Together in Electric Dreams
Encyclopedia
"Together in Electric Dreams" is a song by the British
singer and composer Philip Oakey
and producer Giorgio Moroder
. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the original soundtrack of the 1984 film Electric Dreams.
It later formed part of the joint album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
, released in 1985. Released as a single in the UK in September 1984 it proved a major commercial success, actually eclipsing the original film it was intended to promote. It reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart
, staying in the charts for 13 weeks. It would prove to be the only hit of the brief Oakey/Moroder partnership. It was finally released as a single in the United States
in 1988.
's first full feature film. Previously Barron had made a name for himself conceiving and directing a number of innovative music videos during the early 1980s. His biggest success had been directing the music video for The Human League
's "Don't You Want Me
" in 1981 which helped the single become number one in the UK and U.S.
For the film Electric Dreams Barron wanted to emulate the huge success of the film Flashdance
a year earlier. Flashdance had used the electronic music of Giorgio Moroder, so Barron enlisted Moroder as director of music, who wrote most of the score. Barron wanted the end credits to roll to "an emotional" song in the same way as Flashdance had done.
Moroder wrote "Together in Electric Dreams" which was to be a male solo vocal, when he asked who Barron would like to sing the lyrics, Barron immediately thought of his former associate Philip Oakey
.
When Oakey recorded the song it was over very quickly, after the first full recording Moroder told Oakey that the first take was "good enough, as first time is always best". Oakey who thought he was just rehearsing insisted on doing another take. Moroder let him but to this day Oakey is convinced that Moroder still used the first take on the final production. Originally released to advertise the film, "Together in Electric Dreams" quickly overshadowed the original film and became a hit single in its own right.
Oakey states that it is ironic that a track that took literally ten minutes to record would become a worldwide hit, while some of his Human League material that took over a year to record didn't.
band of which Philip Oakey is the lead singer and the role for which he is best known, although he has worked on numerous other projects. "Together in Electric Dreams" was released at the height of the Human League's international fame and success. The song style broadly mimics the Human League's traditional sound. Because it was sung by Oakey and was a hit at the same time as the Human League's highest profile, it quickly became closely associated with the band. It would go on to become a bigger hit than some actual Human League singles of the same period. Often it is erroneously credited as a Human League single. Because of its close association with the band and its popularity it was included in their various Greatest Hits compilation albums released later.
Although the Human League have never recorded their own version, due to the song's popularity the band frequently play a unique Human League version when they perform live, often as an encore. The Human League version differs considerably from the original in that it has a longer more dramatic intro and the female backing vocals by Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall
are now as prominent as Oakey's lead.
The promotional video was originally designed to promote the film Electric Dreams not the song, and this was how most U.S. viewers would see it. In the UK where the original film was a flop the promotional video was perceived to be a music video first, and often erroneously a Human League video.
Like many film soundtrack promos, the video splices key scenes from the film with footage of Philip Oakey. In addition, other promotional scenes were created especially for the video: an Electric Dreams signboard is seen behind Oakey twice, the actual movie poster is seen behind him on the freeway and the computer from the film is seen relaxing on the beach. Oakey is seen being driven around purportedly San Francisco (but was actually Los Angeles
) singing the lyrics. The video would famously finish with a sock puppet parody of the MGM Lion
on a TV screen, on a beach.
Giorgio Moroder himself makes a cameo appearance in the video as the boss of the radio station taken over by the computer.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer and composer Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey is an English composer, singer, songwriter and producer.He is best known as the lead singer, frontman and co-founder of the famous English synthpop band The Human League. He has also had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers...
and producer Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the original soundtrack of the 1984 film Electric Dreams.
It later formed part of the joint album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder was a collaborative album released in 1985 by Philip Oakey, lead singer of the electronic band The Human League and seminal electro producer Giorgio Moroder, whose early records had been a major influence on Oakey....
, released in 1985. Released as a single in the UK in September 1984 it proved a major commercial success, actually eclipsing the original film it was intended to promote. It reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, staying in the charts for 13 weeks. It would prove to be the only hit of the brief Oakey/Moroder partnership. It was finally released as a single in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1988.
Background
The film Electric Dreams was to be director Steve BarronSteve Barron
Steven "Steve" Barron is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"....
's first full feature film. Previously Barron had made a name for himself conceiving and directing a number of innovative music videos during the early 1980s. His biggest success had been directing the music video for The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
's "Don't You Want Me
Don't You Want Me
"Don't You Want Me" is a single by British synthpop group Human League, released from their album: Dare on 27 November 1981.It is the band's best known and most commercially successful recording to date, and was the Christmas number one in the UK, in 1981, where it sold over 1,400,000 copies,...
" in 1981 which helped the single become number one in the UK and U.S.
