"Union City Blue" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. The song was featured on their 1979 studio album ''

Eat to the Beat ''Eat to the Beat'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album was certified Platinum in the United States, where it spent a year on the ''Billboard'' 200. Peaking ...

''. Written by

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

and

Nigel Harrison Nigel Harrison (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician. Harrison spent several years as the bassist of the American rock band Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s. Life & career Harrison grew up in Princes Risborough, a small town in the C ...

, the song was inspired lyrically by Harry's experiences while acting in the 1980 film '' Union City'' as well as her

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

roots. Musically, the song features a drum part composed by drummer

Clem Burke Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...

. "Union City Blue" was released in the UK and Europe as the second single from ''Eat to the Beat'', reaching number 13 in the UK. The single was not released in the US, despite drummer Burke's later assertion that the song would have been a good single release. The release was accompanied by a music video filmed aerially at the Union Dry Dock in nearby

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...

. The song has since seen critical acclaim and a remixed version saw commercial success in the 1990s.

Background

"Union City Blue" was cowritten by singer Debbie Harry and bassist Nigel Harrison. Harry based the lyrics and title of the song on her experiences acting in the 1980 movie '' Union City'', which she had appeared in. According to Harry, she wrote the lyrics one evening during a break in the shooting. Director

Marcus Reichert Marcus Reichert (19 June 1948 - 19 January 2022) was an American painter, poet, author, photographer, and film writer/director. He was given his first exhibition of paintings at the age of twenty-one at the Gotham Book Mart, Gotham Book Mart and ...

later recalled that Harry was not allowed to sing on the film's soundtrack for contractual reasons, so the song did not appear in the film. Harry, who was raised in

, had also performed as a

go-go dancer Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was take ...

in Union City before finding success with Blondie. Musically, Harry described the song as "one of Nigel's English drinking songs." Blondie drummer

later stated that the song reflected the band's

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

origins. Burke composed the drum part himself; he recalled, "I come up with my parts generally, and things like Union City or Dreaming, those were my parts, yeah." Burke named the song as a favorite to perform, stating, "I definitely enjoy playing that."

Release

The song was released as the second single from the album in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where it reached number 13 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 ...

in late 1979. The song was never released as a single in the US; ''Popdose'' later wrote of this decision, "While 'The Hardest Part' is a great album cut, it's not exactly Top 40 friendly like 'Union City Blue' instantly is." A video was produced for the single, directed by David Mallet, which featured the band performing at the Union Dry Dock in nearby

. Nigel Harrison recalled: The track was re-released on CD and vinyl in 1995 as a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

in both the UK and US, featuring various remixes of the song by Diddy, Burger Queen, OPM and Jammin' Hot. A previously heavily bootlegged live version from 1979 of

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

's hit "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, ''I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to have ...

" was included as a

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 ...

. Charting a second time after its original 1979 release, the single peaked at number 31 in the UK. The remixed version of "Union City Blue" was also included on the compilations '' Beautiful: The Remix Album'' (UK) and '' Remixed Remade Remodeled: The Remix Project'' (US). The song is featured in the 1981 horror film '' The Hand'', as well as the 2007 dark comedy, ''

Margot at the Wedding ''Margot at the Wedding'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach. It stars Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Ciarán Hinds and Halley Feiffer. The film is about the familial storm th ...

''.

Reception

"Union City Blue" has seen critical acclaim since its release. Debra Rae Cohen of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote, Union City Blue' evokes life-or-death romance. Mixed with the intertwined-guitars-and-keyboards density of ' Dreaming,' 'Union City Blue' has the force of an incantation. Key words — power, passion — slip out with a resonant urgency. Harry's finally using her sweet tones to create real emotional intensity." Sam Armstrong of uDiscoverMusic wrote that the song "conjures the sort of romantic yearning you only ever get from finding yourself adrift in a city where anything can happen." ''Far Out Magazine'' wrote glowingly of the song, stating, "The song, steeped in the teapot of punk and finished with the creamy texture of new-wave, came to represent the evolution of not only punk into something entirely new but was a mark of the turning decades." ''Pop Expresso'' named the song as the band's fifth best song.

Cover versions

"Union City Blue" was covered by the British rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

in 1995. Jack Whatley of ''Far Out Magazine'' said of the rendition, "While

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

's vocal is undeniably his own, the rest of the band fall in line for a somewhat straightforward cover." Whatley concluded that "it is still one of the better Blondie covers you're likely to hear."

Track listing

;UK 7" (Chrysalis CHS 2400) #"Union City Blue" (

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

) – 3:18 #"Living in the Real World" (

Jimmy Destri Jimmy Destri (born James Mollica, April 13, 1954, Brooklyn, New York City, United States) is an American musician. Background Destri is of Italian descent. His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays and eventually advertising copy to ...

) – 2:53 ;UK 1995 Remix CD1 (7243 8 82466 2 0) #"Union City Blue" (Diddy's Power & Passion Edit) – 3:38 #"Union City Blue" (Diddy's Power & Passion Mix) – 8:34 #"Union City Blue" (Vinny Vero's Turquoise Mix) – 8:23 #"Union City Blue" (Jammin Hot's I Can't Believe It's Not Diddy Mix) – 7:37 #"Union City Blue" (Burger Queen Peroxide Power Mix) – 7:40 ;UK 1995 Remix CD2 (7243 8 82467 2 9) #"Union City Blue" (Diddy's Power & Passion Edit) – 3:45 #"

" (Live) – 7:53 #"Union City Blue" (The OPM Poppy Mix) – 8:48 #"Union City Blue" (Original Version) – 3:18 ;US 1995 Remix CD (7243 8 58474 2 4) #"Union City Blue" (Diddy's Remix Edit) – 3:38 * #"Union City Blue" (Original Single Version) – 3:18 #"Union City Blue" (Vinny Vero's Turquoise Mix) – 8:23 #"Union City Blue" (Burger Queen Peroxide Power Mix) – 7:40 #"Union City Blue" (OPM Poppy Mix) – 8:48 #"Union City Blue" (Diddy's Power & Passion Mix) – 8:34 #"

" (Live) – 7:53 ** Identical to the UK ''Diddy's Power & Passion Edit'' mix.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1979 singles 1979 songs Blondie (band) songs Chrysalis Records singles Songs written by Debbie Harry Songs written by Nigel Harrison Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)