"Middleman" is a song by English rock band

Terrorvision ''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features in 19 ...

, which was released in June 1994 as the second single from their second studio album ''

How to Make Friends and Influence People ''How to Make Friends and Influence People'' is the second album by the rock band Terrorvision, released in 1994 on Total Vegas Recordings. "Oblivion", " Middleman", "Pretend Best Friend", "Alice What's the Matter", and "Some People Say" were a ...

''. The song was written by Terrorvision and produced by Gil Norton. "Middleman" reached No. 25 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 ...

and remained in the Top 100 for five weeks. The song's music video was directed by

Tim Royes Tim Royes (December 25, 1964 – August 13, 2007, New York City) was a British music video director and editor, producing videos for artists such as Westlife (" Mandy"), Melanie C ("I Want Candy", " The Moment You Believe", "Carolyna"), Emma Bu ...

and produced by Alan Wachs.

Critical reception

On its release as a single, Alan Jones of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' chose "Middleman" as the "pick of the week". He considered the song to be a "tuneful rock record", which he felt showed the band moving "closer to the mainstream". He noted the song as being "tastefully decorated by strings" and added, "It is not so very far removed from the style of

ELO Elo or ELO may refer to: Music * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album ** ''ELO 2'', the group's second album * ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light ...

in the Seventies, with some of

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

's vocal devices also coming into play." ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' felt the song "could have been a

Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all ...

tune". They added, "Streetwise as these lads are, they don't turn down their amplifiers. Brilliant!"

Track listing

12-inch single (limited edition) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"Surrender" – 4:24 #"The Passenger" – 4:57 Cassette single (UK) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"

Oblivion Oblivion may refer to: Film * ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western * ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film Literature * ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz * ...

" – 3:03 CD single (UK #1) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"I'll Be Your Sister" – 2:33 #"Wishing Well" – 2:29 CD single (UK #2) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"The Passenger" – 4:57 #"Surrender" – 4:24 CD single (UK promo) #"Middleman" (Radio Edit) – 3:35 CD single (European release) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"The Passenger" – 4:57

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD1 and CD2 liner notes and the ''

'' booklet. Terrorvision * Tony Wright – vocals * Mark Yates – guitar * Leigh Marklew – bass * Ian "Shutty" Shuttleworth – drums Additional musicians * Audrey Riley – string arrangement and backing vocals on "Middleman" * Billy McGhee – string arrangement on "Middleman" Production * Gil Norton – producer and mixing on "Middleman" * Al Clay – engineer on "Middleman" * Mike Cyr – assistant engineer on "Middleman" * Chris Sheldon – mixing on "Middleman" * Terrorvision – producers on "I'll Be Your Sister", "Wishing Well", "Surrender" and "The Passenger"

Charts

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles Terrorvision songs EMI Records singles Song recordings produced by Gil Norton Music videos directed by Tim Royes