"Chain Reaction" is a song by American singer Diana Ross, released on November 12, 1985, as the second single from her sixteenth studio album, ''

Eaten Alive ''Eaten Alive'' (known under various alternate titles, including ''Death Trap'', ''Horror Hotel'', and ''Starlight Slaughter'', and stylized on the poster as ''Eaten Alive!'') is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written ...

'' (1985). The song was written by the Bee Gees and contains additional vocals from

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

. Sonically, "Chain Reaction" is an R&B and dance-pop song. According to the Gibbs' biography, the brothers had initial reservations about offering the song to Ross in case it was too Motown-like for her. The single became Ross's second No. 1 hit in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It also hit No. 1 in Australia, where it became the best selling single of 1986, Ireland, and Zimbabwe. In New Zealand, it peaked at No. 3 and it made the top 5 in South Africa. In 1993, the song broke the UK top 20 again (also breaking the top 40 in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and France) when it was re-released to commemorate her 30th anniversary in show business. The song fared poorly in the US, where it initially peaked at a disappointing No. 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 late in 1985. A few months later, a remixed version of the song was issued as a single (Ross performed this version of the song on the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

, which she hosted that year). The new version re-entered the chart and performed better, but with diminished momentum, it stalled at No. 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 77 on the '' Cash Box'' Top 100.

Music video

At the beginning of the accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Chain Reaction" in black-and-white, Ross enters a TV studio and proceeds to perform the song in front of dancing spectators in a '60s-style live TV. The performance is intercut with a view from the station control room where producers are shown additional scenes appearing in color, confounding them on where the scenes are coming from. Half-way through Ross is walking up a desolate street with barrels of fire littered around and dancers in the background. Careful lighting and fog help create the effect Ross is performing on a real street. It is the only time the street is shown and the video eventually returns to the TV studio performance. The final style of scene has Ross performing in what is supposed to be the glamorous front exterior of the TV studio. A quick shot of the control room is shown with the lead producing yelling in shock or frustration, before the scene continues. It's assumed the producers have lost control of the broadcast. The video ends with intercuts of the TV performance, the exterior, and the control room. The band finishes in the black and white scenes of their show, dancing with the audience and using a combination of both color scenes. A producer gets in a cab from a nervous breakdown.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

"Chain Reaction '93"

In 1993, Diana Ross released "Chain Reaction '93". Producing the remix herself, the single was also successful in the United Kingdom. This version's purely instrumental sound differs it from the original. A music video was not recorded for the song.

Track listing

* CD single #Chain Reaction '93 - 3:47 #Upside Down - 4:07 * 12-inch UK remix single #"Chain Reaction" (Original 12" Version) - 6:50 #"Chain Reaction" (Reaction Dub, remix by E-Smoove) - 6:34 #"Chain Reaction" (Low End Mix, remix by Dewey B and Spike) - 6:15 #"Chain Reaction" (Low End Dub, remix by Dewey B and Spike) - 6:15 #"Chain Reaction" (Smoove Reaction Instrumental, remix by E-Smoove) - 8:40 * French 2-track CD single #Original Single Version - 3:47 #'93 Remix * Italian 12-inch #"Chain Reaction" (Original Single Version) - 3:47 #"Love Hangover" (Tribal Hangover - remix and additional production by Frankie Knuckles for Def Mix Productions) - 9:31 #"Upside Down" ('93 Remix - Remix and additional production by Satoshi Tomiie and David Morales for Def Mix Productions.) - 8:09 #"Upside Down" (Dub 2 - Remix and additional production by Satoshi Tomiie and David Morales for Def Mix Productions.) - 7:37 #"Someday We'll Be Together" ('93 Remix - Remix and additional production by Frankie Knuckles for Def Mix Productions) - 8:45

Charts

Steps version

British pop group Steps covered "Chain Reaction" and released it as a single on September 24, 2001. The song reached number two on the

, behind Kylie Minogue's "

Can't Get You Out of My Head "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a song that was recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album, ''Fever'' (2001). Parlophone Records released the song as the album's lead single on 8 September 2001. "Can't Get ...

