"Red Skies" is a song by new wave/

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved by Zero", "Are We Ourselves?", and "Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, ...

. Released in 1982, it was the third single from the group's debut album, ''

Shuttered Room ''Shuttered Room'' is the debut studio album by British new wave band the Fixx, released on 14 May 1982. It contains the group's debut single, "Stand or Fall", which hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks as well as #79 on the Hot 1 ...

''. It reached number 13 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Album Rock Tracks but peaked at number one on ''

''s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in early 1983. The song also charted in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was later re-recorded for the band's 1987 album, ''

React REACT or React may refer to: Science and technology *REACT (telescope), a telescope at Fenton Hill Observatory, New Mexico, US Computing * React (JavaScript library) , a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, from Facebook ** React Nati ...

''.

Composition and recording

The song appeared on the Fixx's 1982 album ''

''. The lyrics of "Red Skies" warn of an imminent

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

Release and reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "a sailor's and dancer’s delight," praising the "haunting and dreamy synthesizer effects," steady beat" and "powerful vocals." "Red Skies" peaked at number 13 on the U.S.

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, number 44 in the Netherlands and number 57 in the UK. Winda Benedetti of ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' said it was one "of the more cutting-edge pop ongsof the time." Mark Spinn of the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' called it "the best of the band's moodier material." Bill Locey of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' complimented the song's "memorable chorus". The Fixx performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on February 18, 1984.

Re-recording

According to drummer Adam Woods,

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 wit ...

requested that the band re-record the song for their 1987 ''

'' album. "Nobody at MCA was really interested in the new things we wanted to do," Woods said. "They told us to re-do 'Red Skies,' and we gave in. We figured, 'All right, we'll give them exactly what they want, and it will bomb.' And sure enough, it did."

Track listing

7-inch vinyl #"Red Skies" – 3:30 #"Is It by Instinct" – 4:10 12-inch vinyl #"Red Skies" (Full Length lbumVersion) – 4:19 #"Sinking Island" (Special Extended Dance Mix) – 4:35

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1982 singles The Fixx songs 1982 songs Song recordings produced by Rupert Hine MCA Records singles