I Want a New Drug

"I Want a New Drug"
Single by Huey Lewis and the News
from the album Sports
B-side	"Finally Found a Home"
Released	January 3, 1984
Format	7", 12"
Genre	Blues rock
Length	4:46 (album version) 3:29 (single edit) 5:32 (12" dance mix)
Label	Chrysalis
Writer(s)	Chris Hayes Huey Lewis
Producer	Huey Lewis and the News
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Huey Lewis and the News singles chronology
"Heart and Soul" (1983) "I Want a New Drug" (1984) "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (1984)

"I Want a New Drug" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News from their third album Sports. It was released as the second single from the album, following the top-ten hit "Heart and Soul" in January 1984. The single reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Play chart.

History

According to Lewis, he wrote the song in only a few minutes. "I just woke up one morning after a long party and just wrote NEW DRUG. I was on the way to my attorney's house and I thought of it in the car. I pulled up and walked in. I said, 'Bob, give me a piece of paper, I've got to write this down'."^{[citation needed]}

When the similarities between this song and the theme song of the 1984 film Ghostbusters were heard, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarism, claiming that Parker had stolen the melody from "I Want a New Drug". Lewis had been approached to compose the main theme song for the film, but had to decline because of his work on the soundtrack for Back to the Future.^{[citation needed]} The suit was eventually settled out of court, but because of 'GhostBusters' performance on the charts, either version could be construed as Lewis's first #1 single (as opposed to The Power of Love).

The video echoes the song's origin, with Lewis waking up late, remembering he has a concert that night, and races across San Francisco using his yellow convertible, a public ferry, and a chartered helicopter to get to the concert on time, sighting a girl twice on his way, and finding her in the front row at the concert(the same girl is featured in the video for Heart and Soul.). The video features Huey's most famous outfit, a red sport jacket & pants with a plain black t-shirt and matching sunglasses(the man who takes the jacket and shades off Huey before he goes on stage is the band's manager, Bob Brown).

Track listing

7" Chrysalis / CHS 2776 United Kingdom

1. "I Want a New Drug" – 3:29 unlabelled 7" mix
2. "Finally Found a Home" – 3:48

12" Chrysalis / CHS 12 2776 United Kingdom

1. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (12" mix) – 5:32
2. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (7" mix) – 3:29
3. "Heart and Soul" – 3:55
4. "(Tattoo) Giving It All Up for Love" (Phil Lynott) – 3:11

12" Chrysalis / CS 42779 Canada

1. "I Want a New Drug" (dance mix) – 5:32
2. "I Want a New Drug" (instrumental) – 4:30

7" Chrysalis / CHS 42766 Canada

1. "I Want a New Drug" - 3:29
2. "Finally Found a Home" - 3:42

12" Chrysalis / 601 194 Germany

1. "I Want a New Drug" (extended version) – 5:32
2. "Heart and Soul" (special remix) – 6:42
3. "Tell Me a Little Lie" – 4:08

12" Chrysalis / 601 343 Germany

1. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (maxi mix) – 5:32
2. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (simple mix) – 3:29
3. "(Tattoo) Giving It All Up for Love" – 3:11
4. "Honky Tonk Blues" (Hank Williams) – 3:16

Chart performance

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	27
Canadian Singles Chart	6
German Singles Chart	27
New Zealand Singles Chart	10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks	7
U.S. Billboard Dance Club Play	1

Cover versions

The song has been covered by:

• Asleep at the Wheel on their 1987 album 10
• Elio e le Storie Tese on their 1998 album Peerla
• Glen Phillips on his 2006 album, Mr. Lemons
• The Greenskeepers on their 2006 album, Polo Club

The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "I Want a New Duck" on his 1985 album, Dare to be Stupid.

The song was covered and retitled "I Need a New Drug" by Central Services on their 2005 EP Forever Frozen In Television Time. The production duo consists of independent hip hop artists EL-P and Camu Tao.

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.)

External links

• "I Want a New Drug" video on VH1 Classic website