"Sister Europe" is a song by the

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band

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

, taken from the band's 1980 debut album, ''

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

''. Written by the band and produced by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

, it was released in February 1980 by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

as the album's second single. The Psychedelic Furs traditionally opened their live shows with "Sister Europe" during the early part of their career.

Composition

Singer Richard Butler recalled Lillywhite's directions to him regarding the vocals: "He told me, 'Go down to the pub, have a couple of beers, and when you come back, I want you to sing like it's three in the morning, and you're talking on the telephone to someone'". According to Butler, the lyrics conveyed sadness over his then-girlfriend moving away, and were written using imagery, "instead of saying 'My bird's gone to

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and I miss her'".

Release

"Sister Europe" was first released as a single in the UK in February 1980. The initial

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

release was on the Epic label, but this was withdrawn and replaced by a CBS version. Both releases had the unusual feature of a double

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 ...

featuring two versions of the song, short (3:45) and long (4:13). In the US, the song was not released as a single but was used as the

B-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 compan ...

for Columbia's

12-inch 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 ...

promo single of "We Love You". An official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced in 1980, directed by British filmmakers

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

and Mick Calvert.

Reception

In '' The Rough Guide to Rock'', writer Alex Ogg called it "an intoxicating song that announced the group's distinctive style", comparing it to

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

mixed with

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 ...

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writer Dave Thompson described Butler's vocal as "a masterpiece of understatement, whispered intimacy". The ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' said, "Unpromising start is saved by some " Man Who Sold The World" vocals. In fact, the vocals are the only interesting bit of this, which sets a heavy atmosphere that I find really listenable." The single reached No. 47 on the

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charts. The song and its production were a direct influence on the Replacements' "Within Your Reach", one of

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

's first efforts to compose outside the group's

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mien.

Cover versions

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

released a cover of "Sister Europe" as the B-side to the 2002 single " All My Life," which also appeared as a bonus track on the French release of the band's '' One by One'' album, and on their 01020225 EP released in 2019 as part of their "Foo Files" archival series.

Track listing

;7" vinyl #"Sister Europe" - 4:13 #"****" - 3:45 ;12" vinyl (US promo) #"We Love You" - 3:26 #"Sister Europe" - 5:39

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1980 singles The Psychedelic Furs songs Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite 1980 songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Tim Butler Songs written by John Ashton (musician) Songs written by Richard Butler (singer) Music videos directed by Don Letts