Get the Balance Right!
| "Get the Balance Right!" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Depeche Mode | ||||
| from the album People Are People | ||||
| B-side | "The Great Outdoors!" | |||
| Released | 31 January 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | December 1982, Blackwing Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, new wave | |||
| Length | 3:12 (7-inch/single version) 7:56 (12" version) | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Martin Gore | |||
| Producer(s) | Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller | |||
| Depeche Mode singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Get the Balance Right!" is the seventh single by Depeche Mode, released on 31 January 1983. Recorded at Blackwing Studios, it is the first Depeche Mode single with Alan Wilder as an official band member (Wilder also co-wrote the B-side track "The Great Outdoors!").
"Get the Balance Right!" was not included on the following album Construction Time Again, but does appear on the American compilation People Are People and the compilation The Singles 81–85.
B-sides
The B-side is "The Great Outdoors!", an instrumental written by Gore and Wilder. It was featured on the Broken Frame Tour as the introduction theme for selected shows, after an incident with their Revox machine that destroyed almost all their previous intro, "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)".
Included on the 12-inch releases is "Tora! Tora! Tora! (Live)", the first live song released on a Depeche Mode single. A limited edition 12-inch of the single was released, which features more live tracks: "My Secret Garden", "See You", and "Satellite". It was the first Depeche Mode single to have a limited edition.
Music video
In the music video, Wilder lip-syncs the first lines of the song, even though Dave Gahan is the lead singer. The director Kevin Hewitt made the assumption that Wilder was the singer and they were too embarrassed to point out his mistake.[2]
Track listings
All songs written by Martin Gore, except "The Great Outdoors!" which was written by Martin Gore and Alan Wilder.
7-inch vinyl single
UK: Mute / 7Bong2
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get the Balance Right!" | 3:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Great Outdoors!" | 5:01 |
12-inch vinyl single
UK: Mute / 12Bong2
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get the Balance Right!" (Combination Mix) | 7:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Great Outdoors!" | 5:01 |
| 2. | "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:00 |
UK: Mute / L12Bong2 (Limited edition)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get the Balance Right!" | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Get the Balance Right!" (12" Version) | 7:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Secret Garden" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 7:28 |
| 2. | "See You" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Satellite" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:28 |
| 4. | "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:00 |
US: Sire / 0-29704
Released 7 September 1983. The first two tracks on side two are listed as one track on the sleeve, when they are actually two separate tracks.[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get the Balance Right!" (Combination Mix) | 7:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Great Outdoors!" | 5:01 |
| 2. | "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Get the Balance Right!" (Edited Mix (same as the Original Version)) | 3:12 |
CD single
UK: Mute / CDBong2
Released 25 November 1991, from the Singles Box Set #2.[1]
US: Sire/Reprise 40295-2
Released 26 November 1991, from the Singles Box Set #2.[1]
US: Reprise CD BONG 2 (R2 78890A)
Released 30 March 2004, from the Singles Box Set #1 reissue.[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get the Balance Right!" | 3:12 |
| 2. | "The Great Outdoors!" | 5:01 |
| 3. | "Get the Balance Right!" (Combination Mix) | 7:56 |
| 4. | "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London) | 4:00 |
Chart performance
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[3] | 13 |
| Irish Singles Chart[4] | 16 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[5] | 31 |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Official Depeche Mode web site single information". Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ Miller, Jonathan (2008). Stripped: Depeche Mode. London: Omnibus Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-84772-444-1.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ "AllMusic Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Retrieved 4 July 2009.