Darling It Hurts
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Darling It Hurts
| cover = PK Darling it Hurts.jpg
| alt =
| caption = 7" single
1986 AUS release (Mushroom Records)
| type = single
| artist = Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls
| album = Gossip
| B-side = Preaching to the Converted
| released = September 1986
| recorded = May 1986
| studio = Trafalgar Studios, Sydney
| genre = Rock
| length = 3:18
| label = Mushroom
| writer = Paul Kelly, Steve Connolly
| producer = Alan Thorne, Paul Kelly
| prev_title = Before Too Long
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = Leaps and Bounds
| next_year = 1987
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| header = "Darling It Hurts"
| type = single
| cover = Darling It Hurts.jpg
| border =
| alt =
| caption = 7" single
1987 US release (A&M Records)
}}
}}
"Darling It Hurts" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released in September 1986 as the second single from their first double album, Gossip. The song, written by Kelly with lead guitarist Steve Connolly, reached No. 25 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in October.{{cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|last=Kent |first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}{{cite web |url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Paul+Kelly |title=Discography Paul Kelly |publisher=Australian Charts Portal |access-date=15 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707194255/http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Paul+Kelly |archive-date=7 July 2011 |df=dmy }} It was issued in 1987 on A&M Records in the United States, where it reached No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4664/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}} |title=Paul Kelly – Charts & Awards – Billboard singles |publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation |access-date=27 August 2008}} Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. According to Allmusic's Mike Gagne, "Kelly's pain can be felt as he describes an ex-girlfriend of his who has turned to prostitution."{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r10781|pure_url=yes}} | title = Gossip > Review | last1 = DeGagne | first1 = Mike | work = Allmusic | publisher= Rovi Corporation | access-date = 19 June 2010 }}
Background
After recording his solo album, Post in early 1985, Kelly established a full-time band in Sydney. It included Michael Armiger (bass guitar, rhythm guitar), Michael Barclay (drums, later in Weddings, Parties, Anything) and Steve Connolly (lead guitar). Bass guitarist Jon Schofield and the keyboard player Peter Bull soon joined.Spencer et al, (2007), Kelly, Paul and the Coloured Girls entry. Retrieved 21 March 2010. Through a joke based on Lou Reed's song "Walk on the Wild Side", the band became known as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls.McFarlane, {{cite web |url=http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=978 |title='Paul Kelly' entry |access-date=2014-03-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040930231503/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=978 |archive-date=30 September 2004 |df=dmy-all }}, retrieved 14 March 2010.
}} Armiger left and the Coloured Girls line-up stabilised in late 1985 as Barclay, Bull, Connolly and Schofield.{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131022052859/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/k/kellypaul.html | url = http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/k/kellypaul.html | title = Paul Kelly | last1 = Holmgren | first1 = Magnus | publisher = Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) | archive-date = 22 October 2013 | url-status = usurped | access-date = 2 March 2014 }}
By May 1986, the band entered Trafalgar Studios and released their debut 24-track double LP, Gossip in September. It included remakes of four songs from Post.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/culture/song-lines/2007/06/04/1180809383262.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2|title=Song lines|newspaper=The Age|publisher=Fairfax Media|last=Horsburgh|first=Susan|date=4 June 2007|access-date=6 September 2010}} Gossip peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Singles from the album were "Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 on the related Singles Chart and "Darling It Hurts" which reached No. 25. The song was written by Kelly with lead guitarist, Steve Connolly.{{cite web|title="Darling It Hurts" at APRA search engine |url=http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Darling%20It%20Hurts |publisher=Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918113952/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Darling%20It%20Hurts |archive-date=18 September 2012 |df=dmy }}
A trimmed version of Gossip, featuring 15 tracks on a single LP, was released in the United States by A&M Records in July 1987. Allmusic's Mike DeGagne noted that "[it] bursts at the seams with blustery, distinguished tunes captivating both the somberness and the intrigue thrown forward from this fine Australian storyteller". "Darling It Hurts" was described as "more intricate" where "Kelly's pain can be felt as he describes an ex-girlfriend of his who has turned to prostitution".
