Random
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Cover song or…?


"Our Lips Are Sealed"
is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.
It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album Beauty and the Beat (1981) and was their debut American single in June 1981. The single eventually reached the top 5 in Australia and Canada, and the top 20 in the United States. Originally written and performed with three verses, the song appears in an abbreviated version on Beauty and the Beat. Most of the song's vocals are performed by lead singer Belinda Carlisle, with co-writer Wiedlin singing the bridge.
In 1983, Hall's band Fun Boy Three released their version of "Our Lips Are Sealed". Issued as a single, the track became a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, besting the recording by the Go-Go's which only made it to No. 47 in the UK.
Record World described the song as being as "innocent and infectious as pop music can be", with a "steady, pulsating dance beat" and "candy-coated keyboard riffs".
In 2000, Rolling Stone & MTV put the Go-Go's' original version of "Our Lips Are Sealed" at No. 57 on a list of 100 Greatest Pop Songs. In 2021, their version was also listed at No. 477 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song was later included in the jukebox musical Head over Heels that debuted on Broadway in 2018. The Go-Go's also performed the song, along with "Vacation" and "We Got the Beat", during the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The Go-Go's supported the Specials on the latter's 1980 Seaside tour of England. According to Jane Wiedlin, she and Terry Hall had a brief affair despite him being in a relationship with another woman at the time. After Wiedlin returned to the United States, Hall mailed her some lyrics, and this led to their co-writing the song. The Go-Go's version is significantly more upbeat than Fun Boy Three's, which Wiedlin describes as "great" but also "gloomier"

The following year, co-writer Terry Hall re-recorded the song with his own band, Fun Boy Three. It was included on their second album Waiting and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, and was the last single to chart in the UK before their split later in 1983. Backing vocals were provided by Mo-dettes drummer June Miles-Kingston, who also played drums on the single and the Waiting LP.
-Wikipedia.
[/b]


[media=https://youtu.be/QhVhK-VVeXo]

Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed (originally recorded by (and mostly attributed to) The Go Go’s (co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.)


Can you hear them?
Talking about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have no shield
Nothing must be revealed
It doesn't matter what they say
No one's listening anyway
Our lips are sealed
There's a weapon
That we can use
In our defense
Silence
But just look at them
Look right through them
That's when they disappear
That's when we lose the fear
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Hush, my darling
Hush my darling
Don't you cry
Guardian angel?
Forget their lies
Can you hear them?
Talking about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have a shield
Nothing must be revealed
It doesn't matter what they say
No one's listening anyway (hush, my darling)
Our lips are sealed
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play (hush, my darling)
Our lips are sealed (hush, my darling)
Our lips are sealed (hush, my darling)
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
~~~
dubkebab · 56-60, M
Such a great and meaningful tune.
I happened to play this on my radio show last night after a heap of heavy reggae.
Produced by David Byrne !
I have not seen this video since forever. Terry's hair makes me nervous.
Would love to get ahold of the T-shirt Linval is sporting.
RunTheJulz · 46-50, F
@dubkebab I am always fascinated and excited when anything I post happens to be relevant to your musical life. I think I should be listening to your radio show!! I hope you’re doing well too 😊☺always nice to see you around here!!
@dubkebab this is the FBT video I'm used to seeing ... and indeed, he certainly looks different from close-cropped Specials era Terry

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQT3oKA3v8]
I've never thought of this great song as a cover in either direction, I think they both rightly claim it as their own original, just with different musical interpretations of it

A bit of trivia, the drummer for FBT was also in an earlier all-girl band which I liked

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke4t1CJIzJ8]
@RunTheJulz I don't think I can pick a favorite version, I always for example loved the bass interlude in the middle of the Go-Gos version
dubkebab · 56-60, M
@BlueGreenGrey Now I need a Mo-dettes record.
And an address to drop a marriage proposal to that drummer. She's a boss.
@dubkebab I believe she was later also in the Communards

 
Post Comment