"Listening" is the debut single from Australian pop group
Pseudo Echo
Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...
. The song was released in November 1983 as the lead single from their debut studio album, ''
Autumnal Park
''Autumnal Park'' is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo. ''Autumnal Park'' peaked at No. 11 in Australia and produced two Top 20 singles, including "Listening", which peaked at No. 4 in Australia. It was released in ...
'' (1984). The song peaked at number 4 on the Australian
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
.
Following the international success of "Funky Town", a remixed version of "Listening" was released in 1987 for the movie "North Shore" starring Nia Peeples.
Background and release
Pseudo Echo were formed in Melbourne in 1982 and were performing around Melbourne when music journalist
Molly Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...
attended one of their shows at Melbourne’s ‘Jump Club’. Meldrum was impressed, spoke highly of the group and convinced them to perform on the music TV show
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
where they performed a demo version of "Listening" on 28 June 1983.
While it wasn't unusual for Meldrum to speak in glowing terms about an up-and-coming artist, Pseudo Echo were the first unsigned artist to perform live on the show.
Meldrum's introduction was: "We're about to present a group, a local group, who have got no record contract. We saw them at a gig. I think they have loads of potential, so all you record companies out there, have a look at them, and the public, you judge for yourselves. We think they're pretty good. A young group, they go under the name of Pseudo Echo. Here they are with "Listening". Go boys!"
Shortly after, Pseudo Echo were signed by with
EMI Music
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
and producer
Peter Dawkins (who had worked with
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...
,
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
) was at the helm at the studio to re-record "Listening". The single made an immediate impact upon its release in November 1983.
Track listing
7": EMI / EMI-1158 (Australia)
;Side one
# "Listening" - 3:01
;Side two
# "In Their Time" - 5:40
7": EMI / EMI-5512 (UK)
;Side one
# "Listening"
;Side two
# "From the Shore"
1987 12": RCA / 6619-1-RD (US)
;Side one
# "Listening (Dancing Koala Bear Mix)" - 4:20
# "Listening (7" Edit)" - 3:12
;Side two
# "Lonely Without You" - 4:34
# "Listening (Instrumental)" - 3:06
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
1982 songs
1983 debut singles
Pseudo Echo songs
Song recordings produced by Peter Dawkins (musician)