"Modern Girl" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

written by Paul Jacobs and

Sarah Durkee Sarah Durkee is a writer and lyricist, a television lyricist and screenwriter, and an author and humorist. Durkee and her husband Paul Jacobs are the creators of the theme song for the popular PBS literacy education series, ''Between the Lions'' ...

, first performed by

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

. It was also the first single from his 1984 '' Bad Attitude'' album, resulting in one of his few hits during the 1980s. The single peaked at number 16 in Ireland and number 17 in the UK.

Different formats

The "Modern Girl" single was released in several versions: the regular 12- and 7-inch singles, a 12"

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

and a 7" shaped picture disc. All versions contained "Modern Girl" and "Take a Number", a non-album B-side. In the United States, the song was released as "(Give Me the Future with a) Modern Girl" with the album cut "Sailor To a Siren" as B-side.

12" maxi single and picture disc

* "Modern Girl" (extended version / freeway mix) — 5:54 ''( Paul Jacobs /

)'' * "Take a Number" (extended version) — 5:28 ''(Jacobs / Durkee)''

7" single and shaped picture disc

* "Modern Girl" — 4:27 ''(Jacobs / Durkee)'' * "Take a Number" — 3:27 ''(Jacobs / Durkee)''

US 7" single

* "(Give Me the Future with A) Modern Girl" (single version) — 3:56 ''(Jacobs / Durkee)'' * "Sailor to a Siren" — 5:09 ''(Jacobs / Durkee)''

Other versions

Music video

During the music video, directed by

Brian Grant Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...

, Meat Loaf is sporting a leather jacket and walks by various scenes dealing with 'modern' women. It starts out with a "Miss America" and "Mr. Right" who are newfound parents. Then it gets into a biker-type charade and leads into the big gospel-type chorus near the end. It fades towards the end, which in the cut of the audio version, it doesn't fade-out.

Live performances

Meat Loaf has performed "Modern Girl" many times during the '80s as a regular on his set list. It made a comeback during "

The Very Best of Meat Loaf ''The Very Best of Meat Loaf'' is a 1998 album spanning the first 21 years of Meat Loaf's recording career. Although not reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, it was certified double platinum there in 2013. The album features many of Meat L ...

" and "Storytellers" tours in the late 1990s. Live versions of the song can be found on the '' Live at Wembley'' album and the ''

Bad Attitude - Live! ''Bad Attitude'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Meat Loaf, released in November 1984. Recorded in Britain, it features two songs by Jim Steinman, both previously recorded, and a duet with Roger Daltrey. According to Meat Loaf's aut ...

'' video. On the live version from the Live at Wembley album, Meat Loaf does not sing the "Gimme the future" part of the chorus, as he left it to the backing vocalists. He used similar arrangements for "Blind Before I Stop" on the same album.

References

{{authority control 1984 singles Meat Loaf songs 1984 songs