"Pop Muzik" is a 1979 song by M, a project by English musician Robin Scott, from the debut album '' New York • London • Paris • Munich''. The single, first released in the UK in early 1979, was bolstered by a 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 tenaciou ...

) that was well received by critics. The clip featured Scott as a DJ singing into a microphone from behind an exaggerated turntable setup, at times flanked by two female models who sang and danced in a robotic manner. The video also featured Brigit Novik, Scott's wife at the time, who provided the backup vocals for the track. The single's B-side, "M Factor", was featured in two different versions. The original cut appeared on the first UK and European releases of the single, while a slightly remixed version appeared on the single released in the United States and Canada. "Pop Muzik" reached number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the Australian

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

Singles Chart, and number 2 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 ...

Concept and chart performance

The song was initially recorded in R&B and funk styles before a friend of Scott suggested using synthesisers. He describes the genesis of "Pop Muzik":

I was looking to make a fusion of various styles which somehow would summarise the last 25 years of pop music. It was a deliberate point I was trying to make. Whereas rock and roll had created a generation gap, disco was bringing people together on an enormous scale. That's why I really wanted to make a simple, bland statement, which was, 'All we're talking about basically (is) pop music.'

'' Cash Box'' described it as a "quirky Euro-pop number," stating that "the nonsensical lyrics create a catchy cadence." '' Record World'' described it as a "totally infectious body-mover." The single was released in the UK first, peaking at number 2 on 12 May 1979, unable to break

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

's 6-week stint at number one with " Bright Eyes". In August of that same year, it was released in North America, where it eventually climbed all the way to number 1 in Canada on 27 October and in the US on 3 November. Along with Scott, other musicians who played on the track were his brother Julian Scott (on bass), then unknown keyboardist

Wally Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...

, Canadian synthesiser programmer

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, drummer Phil Gould (who later became one of the founding members of the group

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts a ...

and Brigit Novik, the backing vocalist, credited as "Brigit Vinchon" on the records and sleeves. The image of the baby on "Pop Muzik"'s single disc is of Robin Scott's daughter, Berenice. She became a singer, piano/keyboard player and composer and involved in projects with her father's friends Phil Gould and Wally Badarou.

Album

The subsequent full-length album '' New York • London • Paris • Munich'' was recorded in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland, at

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's Mountain Studio, with lead singer and guitarist Robin Scott and regular engineer David Richards, as well as Julian Scott,

and Brigit Novik. Additional musicians on the album included drummer Phil Gould,

on saxophone and flute, and

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 ...

(a friend of Scott and a resident of Montreux at the time) who provided occasional handclaps. The album was also released in the United States on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

with a different track listing but it was not commercially successful, compared to the album's success in Europe.

Other formats

The UK

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

version was notable for the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

having a double groove so that the two tracks ("Pop Muzik" and "M Factor") both started at the outer edge of the record and finished in the middle (with a long silence at the end of "M Factor" since the track was the shorter of the two). This resulted in a random selection of the two tracks, depending on which groove the needle landed in the lead-in. To further market this idea, the UK record sleeve stated "B side included on A side, full length disco mix of Pop Musik on Seaside". 'Seaside' (in other words "C side") was a simple play on words as the letter C, apart from being the logical next "side" after the A and B sides, is pronounced the same way as the English word "sea". The song was remixed and re-released in 1989 where it reached number 15 in the

UK Singles Charts 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- ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Formats and track listings

Original 7" single

Original 7" single released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and

EMI 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 corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in Europe. #Pop Muzik – 3:21 #M Factor – 2:30

Original 7" single with Prize message

Original 7" single released by

and

in Europe, and had a special 'Prize Message' at the end of the A-side which said "It's a Winner!" Presenting the record at the retailer entitled you to a small cash prize/ Free gift. #Pop Muzik – 3:29 #M Factor – 2:30

Long version single

Released in both 7" and 12" vinyl single formats in the United States by

, and as a 12" vinyl in France by Pathé Marconi

, all featuring a longer version of the song #Pop Muzik (Long Version) – 4:58 #M Factor – 2:30

Netherlands 12" single

12" single released in the Netherlands by

. The B-side "M Factor" was featured on the A-side of the vinyl on this release, with a remix of the title song on the B-side. #Pop Muzik #M Factor #Pop Muzik (Long Version)

Sweden 7" 1989 release

7" single released in Sweden in 1989 by Freestyle Records #Pop Muzik (Edited 1989 Remix) – 3:10 #Pop Muzik (Original 7" Version) – 3:20

Sweden 12" 1989 release

12" single released in Sweden in 1989 by Freestyle Records #Pop Muzik (Extended 1989 Hip Hop Remix) – 5:40 #Pop Muzik (7" Version) – 3:20 #Pop Muzik (Edited 1989 Dub Remix) – 3:20 #Pop Muzik (Original 12" Version) – 5:00 #Pop Muzik (Edited 1989 Remix) – 3:10

Germany 12" 1989 release

12" single released in Germany in 1989 by ZYX Records #Pop Muzik (The Hip Hop Club Remix) – 5:38 #Pop Muzik (The Hip Hop Remix) – 3:20 #Pop Muzik (Original '79 Mix) – 3:21

Germany CD 2001 release

CD single released in Germany in 2001 by ZYX Records #Pop Muzik (Britannia '89 Remix) – 3:11 #Pop Muzik (Cabinet Remix) – 7:38 #Pop Muzik (Original Version) – 3:21

Cover versions

*Male vocal and instrumental band All Systems Go entered the

on 18 June 1988. It reached number 63, and remained in the chart for 2 weeks. *In 1997, U2 remixed the song to use as the opening track for their

PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 1997 album ''Pop'', the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour, PopMart w ...

. The remix features an upbeat tempo and use of synthesizers. In the live version, Robin Scott's vocals were used. The song was released on the " Last Night on Earth" single and Bono's vocals replaced Scott's. The only part of the song Bono added was the line "dance to the PopMart, top of the food chain." Andrew Unterberger of '' Stylus Magazine'' said the cover was "hardly the most musically accomplished thing U2 did in this period, but I can't think of a better choice to introduce this period of their career." It is also a featured track on PopMart: Live from Mexico City. *In 2000, a music promoter turned recording artist by the name of Marcus was signed by Clive Davis to

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. The following year he released a cover version with a slightly different spelling: "Pop Musik." The chorus hook from the original song was used ("pop, pop, pop music"), but the lyrics were changed to talk about top pop artists of the day like Britney Spears,

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

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, NSYNC, and even Marilyn Manson. The song was produced by

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City, New J ...

and was released as a CD Single in spring of 2001. The song was included on a BMG Music compilation CD, ''Cool Traxx! 3'', which also featured hit songs from many of the artists that Marcus sings about in his remake. ''Billboard'' said of the song, "This is G-rated fun that could connect with the younger side of the top 40 demographic, and it could charm the ears of programmers looking for an instant reaction record— but, boy, does its novelty affect wear thin after only a few lessons…"

References

External links

* *{{YouTube, HCZ7iAv1tkE, M – Pop Muzik 1979 songs 1979 singles 1988 singles 1989 singles 2001 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles British new wave songs British synth-pop songs British disco songs EMI Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles MCA Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland RPM Top Singles number-one singles Sire Records singles Songs about pop music U2 songs