"Hangin' on a String (Contemplating)" is the seventh single by
British soul
British soul, Brit soul, or (in a US context) the British soul invasion, is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some yout ...
band
Loose Ends from their second studio album, ''
So Where Are You?'', and was released in February 1985 by
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
. In the group's native UK, the single made the top twenty.
Outside the UK, the single went to number one on the
U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart for one week.
This made Loose Ends the first British band ever to top that chart
It also reached number 43 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Track listing
7” Single: VS748
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating 3.42
# "A Little Spice" 5.08
12” Single: VS748-12
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Extended Dance Mix) 5.58
# "A Little Spice" 5.08
2nd 12” Single: VS748-13
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Extended Dance Mix) 5.58
# "Silent Talking" (feat. Tom Browne)
# "A Little Spice" 5.08
3rd 12” Single: VS748-14
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Mastermind Megamix)
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Extended Dance Mix) 5.58
3” CD Single: ''released 1989''
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Extended Dance Mix) 5.58
# "A Little Spice" 5.08
# "Emergency
ial 999 (Extended Remix) 6.42
Chart performance
Hangin' on a String ontemplating1992
"Hangin' on a String
ontemplating was remixed and re-released in 1992. This was a track taken from the forthcoming Loose Ends Remix project "Tighten Up Volume 1".
Track listing
7” Single: TEN406
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Frankie Knuckles Radio Edit) 4.20
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Original 7" Mix) 3.42
12” Single: TENX406
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Frankie Knuckles Club Mix) 6.28
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Original 12" Mix) 5.58
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (The All Night Mix) 5.50
# "Johnny Broadhead" (Part 2)
CD Single: TENCD406
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Frankie Knuckles Radio Edit) 4.20
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Frankie Knuckles Club Mix) 6.28
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Original 12" Mix) 5.58
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (The All Night Mix) 5.50
# "Hangin' on a String
ontemplating (Frankie Knuckles Classic Club Reprise) 6.08
Charts
In popular culture
*In 2008, the song was featured on ''
Grand Theft Auto IV
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
''s in-game radio station
The Vibe 98.8
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
.
*Rapper
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...
sampled this song for his song The Kid Frankie from the album ''
Kush & Orange Juice
''Kush & Orange Juice'' (stylzed as ''Kush and OJ'') is the eighth mixtape by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on April 14, 2010, by Taylor Gang Records and Rostrum Records. ''Kush & Orange Juice'' gained notoriety after its official ...
'', as did
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...
for the remixed version of his 1991 hit
The Lover in You
"The Lover in You" is the second and final single released from Big Daddy Kane's fourth studio album, '' Prince of Darkness''. Produced by Big Daddy Kane himself, the song used a sample of Prince's 1985 hit " Pop Life", for which Prince is credit ...
*In 2022, the song was featured in the
ninth episode of the
third season of ''
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
''.
References
External links
Hangin' On A String (Contemplating)at
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
.
{{authority control
1985 singles
Loose Ends (band) songs
Song recordings produced by Nick Martinelli
Songs written by Carl McIntosh (musician)
Songs written by Jane Eugene
Songs written by Steve Nichol
1984 songs
1985 songs
Virgin Records singles