Man Overboard (Do-Re-Mi song)
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Man Overboard
| cover = ManOverboardSingle01.jpg
| alt =
| caption = 7" single cover
| type = single
| artist = Do-Ré-Mi
| album = Domestic Harmony
| A-side = Man Overboard
| B-side = "Fish Tank", "Black Crocodiles"
| released = May 1985
| recorded = Sydney, 1985
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = New wave
| length = 4:08
| label = Virgin Records
| writer = Deborah Conway, Dorland Bray, Helen Carter, Stephen Philip
| producer = Gavin MacKillop
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Idiot Grin
| next_year = 1986
}}
"Man Overboard" is a song by Australian rock/pop group Do-Ré-Mi recorded in 1982 for the EP The Waiting Room. The song was re-recorded in 1985 and released in May 1985 as the lead single from the group's debut studio album,
Domestic Harmony.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop|last=McFarlane|first=Ian|author-link=Ian McFarlane|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=St Leonards, NSW|year=1999|chapter=Encyclopedia entry for 'Do-Ré-Mi'|chapter-url=http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=286|isbn=1-86448-768-2|access-date=15 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040930212230/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=286|archive-date=30 September 2004}}{{cite web | title=Do-Ré-Mi | last=Nimmervoll | first=Ed | author-link=Ed Nimmervoll | publisher=HowlSpace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll) |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120726191200/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/14231/20120727-0512/www.howlspace.com.au/en2/doremi/doremi.htm |url=http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/en2/doremi/doremi.htm | archive-date=26 July 2012 |access-date=10 February 2014 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The 7" vinyl version has three tracks, which were written by lead vocalist Deborah Conway, drummer Dorland Bray, bass guitarist Helen Carter and guitarist Stephen Philip.{{cite web|title=Australasian Performing Right Association |publisher=APRA |url=http://www.apra.com.au/cms/worksearch/worksearch.srvlt?action=workSearch |access-date=14 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205184453/http://www.apra.com.au/cms/worksearch/worksearch.srvlt?action=workSearch |archive-date=5 December 2007 }} Note: requires user to input song title e.g. MAN OVERBOARD{{cite web | title = Do-Ré-Mi | last1 = Holmgren | first1 = Magnus | publisher = Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131105161246/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/d/doremi.html | url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/d/doremi.html | archive-date = 5 November 2013 | url-status = usurped | access-date = 16 March 2014 }}
The song is the first Australian hit to include lyrics mentioning penis envy and pubic hair; it also had no chorus.{{cite web| title=Long Way to the Top article on Helen Carter|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|url=http://www.abc.net.au/longway/artist_index/helencarter.htm|access-date=14 October 2008}}{{cite web|title=Deborah Conway Official website|publisher=Deborah Conway|url=http://www.deborahconway.com/|access-date=14 October 2008}}{{cite web|title=Deborah Conway – still alive and brilliant|last=Harris |first=Anna|date=30 January 2004|url=http://www.annaharris.com/creative/aconway.htm|access-date=14 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514202706/http://www.annaharris.com/creative/aconway.htm|archive-date=14 May 2006}} The single version was produced and engineered by Gavin McKillop.
At the 1985 Countdown Music Awards, the song won Best Debut Single.{{Cite web | url = http://users.ncable.net.au/~ronjeff/top40/oz_king.htm | title = Australian Music Awards | publisher = Ron Jeff | access-date = 16 December 2010 }}
Details
The version on The Waiting Room is much faster than the recording released as a single. Some DJs would unwittingly play the EP at {{frac|33|1|3}} rpm. Conway said, "We would hear radio DJs playing the song at the wrong speed and I would sound like Nick Cave incanting. We'd heard this over and over and started thinking, 'Well, why don't we just slow it down?'"
In 2001, Carter recalled the problems Do-Ré-Mi had with their record company over "Man Overboard" for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV series Long Way to the Top, "There was a real hit-maker mentality ... people would say 'It can't be a hit – it doesn't have a chorus... You're talking about pubic hair, oh my God!'"{{ cite web|title= Helen Carter video interview for Long Way to the Top|publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation|url= http://www.abc.net.au/longway/concert/video.htm|access-date=2008-10-14}} Conway's memory differed. She said, "I remember it was us not wanting to release it as a single. It was us thinking radio would never play it."{{cite book | author= Jane Gazzo |title=I Hear Motion|year=2024|page=56|publisher=Melbourne Books|isbn=9781922779267}}
Track listing
Charts
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Man Overboard" |
| Chart (1985)
!Peak |
|---|
| Australia (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=91}}
| style="text-align:center;"|5 |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Man Overboard" ! Chart (1985) ! Position |
| scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/SN2evHp.jpg|title=Kent Music Report No 599 – 30 December 1985 > National Top 100 Singles for 1985|publisher=Kent Music Report|via=Imgur|access-date=23 January 2023}}
| 42 |
|---|
Personnel
Do-Ré-Mi members
- Dorland Bray – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Helen Carter – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Deborah Conway – lead vocalist
- Stephen Philip – guitar
Cover versions
- In 2003, george covered the song as a B-side to their single "Still Real". It featured Do-Re-Mi vocalist Deborah Conway.