Music video

The first scene is two paramedics lifting a patient from the ambulance onto the ground on a stretcher. H is the patient and Lee is one of the paramedics. Then, Lee pushes H into the hospital. The next scene is a receptionist and this turns out to be Claire. She sings her verse. Then, the camera goes over to a nurse who is Faye. She sings her verse. Then, the camera follows Faye over to Lee and H. We now know that Faye loves Lee so she touches his hand. Then Faye calls Claire over and they start making their way over to the operating theatre. Lee then calls a doctor over which turns out to be Lisa. We now also know that Lisa loves H. The next scene is H singing his verse while the others are acting their parts. Then, Lisa sings her verse and then Faye holds the operating camera and the light shines into the camera. The entire video up to this point was recorded in a single continuous

long take In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate bl ...

. At this point Steps are seen in a change of clothes which are brown and white. We also see them dancing. They have close up shots and are each seen with a particular piece of furniture. Claire appears with a corner sofa. Faye appears on a furry staircase. Lee appears with a set of five dining chairs. Lisa appears with three tall pillar lamps, while H appears with a high back armchair. The video ends with Steps close together singing the last line of the song. The video was filmed at Greenwich Hospital and a studio in London.

Track listings

* UK CD1 and cassette single, Australasian CD single # "Chain Reaction" – 3:56 # " One for Sorrow" (Tony Moran US remix) – 3:29 # "Stop Me from Loving You" – 3:45 * UK CD2 # "Chain Reaction" (Graham Stack extended mix) – 6:28 # "One for Sorrow" (Tony Moran extended club mix) – 6:38 # "One for Sorrow" (Sleazesisters 12-inch Anthem mix) – 6:48 # "One for Sorrow" (promotional video) – 3:56 * European CD single # "Chain Reaction" – 3:56 # "One for Sorrow" (Tony Moran US remix) – 3:29

Personnel

Claire Richards Claire Anne Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer who is best known for being in the pop group Steps. Richards was a contestant on the second series of '' Popstar to Operastar'' before being voted off in the semi finals. She po ...

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Lisa Scott-Lee Lisa Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975) is a Welsh singer and member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003 although her success was limited after the release ...

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and

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer, dancer, and actress, best known as a member of British pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their ...

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and

Ian "H" Watkins Ian Watkins (born 8 May 1976), known by his stage name as H, is a Welsh singer and actor. He is known as a member of the British pop group Steps. In 2020, he competed in the twelfth series of '' Dancing on Ice''. Career Steps In May 1997, W ...

–

and

Lee Latchford-Evans Lee Latchford-Evans (born 28 January 1975) is an English singer, dancer, stage actor and one of the five singers of the British pop group Steps. Early life From Ellesmere Port, Evans was born as Lee Latchford Evans, with his middle name Latc ...

–

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other cover versions

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

did an instrumental version on ''Simply Shadows'' (1987). *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

did a cover with Steps in 2001 on the ITV show ''Cliff Richard: The Hits I Missed''. * Australian group

Young Divas Young Divas was an Australian pop girl group formed in 2006 by Sony BMG Australia, initially for a one-off single and national tour to promote all members as solo artists. The original line-up consisted of former ''Australian Idol'' contestants ...

recorded a cover of the song for their second album '' New Attitude'', released in 2007. * Swedish pop-dance singer Daniela Vecchia recorded cover of the song and released it as a stand-alone CD single in January 2010. *UK car insurance comparison site

Confused.com Confused.com is a UK based financial services comparison platform specialising in comparison of insurance and financial services, including car insurance, home insurance, energy, van insurance and life insurance. Confused.com's platform include ...

covered the song on a 2011 advert starring

Louise Dearman Louise Dearman (born 13 March 1979) is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical '' Wicked.'' Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any prod ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chain Reaction (Song) 1985 singles 1986 singles 1993 singles 2001 singles Steps (group) songs Bee Gees songs Diana Ross songs Number-one singles in Australia Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Dance-pop songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb 1985 songs Song recordings produced by Albhy Galuten RCA Records singles Capitol Records singles Motown singles Jive Records singles Pete Waterman Entertainment singles

Music video

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

"Chain Reaction '93"

Track listing

Charts

Steps version

Music video

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other cover versions

See also

References