“Two Tribes” is an anti-war song by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records on 4 June 1984. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Presenting a nihilistic, gleeful lyric expressing enthusiasm for nuclear war, it juxtaposes a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff inspired by American funk and R&B pop with influences of Russian classical music, in an opulent arrangement produced by Trevor Horn.
Supported by a striking advertising campaign depicting the band as members of the Red Army and a wide range of remixes, the single was a phenomenal success in the UK, immediately entering at the number one position on 10 June 1984 and staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group’s previous single “Relax” climbed back up the charts to number two. It was the longest-running number-one single in the UK of the 1980s. It has sold 1.58 million copies in the UK as of November 2012. Songwriters Johnson, Gill, and O’Toole received the 1984 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation’s 14th-favorite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Internationally the single reached the #1 position in seven countries however in the USA it only managed to peak at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
ABOUT THE TRANSFER
I transferred this cassette single using a Nakamichi BX-300 Discrete 3 Head Cassette Deck. I did not apply any Dolby or other noise reduction pretty much leaving the cassette un-altered so you may hear some analog tape noise. As with vinyl, I did remove the occasional click or pop. The printed tracklisting on the release is not accurate so I used what was available according to ZTTAAT.com and Discogs.
SIDE A/B:
1. On the subject of Frankie Goes To Hollywood… 0:25
2. One February Friday (Singlette version, part 1) 0:40
3. Two Tribes (Cassingle Mix) 15:27
4. One February Friday (Singlette Version, Part 2) 1:08
5. War (Hide yourself!) 4:16
6. One February Friday (Singlette Version, Part 3) 0:22
7. War Is Peace 0:06
CASSETTE GRADE:
Cassette: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Two Tribes | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #43 |
| 1984 | Two Tribes | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #1 |
| 1984 | Two Tribes | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Music/Club Play | #27 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: ZTT – CTIS 103
Series: Action Series – 3, Incidental Series – 30
Format: Cassette, Single
Country: UK
Released: 23 Jul 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Artwork [Packaged By] – XLZTT
Photography By – Anton Corbijn
Producer – Trevor Horn
Producer [Assisted By His] – Bright Building Theam*
Voice Actor [As Himself] – Patrick Allen
Voice Actor [As Ron Reagan] – Christopher Barrie
NOTES:
Program repeats on both sides.
“Produced by Trevor Horn, assisted by his bright building them. And then there were the players: Patrick Allan (as himself) and Christopher Barrie (as Ron Reagan)
…
This cassette can be seen as both a part of number 3 in Zang Tumb Tuum’s bloodied action series ot number 30 in Zang Tumb Tuum’s harrassed incidental series. Did we save the world?”
Freedom Is Slavery
Find the Cassette at DISCOGS
CASSETTE RESTORATION BY::
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Cassette Deck: Nakamichi BX-300 Discrete 3 Head Cassette Deck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp Line In: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: 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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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