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Quiet Life (song)

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"Quiet Life"
1981 UK single cover
Single by Japan
from the album Quiet Life and Assemblage
B-side
Released
  • December 1979 (1979-12) (Japan)
  • March 1980 (1980-03) (Netherlands & Germany; UK B-side)
  • 21 August 1981 (1981-08-21)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:14 (1979 single)
  • 3:51 (1980 single & UK B-side)
  • 3:34 (1981 7" edit)
  • 4:50 (1981 12"; Quiet Life & Assemblage album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)David Sylvian
Producer(s)John Punter
Japan singles chronology
"Life in Tokyo"
(1979) 		"Quiet Life"
(1979) 		"I Second That Emotion"
(1980)
Japan singles chronology
"I Second That Emotion"
(1980) 		"Quiet Life"
(1980) 		"Gentlement Take Polaroids"
(1980)
Japan singles chronology
"Life in Tokyo"
(1981) 		"Quiet Life"
(1981) 		"Visions of China"
(1981)

"Quiet Life" is a song by the British new wave band Japan. It is the title track of their 1979 album Quiet Life. The lyrics to the song refer to the problems the band was going through at the time. They had lost their US record contract and Hansa Records had been pressuring them for a hit single in the UK.[3]

"Quiet Life" was first released as a single in Japan in December 1979 with the B-side "Halloween". In March 1980, it was released in Germany and the Netherlands with the B-side "Second That Emotion", whereas in the UK "Quiet Life" was released as the B-side of the unsuccessful "Second That Emotion".[4] Following the commercial success of the band's 1981 album Tin Drum, Hansa Records reissued the song as a single that year to promote the band's upcoming compilation album Assemblage. It became a top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 19 in October 1981 for 2 weeks.[5]

Track listings

7": Ariola / AHA 1013 (1979, Japan)[6]

  1. "Quiet Life" – 4:14
  2. "Halloween" – 4:24

7": Hansa (1980, Germany and the Netherlands)[7]

  1. "Quiet Life" – 3:51
  2. "Second That Emotion" – 3:46

7" B-side: Ariola / AHA 559 (1980, UK)[8]

  1. "Second That Emotion" – 3:46
  2. "Quiet Life" – 3:51

7": Hansa / HANSA 6 (1981, UK)[8]

  1. "Quiet Life" – 3:34
  2. "A Foreign Place" – 3:11

12" Hansa / HANSA 12-6 (1981, UK)[8]

  1. "Quiet Life" (Extended Version) – 4:50
  2. "A Foreign Place" – 3:11
  3. "Fall in Love With Me" – 4:30

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak

position

UK Singles (OCC)[5] 19

References

  1. ^ "Releases" (PDF). Record Mirror. 22 August 1981. p. 27. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. ^ Ham, Robert (March 9, 2021). "Japan - Quiet Life". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 6, 2023. ...the disco-pop shimmy of the title track...
  3. ^ Quiet Life, BMG 2004 CD liner notes
  4. ^ Assemblage, BMG 2004 CD liner notes
  5. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Japan - Quiet Life = クワイエット・ライフ". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  7. ^ "Japan - Quiet Life / Second That Emotion". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  8. ^ a b c "Japan Discography - The Hansa Years". discog.info. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
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