BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982
“The Safety Dance” is a song by Canadian new wave band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1983 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a club for pogoing.
The song entered the Canadian top 50 in February 1983, peaking at no. 11 on 14 May. In the meantime, “The Safety Dance” was released in the US on March 16, but did not enter the US charts for a few months. When it finally did, the record became a bigger hit than it had been in Canada, peaking at no. 3 in September 1983. It also reached no. 1 on Cash Box, as well as no. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. “The Safety Dance” similarly found success in other parts of the world, entering the UK charts in August and peaking at no. 6 in early November, and entering the New Zealand charts in November, eventually peaking at no. 2 in early 1984.
The writer/lead singer, Ivan Doroschuk, has explained that “The Safety Dance” is a protest against bouncers stopping dancers pogoing to 1980s new wave music in clubs when disco was dying and new wave was up and coming. New wave dancing, especially pogoing, was different from disco dancing, because it was done individually instead of with partners and involved holding the torso rigid and thrashing about. To uninformed bystanders this could look dangerous, especially if pogoers accidentally bounced into one another (the more deliberately violent evolution of pogoing is slamdancing). The bouncers did not like pogoing so they would tell pogoers to stop or be kicked out of the club. Thus, the song is a protest and a call for freedom of expression.
Doroschuk responded to two common interpretations of the song. Firstly, he notes it is not a call for safe sex. Doroschuk says that is reading too much into the lyrics. Secondly, he explained that it is not an anti-nuclear protest song per se despite the nuclear imagery at the end of the video. Doroschuk stated that “it wasn’t a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.”
SIDE A:
The Safety Dance (Extended Club Mix) 4:34
SIDE B:
I Got The Message 4:45
Antarctica 3:29
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Safety Dance | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #3 |
| 1982 | The Safety Dance | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #21 |
| 1982 | The Safety Dance | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Statik Records – 600 881, Virgin – 600 881
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Design [Graphics] – B.Wear (at A.S.)*
Producer – Marc Durand
Written-By – Ivan*
NOTES:
Get the superb debut album “RHYTHM OF YOUTH” out now.
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
