Originally posted March 25, 2010
“Wild, Wild West” is a song by The Escape Club from their similarly named debut album, Wild Wild West. The single hit the charts in late 1988 eventually reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 12, 1988, making The Escape Club the only British artist to have a No. 1 hit in America while never charting in the UK.
The lyrics, with phrases such as “I love her eyes and her wild, wild hair,” “heading for the ’90s, living in the wild, wild west,” are augmented with gunshot, laser and blaster sound effects. Critics have noted that portions of the song bore a strong similarity to Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” due to the distinct drum beat and vocal patterns during the verses.
The music video is noted for using mirror imaging of actors to give the illusion of disembodied arms and legs.
In 1989, Wally Wingert parodied it on the Dr. Demento radio show as “Adam West,” in response to the casting of Michael Keaton as the title character for that year’s Batman film.
I added as bonus tracks the “Artillery Mix” and “Bacapella” which I lifted from the US 12″ promo these versions are exclusive to this release. “We Can Run” is a non-lp track.
SIDE A:
Wild, Wild West (Dance Mix) 7:54
Wild, Wild West (Single Edit) 3:59
SIDE B:
Wild, Wild West (Wild, Wild Dub Club) 7:20
We Can Run 3:40
BONUS TRACKS:
Wild, Wild West (Artillery Mix) 5:58
Wild, Wild West (Bacapella) 5:45
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #3 |
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #36 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – 0-86544
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Dance-pop
CREDITS:
Design, Art Direction – Stylorouge
Engineer – Gary Hellman
Management – Paddy Spinks*, Tony Smith (13)
Photography By – Nels Israelson
Producer – Chris Kimsey
Producer [Additional], Mixed By, Edited By – John Luongo
Written-By – The Escape Club
NOTES:
Also available the LP “Wild Wild West”
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
Hi Paul, any chance to re-up this great re rip? Thanks in advance.
This was one of a handful of pop songs I grew up listening to since I primarily listened to country. This was the only pop song I could listen to with my cousins in Nevada, and we constantly sang this while riding down the highway in the back of their Suburban. Easily some of my favorite childhood memories were listening to this song. Thank you!
Excellent; I had this 12″ when I was younger – loved it.
I wonder if you’ve got their other non-album track “Standing on a Bridge” (from the ‘Walking Through Walls’ single)?
Thank you Paul for this post. I also have the US 12inch but don’t have the equipment yet to listen to it and thanks to you now I can! I remember playing it lots back in the day and I missed it. “Cher is on the airwaves talking to the DJS”!!!! LOL
Thanks! 🙂
Thank you so much for this re-rip Paul. I hope that some others get the same treatment as I have a list of some of the old dead links that I would like to hear. Cheers
OMG… thank you for posting this Paul! The highlight of this single for me was We Can Run. My mom had the cassette single for Wild, Wild West and I would listen to We Can Run all the time in the car when I was a kid. Wish I still had that tape 🙂
The pop video is weird and slightly disturbing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ES3iNPcPL8
!
Wow Paul!! Excellent 12-inch mixes!! It is so PHENOMENAL to have them in such stellar quality!! I love how you, in so many cases, present mixes that may have escaped our ears the first time around and this 12-inch speaks volumes about your talents. The promo mixes are AWESOME, however, I wish the Artillery Mix had more vocals in it. The beats are thunderous and I was all over that. Wish there were edits in this mix. Oh, the Bacupella Mix was so cool. In a way, it reminded me of the dub mix of “Dancing In The Street” by… Read more »
Truly awesome, Paul! Very excited to hear the bonus promo mixes, too! Thank you!
Hola amigo bellenger 1981 soy de Ecuador y amantes de los clásicos en 12″ llegué muy tarde a este blog . Por favor podrías ayudarme con este archivo mi correo es ignaciovalenzuela76ec@gmail.com Te lo Agradezco de sobre manera un abrazo.
Thank you for sharing the bonus mixes Paul! VERY cool to have the artillery mix in FLAC! 😀
You’re welcome Cory 🙂
Terrific. I have this promo 12″ but have never gotten around to ripping it myself. And on the shelf it shall stay (probably for eternity), lol. So great to have these promo mixes in 24 bit. Thanks for the great work Paul.
You’re very welcome Thomas I hope you enjoy the mixes 🙂
And let the wave of chills cover my body!! Oh Paul, this is fantastic!! Another track I’ve been hoping to see ever since I knew it was on your site. I love when you get to “resurrect” your old discography for us. Man, this is so cool. I love this song, but I’m really curious about the promo extra versions you’ve posted. You’re unbelievable!!
Many, many……MANY THANKS!!!
Jeff
You’re welcome Jeff. It’s so hot today that I feel like I am in the Wild, Wild West 🙂