=NME |publisher=IPC Media |location=London, England |page=31 |date=31 March 1984}} It charted on 14 April 1984, and reaching a peak position of No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart. It stayed on the charts for nine weeks.{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 299}}
Music and lyrics
Kershaw explained the song to Number One magazine in September 1984:{{cite web
| title = The Nik Kershaw Picture Show
| url = http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/80interview.php?id=14
| publisher = It.kershaw.net
| accessdate = 2013-07-13
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112535/http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/80interview.php?id=14
| archive-date = 4 March 2016
| url-status = dead
}}
{{quote|"Dancing Girls" is about a bloke a bit down on his luck. He's got a job and everything but he's bored sick with the routine of getting up, going to work, coming home, watching the telly, going to bed ... in the end he's saying, "For God's sake, bring on the dancing girls! Let something exciting happen to me for a change." But again the idea was exaggerated.}}
In a 2012 podcast interview with Sodajerker, Kershaw remembers writing the bassline spontaneously on a Roland Juno-6 synthesizer, using the arpeggiator function, and programming a rhythm on a Roland TR-808 drum machine – it was to this musical basis that the lyrics would be written.[https://www.sodajerker.com/episode-23-nik-kershaw/ EPISODE 23 – NIK KERSHAW (2012) on Sodajerker]
Music video
The external street scenes for the music video for "Dancing Girls" were filmed in the dead-end section of Woodberry Grove, Finchley, North London. It depicted Kershaw as the subject of the song's lyrics, an advertising executive,*{{cite web
| title = Nik Kershaw - Human Racing
| url = http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/80interview.php?id=23
| publisher = It.kershaw.net
| accessdate = 2013-07-13
}} imagining himself dancing with a group of middle aged dancers, including a six foot tall traffic warden, deliberately juxtaposed against Kershaw's 5'3" (160 cm) frame. The video was intended to be light-hearted, following on from the much darker video for Kershaw's previous single, "Wouldn't It Be Good".
Track listing
7" Single (MCA NIK 3){{cite web
| url = http://it.kershaw.net/records.php?link=complete&&var=2&&pag=2
| title = Nik Kershaw Singles Discography 1984-2005
| publisher = It.kershaw.net
| accessdate = 2013-07-12
}}
: A "Dancing Girls" (Remixed Version) – 3:36
: B "She Cries" – 3:45
There were four different UK 12" releases for "Dancing Girls", all sharing the same catalogue number
Charts
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart
! Position ! Weeks in Chart |
|---|
| UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"| 13 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 |
| Irish Singles Chart{{cite web
| title = Nik Kershaw Official Charts | url = http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/nik%20kershaw/ | publisher = Official Charts Company | accessdate = 2013-07-12 }} | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 |
| German Media Control Charts
| style="text-align:center;"| 21 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 |
Critical reception
Reviewer Paul Sinclair of website "Super Deluxe Edition" said of the song:{{cite web
| url = http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/reviews/nik-kershaw-human-racing-2cd/
| title = Super Deluxe Edition: Nik Kershaw - Human Racing 2CD
| publisher = Superdeluxeedition.com
| accessdate = 2013-07-12
}}
{{quote|...third single "Dancing Girls" is an outstanding piece of pure electro/synth pop that walks in the shadow of little in that era.}}
Lisa Kalloo of Somojo2 said:{{cite web
|url=http://www.somojo2.com/index.php/reviews/item/261-nik-kershaw-human-racing.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130714223638/http://www.somojo2.com/index.php/reviews/item/261-nik-kershaw-human-racing.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2013-07-14
|title=Nik Kershaw - Human Racing
|publisher=Somojo2.com
|accessdate=2013-07-12
}}
{{quote|Dancing Girls captures the essence of teenybopping yesteryears. Is it any wonder that the likes of Eric Clapton held Nik in high esteem? Nope, because this is a classic example of British synthy-pop at its best.}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{discogs master|type=single|86805}}
{{Nik Kershaw}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dancing Girls (Song)}}
Category:Songs written by Nik Kershaw
Category:Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer)