As yesterday’s Graham Parker song illustrated, something about minor chords and a reggae beat seemed to put ’70s and ’80s rockers in an apocalyptic mood. When Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman started fooling around with these chords in rehearsal, what turned into their signature song was the result.
According to Rob Hyman, “We just started singing and playing and writing words as fast as they could come; it was a ping-pong match. The song just happened.”
We launched into this kind of biblical world with Moses and Noah and all of the imagery which was the obvious, basic stuff that you read and hear about, whether it’s in The Bible or in movies, and just combining those kind of icons and images with this reggae beat, which is something I was always very much into.
Because they wrote it so fast the pair didn’t think the tune had much potential until they played it during a set broadcast on WMMR. It got so many requests they pressed a live single from the concert to meet the demand.
They recorded a studio version for their independently produced “Amore” album, released in 1983.
On “Nervous Night,” the band’s 1985 major-label release, they beefed up the production, streamlined the arrangement and released it as the lead single. It topped out at No. 58. The album version is almost 6 minutes long; it’s been cut down for this official video.
The Hooters are very popular in Germany, where singer Sandra covered the tune for her 2007 LP “The Art of Love.” Having a bunch of children sing the chorus definitely ups the creepiness level.
