"Beat the Clock" is a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

single by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

duo

Sparks Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...

, which was released in 1979. It is named after the game show, '' Beat the Clock''. The song peaked at number 10 in August 1979 and spent six weeks in the UK Singles Chart. It was their third and final top ten single in the UK.

Background

The song was taken from the album '' No. 1 In Heaven'' and produced by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

for Mellow B.V. During the late 1970s he was one of the premier producers, his working relationship grew from Sparks' appreciation of

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

's dynamic " I Feel Love" which Moroder co-wrote and co-produced. The 12" remix was the first of the group's extended remixes. The remix utilized the drum pattern from the songs midsection and added a new keyboard melody line during the chorus. The "long version" as it was dubbed was edited to three and a half minutes and released as the B-side to the 7" single. Long versions of "

The Number One Song in Heaven "The Number One Song in Heaven" is a disco song by the American rock duo Sparks. Released as a single in 1979, the song was produced and co-written by electro-disco producer Giorgio Moroder. It became a top 20 hit in the UK, where it peaked at n ...

" and "Tryouts for the Human Race" - both singles from the same album as "Beat the Clock" were merely the standard album versions. An additional B-side on 12" versions was a commercial promoting the album ''No. 1 in Heaven'', which featured clips of most of the tracks. The advert was narrated by Peter Cook. 12" versions came as colored picture discs, the inner 7" was a picture disc while the outer 5" came in a variety of differing colors such as blue, pink, green, and yellow. The song was subsequently reworked for the album ''

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

'' in 1997, and a live version was released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

on the UK CD single "

Now That I Own the BBC "Now That I Own the BBC" is a song by American pop and rock duo Sparks, which was released in Europe in 1995 and the UK in 1996 as the third and final single from their sixteenth studio album '' Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins'' (1994). The so ...

" in January 1996.

Track listing

;Seven inch Virgin VS270 # "Beat the Clock" — 3:49 # "Beat the Clock" (Alternative Mix) — 3:32 ;12" Virgin VS27012 # "Beat the Clock" — 3:49 # "Untitled Commercial" # "Beat the Clock" (Long Version) — 6:43

Chart positions

Personnel

Ron Mael Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger ...

- keyboards, synthesiser, vocals *

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching fa ...

- vocals * Chris Bennett - backing vocals * Keith Forsey - drums * Jack Moran - backing vocals *

- synthesiser * Dan Wyman - synthesiser programming * Dennis Young - backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beat The Clock (Sparks Song) 1979 singles Disco songs Songs written by Russell Mael Songs written by Ron Mael Sparks (band) songs Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder