I have to begin this post by saying a huge ‘screw you’ to Bret Easton Ellis (who clearly will be one of the 3 people who reads these posts…). The author of American Psycho took a real swipe at Huey Lewis and the News by making the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, who was used to symbolise the rampant capitalism which existed in the 80’s and 90’s, a fan of the band. Indeed, in the movie version of the novel, Bateman delivers an impassioned monologue on the band before cold-heartedly taking an axe to someone whilst the very song I’ve chosen here plays in the background. Ellis has since stated that he regretted establishing that link to the band, though the damage was done – they were unfairly labelled as something of a joke by certain hipster sections of the press for many years after. All those hacks were hideously wrong though – Huey Lewis And The News were a great band, undoubtedly hitting their peak during the 80’s due to a run of quite brilliant pop/rock songs. Again, they’ll feature quite heavily over the life of this blog, though I had to start with this huge earworm of a tune.
The artist
The band have an intriguing back-story. Huey Lewis and keyboardist Sean Hopper first joined a band (Clover) together in San Francisco in 1972. Clover recorded a number of albums before moving to Britian during the middle of the 70’s to become part of the burgeoning UK pub rock scene. The band, at this stage without Lewis onboard, eventually became the backing band for Elvis Costello’s first album, whilst Lewis himself worked with Thin Lizzy, playing the harmonica on the song Baby Drives Me Crazy, from the hugely successful Live and Dangerous album. Legendary frontman Phil Lynott even namechecks Lewis during that song.
Having returned to San Francisco in the late 70s, Lewis formed a group, consisting of renowned musicians from the area, naming them Huey Lewis & The American Express. Moving to Chrysalis Records in 1979, the record company didn’t like the name American Express, primarily due to a nervousness around potential trademark infringement charges from the credit card company, so the band took on a new name – Huey Lewis And The News. They had moderate success with their first 2 albums and hit the road, touring small clubs in late 1983 to promote their third long-player – Sports. This saw them gain a new fanbase and the album initially reached number 6 in the US chart, before becoming the very definition of a slow-burner and hitting the top spot in 1984, going on to reach multi-platinum status the following year. This was helped by 4 singles receiving significant airplay on MTV – Heart and Soul, I Want A New Drug, The Heart of Rock & Roll, and If This Is It. The album went on to sell over 10 million copies in America alone. This was all followed by the release of the song which introduced most of my generation (in the UK) to the band: The Power Of Love featured prominently in Back to the Future, became the band’s only top-ten single in the UK charts, and pre-empted the release of their brilliant fourth studio album, Fore!, in 1986. The album peaked at number one in the US album charts and has since been certified three-times platinum. It featured five US hit singles, included Stuck With You, Jacob’s Ladder, and Hip To Be Square…
Why I’ve chosen to write about this song
It’s a great song! It’s just a ridiculously catchy and fantastic song! It is frequently suggested that Huey Lewis and the News are the best bar band of all time. I find that both a perfect description and insulting (depending on what mood I’m in…). Some use that phrase to suggest that they’re a ridiculously good pub band, which basically implies that they’re nowhere near as good as other established pop bands – faint praise indeed. Though I’m sure some have also used it genuinely, to emphasise that they’re a band who make top-tier pop/rock music. The latter certainly applies. For me, they’re one of the finest bands of the 80s, not just due to their brilliant hit singles, but also a number of fantastic albums. This is definitely a band who were all killer and no filler – many of their album tracks are equally as good as the hit singles. Plus, as is emerging as something of a theme in my song choices to date, they make me smile. It’s feelgood music – songs to play as you’re getting ready to go on a night out, or doing the housework, or driving your car on a summer’s day. God knows we all need more of that in our lives these days…
The video
An interesting video, especially if you like seeing the nostrils of your favourite singers! This is the tried-and-tested band performance video but with a twist – the band are filmed in extreme close-ups using what were allegedly medical cameras mounted on mic stands and other equipment. For what is often mistaken as a straightforward video, it’s actually really inventive. Directed by Godley & Crème, a successful act themselves (both as members of 10CC and as a duo), their creativeness really shines through . At this time, the duo were building a huge reputation as creators of some of the best music videos of the time, including Duran Duran’s A View To A Kill, The Police’s Every Breath You Take, Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Two Tribes, and The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me. Hip To Be Square was a fine addition to their work.
The stats
The song really didn’t trouble the UK charts too much. First landing at No. 76 at the end of November 1986, it reached a peak of 41 in late December / early January. It fared much better in the US charts, reaching a peak position of 3. For the stats fans, the number one single in the UK during that 16th-22nd November week was Berlin’s Take My Breath Away. It seems people were much more onboard with saccharine-sweet big ballads than infectious pop tunes at that time…
The cover version
I need to start choosing a few songs that I know have decent cover versions available. I wasn’t previously aware of any well-known covers of Hip To Be Square and, having spent a good couple of hours trawling YouTube and Spotify, that view hasn’t changed. There are a few fairly competent versions out there, though they don’t excite me enough to include here. All are pretty much carbon copies of the original, so we may as well stick with that.
The wrap-up
It’s a debate I’ll no doubt come back to time and time again here, though we should never feel embarrassed to admit to the music we like. I hate the term ‘guilty pleasure’. I hate that some genres, such as two of my favourites – rock/metal and country – are often universally derided, despite having huge and insanely passionate followers. I hate the fact that I felt compelled to begin this post by referencing a movie which clearly mocks my song choice this week. Some bands / artists are always considered to be cool and in vogue by the fashionista, whilst some are quite the opposite. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter a jot. Listen to what you like, don’t listen to what you don’t like, and leave others to do what they want. For me, this is one of the finest pop songs of the 80s from one of the finest bands of the decade. Ridiculously catchy, it always makes me smile, sing and bop along. When music does that for you, life rarely gets any better.
Best wishes.
Mick
