Song of the Day 6/18: Ace, “How Long”

By Alby June 18, 2026No Comments

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

Ace the band was a one-hit wonder. The hit itself became a classic-rock staple. The lead singer became an important longtime figure in British rock, although hardly anybody over here knows who he is.

The Ace song was “How Long” . . . (“has this been goin’ on?”). It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and came back in 2020 to top Billboard’s Rock Digital Song chart after being featured in a commercial for Amazon Prime. It still shows up on classic-rock radio and online sites. Rod Stewart hit the Billboard Hot 100 with his 1981cover.

Ace was a pub rock band with middling success until keyboardist Paul Carrack wrote and sang lead on their best-known tune. It sounds like a song about a cheating lover, but it’s really about a band member who was playing with other groups on the sly. The guy ended up playing with Ace on the song about how he was playing with other bands.

Ace split up soon after that. Carrack joined Roxy Music for two albums and then was recruited by the popular new-wave band Squeeze. He ended up singing lead and playing keyboards on what would become Squeeze’s best-known song, “Tempted.” It was not quite a typical Squeeze song thanks to Carrack’s soulful writing and somewhat husky vocal style.

Carrack moved on again. He worked with Nick Lowe, then Eric Clapton. After that he joined Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford’s popular spinoff band Mike + The Mechanics, singing lead on “The Living Years” and other hits. He was part of Roger Waters’ massive stage presentation of “The Wall,” which played in Berlin before 250,000 fans. He was part of Clapton’s 50th anniversary tour in 2013.

Carrack has also had a nearly 50-year solo career featuring mellow pop-soul albums that have been moderately but consistently successful, especially in the UK. He and his band just wrapped up a two-month tour there. Still goin’ on.

Here’s a boffo live version of “How Long” with Carrack and Eric Clapton.