The album was co-produced by Kelly with Alan Thorne (Hoodoo Gurus, The Stems) who, according to music journalist Robert Forster (former The Go-Betweens singer-songwriter), helped the band create "a sound that will not only influence future roots-rock bands but, through its directness, sparkle and dedication to the song, will also come to be seen as particularly Australian. Ultimately, it means the records these people made together are timeless".{{cite journal | url = http://www.themonthly.com.au/music-robert-forster-thoughts-middle-career-paul-kelly-s-quotsongs-southquot-1535 | title = Thoughts in the Middle of a Career: Paul Kelly's – Songs from the South | journal = The Monthly | last1 = Forster | first1 = Robert | author-link1 = Robert Forster (musician) | date = April 2009 | volume = 44 | pages = 62–64 | access-date = 19 June 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110301230903/http://www.themonthly.com.au/music-robert-forster-thoughts-middle-career-paul-kelly-s-quotsongs-southquot-1535 | archive-date = 1 March 2011 | df = dmy-all }}
Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name for international releases to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. They made a US tour, initially supporting Crowded House and then headlining, travelling across the US by bus. "Darling It Hurts" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1987. The New York Times rock critic Jon Pareles wrote "Mr. Kelly sang one smart, catchy three-minute song after another – dozens of them – as the band played with no-frills directness" following the band's performance at the Bottom Line Club in New York.{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/18/arts/two-rock-storytellers-hit-their-stride.html?pagewanted=all | title = Two Rock Storytellers Hit Their Stride | newspaper = The New York Times | last = Pareles | first = Jon | author-link = Jon Pareles | date = 18 September 1988 | access-date = 15 March 2010
}}
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' second album, Under the Sun, was released in late 1987 in Australia and New Zealand; and early 1988 in North America and Europe (under the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers). On the Kent Music Report Albums Chart it reached No. 19 with the lead single "To Her Door", written by Kelly, peaking at No. 14 on the related singles chart.{{cite web |publisher=Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) |title="To Her Door" at APRA search engine |url=http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=To%20Her%20Door |access-date=8 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725185814/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=To%20Her%20Door |archive-date=25 July 2011 |df=dmy }}
Music and lyrics
"Darling It Hurts" is about a man who realises that his former lover is a prostitute.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/17/1095393996747.html|title=A tale of two cities' ditties|last=Zuel|first=Bernard|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|date=18 September 2004|access-date=6 September 2010}} The chorus, "Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight", refers to Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross – at the time – a red-light district. The reference to "that man with the glad hands" relates to patrons slowing as they drive-by looking for a sex worker. Whilst "man with the glad bags" refers to dealers who sell drugs in zip-lock glad bags. Kelly indicated the title is based on artist Toby Zoates' infamous graffiti{{cite web|url=http://www.utas.edu.au/sociology/HACRU/Stigma%20Research%20Laboratory.pdf|title=Stigma Research Laboratory|publisher=Tasmania School of Art (University of Tasmania)|author=Kelly, Sean|page=15|access-date=8 September 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.warrenfahey.com/fc_nsw.html |title=Sydney: Brash, Bold & Beautiful |last=Fahey |first=Warren |publisher=Australian Folklore Unit |access-date=9 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229231005/http://www.warrenfahey.com/fc_nsw.html |archive-date=29 December 2011 |df=dmy }} which he saw in Darlinghurst when living in Sydney.
The video, directed by Claudia Castle,{{cite web |url=http://www.mvdbase.com/artist.php?last=Kelly&first=Paul |title=Paul Kelly – artist videography |publisher=mvdbase.com |last=Garcia |first=Alex S. |year=2008 |access-date=19 August 2008 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807033405/http://www.mvdbase.com/artist.php?last=Kelly&first=Paul |url-status=dead }} is shot in black-and-white showing the band performing in front of a dancing couple. Castle directed several of the band's videos, including the 1988 ARIA Music Award winning video for "To Her Door".{{cite web |url=http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-artist.php?letter=P&artist=Paul%20Kelly |title=ARIA Awards 2008: History: Winners by Artist search result for Paul Kelly |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) |access-date=25 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212085159/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/search?q=Paul+Kelly |archive-date=12 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}
The song was covered by Magic Dirt on the 2002 compilation album, The Women at the Well: The Songs of Paul Kelly.{{cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/comp/womenatthewell.html |work=Australian Rock Database |title=The Women at the Well:A Tribute to Paul Kelly |last1=Holmgren |first1=Magnus |publisher=Australian Rock Database |access-date=8 September 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101193040/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/comp/womenatthewell.html |archive-date=1 January 2009 |df=dmy }}{{cite web|url=http://www.coversproject.com/artist/magic%20dirt/|title=Magic Dirt Cover Songs|publisher=The Covers Project|access-date=8 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616193159/http://www.coversproject.com/artist/magic%20dirt/|archive-date=16 June 2011|url-status=dead}}
Track listing
=Australian release=
- "Darling It Hurts" (Paul Kelly, Steve Connolly) – 3:18
- "Preaching to the Converted" (Kelly) – 4:31
=US release=
- "Darling It Hurts" (Kelly, Connolly) – 3:18
- "Down on My Speedway" (Kelly) – 3:22
Personnel
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls
- Paul Kelly – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
- Steve Connolly – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Michael Barclay – drums, backing vocals
- Peter Bull – keyboards, backing vocals
- John Schofield – bass guitar, vocals
Additional musicians
- Chris Coyne – saxophone
- Wayne Freer – trombone
Recording details
- Producer – Alan Thorne, Paul Kelly
- Engineer – Alan Thorne
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1986-1987) !Peak |
| scope="row"|Australian (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=164}}
|align="center"|25 |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-09-05.pdf|magazine=Billboard Music Week|title=Album Rock Tracks|issue=September 5, 1987 |page=80 |access-date=March 23, 2025}}
|align="center"| 19 |
References
{{Refbegin}}
;General
- {{cite encyclopedia|last=McFarlane |first=Ian |author-link=Ian McFarlane |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop |title=Whammo Homepage |url=http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp |access-date=9 March 2010 |year=1999 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=St Leonards, NSW |isbn=1-86508-072-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp |archive-date=5 April 2004 }} Note: Archived [online] copy has limited functionality.
- {{Cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4664/biography|pure_url=yes}} | last = Nimmervoll | first = Ed | author-link = Ed Nimmervoll | publisher = Allmusic. Rovi Corporation | access-date = 10 March 2010 | title = Paul Kelly > Biography }}
- {{cite book | title = The Who's Who of Australian Rock | last = Spencer | first = Chris |author2=Zbig Nowara |author3=Paul McHenry | orig-year = 1987 | year = 2002 | publisher = Five Mile Press | location = Noble Park, Vic | isbn = 1-86503-891-1 }}{{cite web | url = http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2090055 | title = Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry | work = catalogue | publisher = National Library of Australia | access-date = 9 March 2010 }}
;Specific
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{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}
{{Paul Kelly}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Paul Kelly (Australian musician) songs
Category:Songs written by Paul Kelly (Australian musician)