For the film Electric Dreams Barron wanted to emulate the huge success of the film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
a year earlier. Flashdance had used the electronic music of Giorgio Moroder, so Barron enlisted Moroder as director of music, who wrote most of the score. Barron wanted the end credits to roll to "an emotional" song in the same way as Flashdance had done.
Moroder wrote "Together in Electric Dreams" which was to be a male solo vocal, when he asked who Barron would like to sing the lyrics, Barron immediately thought of his former associate Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey is an English composer, singer, songwriter and producer.He is best known as the lead singer, frontman and co-founder of the famous English synthpop band The Human League. He has also had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers...
.
When Oakey recorded the song it was over very quickly, after the first full recording Moroder told Oakey that the first take was "good enough, as first time is always best". Oakey who thought he was just rehearsing insisted on doing another take. Moroder let him but to this day Oakey is convinced that Moroder still used the first take on the final production. Originally released to advertise the film, "Together in Electric Dreams" quickly overshadowed the original film and became a hit single in its own right.
Oakey states that it is ironic that a track that took literally ten minutes to record would become a worldwide hit, while some of his Human League material that took over a year to record didn't.
Association with The Human League
The Human League are a British synthpopSynthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band of which Philip Oakey is the lead singer and the role for which he is best known, although he has worked on numerous other projects. "Together in Electric Dreams" was released at the height of the Human League's international fame and success. The song style broadly mimics the Human League's traditional sound. Because it was sung by Oakey and was a hit at the same time as the Human League's highest profile, it quickly became closely associated with the band. It would go on to become a bigger hit than some actual Human League singles of the same period. Often it is erroneously credited as a Human League single. Because of its close association with the band and its popularity it was included in their various Greatest Hits compilation albums released later.
Although the Human League have never recorded their own version, due to the song's popularity the band frequently play a unique Human League version when they perform live, often as an encore. The Human League version differs considerably from the original in that it has a longer more dramatic intro and the female backing vocals by Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall
Joanne Catherall
Joanne Catherall is an English singer; best known as one of the two female vocalists of the veteran English synthpop band The Human League.Born and raised in Sheffield, England...
are now as prominent as Oakey's lead.
Music video
Like many film soundtrack promos, the video splices key scenes from the film with footage of Philip Oakey. In addition, other promotional scenes were created especially for the video: an Electric Dreams signboard is seen behind Oakey twice, the actual movie poster is seen behind him on the freeway and the computer from the film is seen relaxing on the beach. Oakey is seen being driven around purportedly San Francisco (but was actually Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) singing the lyrics. The video would famously finish with a sock puppet parody of the MGM Lion
Leo the Lion (MGM)
Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures, featured in the studio's production logo, which was created by the Paramount Studios art director Lionel S. Reiss....
on a TV screen, on a beach.
Giorgio Moroder himself makes a cameo appearance in the video as the boss of the radio station taken over by the computer.
In the media
- It is played on the fictional radio station Flash FM in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
. - It is the theme to the BBC 2009 show Electric DreamsElectric Dreams (TV series)Electric Dreams is a BBC television documentary series, co-produced with The Open University, that places a family of two parents and four children in their home with only the amenities available during each of the previous three decades , and recording their responses to the changing pace of...
, where a family has to live in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, with only the technology available at that time.
Cover versions
- The song was covered in 2001 by Lali PunaLali PunaLali Puna is an experimental electropop band from Weilheim, Germany . Founded in 1998 by Korea-born Valerie Trebeljahr , other members include Markus Acher , Christoph Brandner and Christian Heiß . The latter joined Lali Puna in 2003, after keyboard player Florian Zimmer had left the band...
for the album Reproductions: Songs of The Human LeagueReproductions: Songs Of The Human LeagueReproductions is a studio album of cover versions of songs by The Human League by various artists. It was released in 2001 as a tribute to The Human League.-Track listing:# Stephin Merritt - "Get Carter" 00:29...
. - The song was covered by 5 separate artists for the 2007 album Together in Electric DreamsTogether in Electric Dreams (album)Together in Electric Dreams is an EP released in the UK in November 2007. It was produced by Rob da Bank and released by Sunday Best Recordings....
released by Sunday Best RecordingsSunday Best (music company)Sunday Best is the British music company founded and run by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank. Its primary business is as a record label, but it also stages regular club nights and is the flagship organisation behind the UK music festival Bestival, which takes place on the Isle of Wight each...
. - An acoustic cover version of the song by Darren HanlonDarren HanlonDarren Hanlon is an Australian singer/songwriter who plays urban folk music. He has released five solo albums, three EPs and eight singles on Candle Records and Flippin Yeah industries , as well as several compilation tracks...
was recorded and broadcast by Australian JJJ Radio as part of the station's "Like A Version" program on June 25, 2010. - Mechanical Black produced a cover of the song in 2011