"Vacation" is a 1982 single released by the all-female rock band, the Go-Go's. The song was the first single from the album, ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or school or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for sp ...

''. The song became one of the Go-Go's highest charting singles, reaching No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in August 1982, being the band's second and final US top-10 hit. The song was released on 7" vinyl format, with the surf rock song "Beatnik Beach" as the single's B-side. "Vacation" carries the distinction of being released as the first known

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single (music), single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was introduced in 1980 in music, 1 ...

or "cassingle" as trademarked by

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

. ''

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 advertis ...

'' called it a "perfect summer record" saying it is "uptempo, optimistic and the aural companion for lazy days at the beach. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 "propulsive power pop." An earlier version of "Vacation", written solely by Kathy Valentine, was released by The Textones, of which Valentine was a member, in 1980. It was released on Chiswick Records in the United Kingdom as an EP and later a 45.

Music video

The video, which was directed by Mick Haggerty and C.D. Taylor, starts by showing the song's title on a photo in a travel brochure. It depicts the band waiting on a pile of luggage at an airport after

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...

arrives in a taxi. It changes to show them performing, then ends with a section in which they water-ski in formation, as on the album cover. All the band members smile and mug for the camera in individual closeups. The photo then freezes and zooms out to be shown in another travel brochure on the floor, which an unseen janitor sweeps up, with other trash (most likely from the airport portion of the video). It was shot in one very long day on a $50,000 budget, large for the time, and the band was coming off a debut album that had reached no. 1. "We still saw videos as an annoying waste of time," recalls

Jane Wiedlin Jane Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The Go-Go's. She voices Dusk, the drummer and ba ...

. "After seven or eight hours we sent out someone to sneak in booze." Kathy Valentine says they drank "lots of champagne." Wiedlin says the effects are evident during the closeups of the women at the end: "if you look at our eyes, we're all so drunk. We didn't even try to make it look like we were really waterskiing."

Track listing

7-inch and cassette single :A. "Vacation" – 2:59 (2:55 on cassette) :B. "Beatnik Beach" – 2:52 (2:45 on cassette)

In popular culture

The song was later included in the jukebox musical '' Head over Heels'' that debuted on Broadway in 2018. The Go-Go's performed "Vacation", " Our Lips Are Sealed", and " We Got the Beat" during the 2021

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

Induction Ceremony. "Vacation" was used in two Klasky-Csupo animated series; '' Duckman'' in the episode “In The Nam of the Father”, and '' Rugrats'' in the episode “Vacation”. The song was played in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' season 16 episode "

Mobile Homer "Mobile Homer" is the thirteenth episode of the The Simpsons season 16, sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was first broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on Marc ...

". The song was also used in the trailer for the 2007 comedy film, '' Mr. Bean's Holiday''. The song was played during the end credits of the 2019

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

movie, '' Spider-Man: Far From Home''. A parody of the song was sung several times during the ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' Season 6 episode " Casecation". The song was played in a scene of the documental movie Fahrenheit 9/11, by

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

. The song is played over a montage towards the end of ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' season 7 episode 2, The Gang goes to the Jersey Shore.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1982 singles The Go-Go's songs Songs written by Charlotte Caffey Songs written by Jane Wiedlin Songs written by Kathy Valentine Song recordings produced by Richard Gottehrer 1982 songs I.R.S. Records singles