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I Want a New Drug

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"I Want a New Drug"
Song
B-side"Finally Found a Home"

"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'."[2]

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.

In 2001, in an interview on VH1's Behind the Music, Lewis mentioned the suit, implying that Parker had paid a financial settlement as part of the original agreement. This allegedly breached a confidentiality agreement in the aftermath of the first suit, and led to a countersuit by Parker.

The song was also featured in the Simpsons episode

  1. REDIRECT Midnight RX

Music video

The scene where Huey dunked his face into a sink filled with ice cold water, apparently took over 40 takes to perfect. Lewis joked, "Needless to say, by the end my eyeballs were freezing!"[2]

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
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 6
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks 7
U.S. Billboard Dance Club Play 1

Cover versions

The song has been covered by:

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

References

  1. ^ RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database, RIAA.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. ^ a b "8509.html - HLNWiki". Hln.org. 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  3. ^ "Chart Success Summary - HLNWiki". Hln.org. 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
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