"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

. Written by band members George Young and

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easy ...

, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted "Best Australian Song" of all time by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

(APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, "Friday on My Mind" was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

registry. In January 2018, as part of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Friday on My Mind" was ranked number 25.

Composition

The minor-key verses of "Friday on My Mind" depict the tedium and drudgery of the work week, taking each day at a time ("Monday morning feels so bad/Coming Tuesday I feel better"). These verses are adorned with a distinctive guitar figure. The build-up to the chorus features a slowly rising vocal, culminating with a shout of "Cos I'll have Friday on my mind!", and launching into a major-key refrain celebrating the pleasures of the weekend in the city. Though the song has long been termed a "working class anthem", George Young maintained it had "more to do with their outlook on the world than any class statement". According to Harry Vanda, the track's distinctive guitar opening was inspired by a film performance featuring

the Swingle Singers 270px, The Swingles at the Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten, Germany">Kirchzarten.html" ;"title="Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten">Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten, Germany on 29 June 2019 The Swingles are a v ...

: "It went tudutudutudu, which made us all laugh. In the train back from the gig, we were imitating them and suddenly it sounded good. They became the first notes of 'Friday on My Mind'."

Release and aftermath

In addition to its

7" single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

release in October 1966, the song was issued in the United Kingdom on the band's first album for United Artists titled''

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

'' which was also released in North America under the song's title. In Australia the song was released instead with its B-side, "Made My Bed (Gonna Lie in It)", on the greatest hits package ''

The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' in 1967 and an EP named after the track in September 1967, with the tracks "Sorry", "Who'll Be the One" and "Made My Bed, Gonna Lie in It". A 2005 rerelease on

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

, along with "Remember Sam", "Pretty Girl" and "Made My Bed, Gonna Lie in It", featured a cover (pictured right) based on an earlier French sleeve. On 28 May 2001, the

(APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100 strong industry panel, with "Friday on My Mind" being selected as the number one song on the list. At the APRA Awards ceremony

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

performed "Friday on My Mind" with

The Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

guesting on guitar, Ross Wilson of Daddy Cool performed the No. 2 listed song " Eagle Rock", Midnight Oil's "

Beds are Burning "Beds Are Burning" is a 1987 song by the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the first track from their album ''Diesel and Dust''. This song was released as the second single from the album. It reached No. 1 in Official New Zealand Music Chart, Ne ...

" at No. 3 was shown on video. "Friday on My Mind" was ranked No. 10 out of 2006 songs featured in the

Essential 2006 Countdown. In the series ''20 to 01'', it was No. 1 on the "Greatest Aussie Songs" show. The song is heard in the Australian films ''

One Night Stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

'' (1984), and ''

December Boys ''December Boys'' is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Rod Hardy and written by Marc Rosenberg and adapted from the 1963 novel of the same name by Michael Noonan. It was released on 14 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and the United ...

'' (2007).

Charts

Track listing

#"Friday on My Mind" (

, George Young) – 2:47 #"Made My Bed (Gonna Lie in It)" (Young) – 2:20

Personnel

Musicians

Stevie Wright Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–69, he was lead singer of Sydney-based rock and roll band the E ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, backing vocals * George Young –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, backing vocals *

Dick Diamonde Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs (born 28 December 1947), better known by his stage name Dick Diamonde, is a retired Dutch Australian bass guitarist. He was a founding mainstay member of 1960s rock group The Easybeats. Diamonde, with the gr ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Gordon "Snowy" Fleet –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Technical

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

– producer *

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early history Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Cover versions

The song has been covered many times: *Initially by

Tages Tages was claimed as a founding prophet of Etruscan religion who is known from reports by Latin authors of the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire. He revealed a cosmic view of divinity and correct methods of ascertaining divine will concerni ...

, who released the song for their November 1966 album ''Extra Extra''. *

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 of the song on their 1967 album ''

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

''. * Les Hou-Lops made a French cover "Vendredi m'obsède" in 1967, also recorded in the same year by Erick Saint Laurent. *The song was also performed by

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n band

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

on their first EP, ''Vremuri'' ("''Old times''") in 1968. *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

recorded a version on his 1973

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

covers album ''

Pin Ups ''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a cove ...

''; for Harry Vanda, it was "the only cover I ever liked". *Also in 1973, San Francisco-based Earth Quake covered the song, which was released as the first-ever single on the

Beserkley Records Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Gre ...

label. The live recording by Earth Quake was well known in Cleveland in the late 1970s, as one of three songs played each Friday at 6.00pm by leading rock radio station

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...

to mark the start of the weekend.

Other covers

Other acts who have covered the song include: * Chilly *The Dukes (Dutch band) *

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

* Peter Doyle * Richard Thompson (''1000 Years of Popular Music'') *

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

the Busters The Busters are a German third wave ska revival band, established as a side project in 1987. Playing 2 Tone-influenced ska, they became one of the best-known German ska bands, having a minor hit single in Germany with a ska cover of Bobby McFe ...

the Kursaal Flyers The Kursaal Flyers were a British pop band, formed in Southend-on-Sea in 1973. They are most famous for their 1976 single "Little Does She Know" (which was a top 20 hit) and were the subject of a BBC documentary following them on tour in 1975. ...

*The

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

based band The Cold *The punk band

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, whose version was recorded by producer

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

in the same recording studios (

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists like the Kinks, the Who, Bee Gee ...

in London) where the Easybeats had cut the original. South Yorkshire mod revival band the Gents released Friday on My Mind as a single in 1986 and reached No.95 in the UK national chart with the release. *In July 2014, alternative rock band Residual Kid released a cover of the song as a charity single.

References

External links

Albert Music: The Easybeats
* Listen to a sample of 'Friday on My Mind' and read more about the song o
australianscreen online
* 'Friday on My Mind' was added to the

of Australia'
Sounds of Australia
registry in 2007 {{authority control 1966 singles 1967 singles APRA Award winners The Easybeats songs David Bowie songs Number-one singles in Australia Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy Songs written by Harry Vanda Songs written by George Young (rock musician) United Artists Records singles 1966 songs Protopunk songs Power pop songs