"When We Were Young" is a 1983 single by UK pop group
Bucks Fizz. The track features lead vocals by band member
Jay Aston
Jay Hilda Aston (born 4 May 1961 in Purley, Surrey) is a British singer and occasional songwriter. She was a member of the British pop group Bucks Fizz from 1981 to 1985 and now under The Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's ori ...
. The song became their sixth top-ten-hit in the UK and it is one of their biggest hits in Europe.
Overview
Song information
The song was written by
Warren Harry
Warren Harry (born Warren Philip Harry, 16 September 1953 – 10 March 2008) (also known as Warren Bacall) was a British songwriter and performer.
Biography
Harry was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England.
From 1976 to 1984, Warren Har ...
(under the name Warren Bacall) and was produced by Brian Tench and
Andy Hill—the first time Hill had not solely produced one of the group's singles. The song's lyrics tell of a woman in old age, who laments the fact that she has lost her youth and looks.
The song was notable for its change in direction for the group. The production was heavy and the song had an ominous tone far removed from the group's usual pop sound. It was the first and only single to feature lead vocals by
Jay Aston
Jay Hilda Aston (born 4 May 1961 in Purley, Surrey) is a British singer and occasional songwriter. She was a member of the British pop group Bucks Fizz from 1981 to 1985 and now under The Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's ori ...
. Aston's vocals were notably different from her solo appearances on previous songs (e.g. "Getting Kinda Lonely" on
''Bucks Fizz'' and "Easy Love" on
''Are You Ready''). At the time of release, Aston said of the song: "It's a very different kind of song. It's much harder and heavier and a concerted effort from Andy and the production team. We'll probably lose a lot of our old fans with this single but I hope we'll interest lots of new people."
[Jay Aston interview, Daniela Soave, '']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 '' ...
'' 28 May 1983 Aston has also said that she was adopting an affected voice, similar to
Hazel O'Connor
Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''.
Care ...
, although a review at the time remarked on her simulating
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singl ...
. Aston has since stated, despite the song's success, her vocal affectation wasn't a good idea, although she has rated it her favourite Bucks Fizz song, while member
Cheryl Baker
Rita Maria Stroud (''née'' Crudgington; born 8 March 1954), known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter. She was a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and now pe ...
has commented that she never liked the song due to its downbeat tone.
The single was released in June 1983, on 7" and 12" vinyl. It was also released on 7" and 12" vinyl picture discs. The B-side to the single was "Where the Ending Starts" (also featuring Aston on lead), which had been recently released on the group's third album, ''
Hand Cut
''Hand Cut'' is the third studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 1 March 1983 and features the UK top 20 hits, " If You Can't Stand the Heat" and " Run for Your Life".
Overview
''Hand Cut'' continued the group' ...
''. The 12" single featured an extended version of the song with a long drum-laden passage after the second chorus. Also included on this was a previously unreleased bonus track "When the Love Has Gone". "When We Were Young" was later featured on the group's first ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' album, released in November 1983. In 2005, it was released in a slightly edited form on the Bucks Fizz compilation, ''
The Ultimate Anthology''.
Music Video
The
promotional video
In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising:
Arts, media and entertainment
* Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording
* Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...
for the song prominently featured Jay Aston singing the song to the camera on a set resembling a room in a house. Throughout the video, she is dressed in a white
basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, adorned with frills and torn pieces of material. Her hair is unusually long and unkempt. At the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, the other members of the group appear separately facing the camera in a misty setting. After the second chorus, the group appear together, standing against a garishly-coloured
chroma key
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...
background. In the distance,
electricity pylons are visible. Aston, while remarking on the musical change in direction for the group, also made mention that the video took a different approach to their previous ones.
The video was filmed in Germany, although is mainly studio-bound.
Chart performance
"When We Were Young" became the group's ninth consecutive top 20 hit in the UK. The single entered the chart on the 18th of June 1983, at No.23, which was the group's highest ever first-week entry into the charts, beating "
Making Your Mind Up
"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut sing ...
" by one place. The following week it rose to its peak position of ten, where it remained for the following week. It then fell down the chart, remaining there for eight weeks in total.
The single performed particularly well in Europe also, becoming their biggest hit since "
The Land of Make Believe" and the third biggest hit of the group's career.
It reached the top ten in Ireland, as well top 20 placings in the Netherlands and Austria.
This was to be Bucks Fizz's last UK top 10 hit for three years.
Track listing
7" single
# "When We Were Young" (Warren Bacall) (4.04)
# "Where the Ending Starts" (Andy Hill) (3.57)
12" single
# "When We Were Young" (extended club mix) (6.27)
# "When the Love Has Gone" (Andy Hill / Nichola Martin) (5.50)
# "Where the Ending Starts" (3.57)
Chart positions
References
External links
Bucks Fizz-When We Were Youngon
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
{{Authority control
1983 singles
Bucks Fizz songs
1983 songs
RCA Records singles