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| "Two Tribes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood | ||||
| from the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 4 June 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:56 3:23 (edit) | |||
| Label | ZTT (ZTAS 3) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Trevor Horn | |||
| Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Two Tribes" on YouTube | ||||
"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.[6] 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.
The single was a phenomenal success in the UK, helped by a wide range of remixes and supported by an advertising campaign depicting the band as members of the Red Army. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 10 June 1984, where it stayed for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group's previous single "Relax" climbed back up the charts to number two.[7][8] 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,[9] being in the Top 30 best-selling singles in the UK as of 2022.[10]
Songwriters Johnson, Gill and O'Toole received the 1984 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[11] In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 14th-favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[12]
- ^ Lester, Paul. "Revolutions per minute – The Power of Love". Uncut. ZTT. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ a b Flynn, Paul (28 September 2023). "Only one kind of music makes clubbers dress up like this". Evening Standard.
- ^ a b Brown, Joe (3 November 1984). "'Pleasuredome': Little Pleasure". The Washington Post.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (14 November 1984). "THE POPLIFE; FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD". The New York Times.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ "Record Mirror". 16 June 1984.
- ^ "Number-Ones.co.uk". number-ones.co.uk. 2014.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 437–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart". Official Charts.
- ^ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
- ^ Westbrook, Caroline (25 July 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
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