(Keep Feeling) Fascination
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| "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" | ||||
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| Single by The Human League | ||||
| from the album Fascination! | ||||
| B-side | "Total Panic" | |||
| Released | 17 April 1983 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", 3"CD single (re-issue) | |||
| Recorded | Genetic Studios, 1983 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, New wave | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Virgin, A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Jo Callis, Philip Oakey | |||
| Producer | Martin Rushent | |||
| The Human League singles chronology | ||||
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"(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a dance song performed by British synthpop group The Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey.
The song involves lead singer Philip Oakey bouncing alternate verses between female co-vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, but also in a rare vocal role Jo Callis.
It was released in the UK on 17 April 1983 as a non-album single, where it went to number 2 in the UK singles chart. It was later released as a single in the U.S, where it was also incorporated into the band's stop gap EP Fascination!. The single reached number 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was their first number 1 single on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The EP Fascination! (which is often confused with the single) contained two versions of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination:" the extended mix and an improvisation, both different from the single version.
The B Side of the single, "Total Panic," appears to be an early instrumental version of "Don't You Know I Want You," which would appear on their next album Hysteria.
The single was designated 'Red' on the Human League’s short-lived, self-imposed labeling system of 'Blue' for pop songs and 'Red' for dance tracks.[1]
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[edit] Music video
The music video for "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" was filmed in a semi-derelict area of Newham, London which was due for demolition and redevelopment as part of the widescale redevelopment of Docklands and East London which took place in the early 1980s. The central theme of the video was based on an orange dot on a map, which in turn is a real orange dot on the ground. The orange dot highlights a single house on the apex of a street where the band is playing the song in the front room, which is painted entirely grey. In one memorable scene, a couple of boys are playing outside the street during the song's break; when one of them kicks the ball towards the orange building, the other runs to get the ball and both the ball and the retriever's clothes also turn orange and after he throws the ball back the ball returns to its normal colour.
Filmed before the widespread use of CGI for the video, the house (which was 1 First Avenue, London E13 8AP) and surrounding area (Junction of 1st Avenue and 3rd Avenue) encompassed by the orange dot were completely painted orange, including a nearby car. The opening scenes establish the landscape from a map before zooming through the front window of the "orange" house, as the band starts the song. The video was conceived and directed by Steve Barron, who directed most of the Human League's early 1980s music videos. The band's scenes were all filmed in a studio; Susan Ann Sulley says that the house was still occupied by a family during the painting and filming of the external scenes. The house remained orange for a couple of weeks before finally being demolished in mid 1983.
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
[edit] Popular culture
- The song features in the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the New Wave radio station Wave 103.
- The song also features in the films Fever Pitch (2005), and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008).
- A cover version of the song, recorded by Rob Crow (of Pinback), features in the 2010 commercial for Kingsford Charcoal.
- A cover version of the song, recorded by OV7 Mexican Group Pop, features in the 2001 in the album Siete Latidos
- A remix of the song appears in a 2010 Verizon advertisement for the Samsung Fascinate smartphone.
- A brief audio clip was featured in an episode of Family Guy.
[edit] References
- ^ Windle, Rob: League-online.com
- ^ "Slow Mo". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyf57m46Mu8. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ "08. Fascination (Siete Latidos 2001) OV7". YouTube. 2011-04-22. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jGqFf_7u-E. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single July 9, 1983 |
Succeeded by "I.O.U." by Freeez |
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