"Bitter Heart" | ||||
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Single by Seona Dancing | ||||
Released | September 1983 [1] | |||
Genre | New wave, synthpop | |||
Length | 3:58 (7"), 6:36 (12") | |||
Label | London Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ricky Gervais, Bill Macrae | |||
Seona Dancing singles chronology | ||||
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"Bitter Heart" is a song by British new wave duo Seona Dancing, released as a single in 1983. It is a David Bowie-style new wave pop song, sung by a then-unknown Ricky Gervais with synthesizers provided by Bill Macrae. The song peaked at No. 79 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained in the top 100 for 3 weeks. [2]
A video was made in 1983. It has had considerable play in recent[ when? ] years on talk shows interviewing Gervais and has been played on "'80s flashback" shows.[ citation needed ] The plot of the video is a girl in a wedding dress who was about to get married and has just had her husband leave her, after which she becomes angry and destroys most of the objects in the room.
In August 2012, British pop group Super 8 Cynics released a cover of the song through Manchester record label Longevity Records. [3] In September 2023, Los Angeles band Sacred Skin released a cover of the song via Artoffact Records. Then in June 2024, independent artist Second Suffix released a cover on his debut EP "Dark Matter".
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, director and musician. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022).
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the lead single by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler from her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night (1983) written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded in 1982, released as a single by CBS/Columbia in 1983.
"Mickey" is a song recorded by American singer Toni Basil for her debut studio album, Word of Mouth (1981). It was first recorded by the pop group Racey. Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn wrote the song, while production was helmed by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch. Basil's version is new wave, featuring guitar, synthesizers and cheerleading chants. It garnered a mixed response from music critics, with some critics praising the radio-friendly nature of the song, while others described some of the lyrics as obscene.
"If I Give My Heart to You" is a popular song written by Jimmy Brewster, Jimmie Crane, and Al Jacobs. The most popular versions of the song were recorded by Doris Day and by Denise Lor; both charted in 1954.
"The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been ejected from a club for pogo dancing.
Seona Dancing were a 1980s British new wave group, best known for providing comedian Ricky Gervais with his first experiences as a public performer. Although the band experienced little chart success, their single "More to Lose" went on to become a teen anthem in the Philippines.
"Heart of Glass" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie, written by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. It was featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines (1978), and was released as the album's third single in January 1979 and reached number one on the charts in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
"One of Us" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in December 1981 by Polar Music as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, The Visitors (1981). Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who also produced it, the song has lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended. It would become ABBA's last major hit for 40 years, and the last No. 1 single of their career, topping the charts in Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. "One of Us" was also a top-10 hit in countries like Austria, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. In the US, where it was released in 1983, it only charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at number 107 and 33, respectively. The music video for the song was directed by Lasse Hallström, featuring Fältskog as a woman moving into her new house. "One of Us" has since been covered by Pandora in 1995, A-Teens in 1999 and Cher in 2018.
"She" is a song written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer and released as a single sung by Aznavour in 1974. The song was written in English as a theme tune for the British TV series Seven Faces of Woman.
"Oh My God" is the debut single of English indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs. It was initially released by the Drowned in Sound label on 17 May 2004, reaching number 66 on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released on 21 February 2005, two weeks before the release of their debut album, Employment. This time, it peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, which earned the band their first top-10 hit as well as their highest-charting single at the time until it was succeeded by UK chart-topper "Ruby" on 25 February 2007. The song also appeared on the soundtrack for the video game Driver: Parallel Lines.
"For All We Know" is a soft rock song written for the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Robb Wilson and Arthur James. Both Royer and Griffin were founding members of the soft rock group Bread. It was originally performed, for the film's soundtrack, by Larry Meredith. The best known version of the song is by American pop duo the Carpenters which reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1971. The song was also a hit for Shirley Bassey at the same time in the United Kingdom. It has since been covered by various artists, including Petula Clark.
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British synth-pop duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their second album of the same name in January 1983. It was their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo worldwide. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 1983, and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later; it was their first single released in the US.
"I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" is a song written by Homer Banks and Allen Jones. Originally recorded by soul duo Sam & Dave in 1967, the song was famously covered by new wave musician Elvis Costello with his backing band the Attractions in 1980 for their album Get Happy!!.
"Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American soul singer Candi Staton in 1976.
"More to Lose" is the debut single by English new wave duo Seona Dancing, released in 1983. It is an uptempo new wave pop song, sung by a then-unknown Ricky Gervais, who was the lyricist and vocalist of the band. Bill Macrae was the band's composer and keyboard player. The song remains virtually unknown in their homeland of the United Kingdom, after only peaking at No. 117 on the UK Singles Chart, but found tremendous success in the Philippines in 1985, a year after the band broke up.
"Summertime Sadness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). The pop ballad was released on June 22, 2012, by Interscope Records as the fourth single of the album. In the spring of 2013, "Summertime Sadness" reached number one in Poland, Ukraine and Armenia. Charting across Europe, the single reached the top 10 in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Trap and house remixes of "Summertime Sadness" helped Del Rey break into the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. That chart is where Del Rey's song became a modest hit and marked her first foray into the chart. On the accompanied Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, the single gave Del Rey her first US number-one single in August 2013. In September 2021, the song was ranked number 456 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
David Brent: Life on the Road is a 2016 British mockumentary comedy film written, directed, and produced by Ricky Gervais and released by Entertainment One. The film stars Gervais as David Brent, a character he played in the BBC television comedy series The Office, who has a film crew that shadows him as he travels up and down the country living his dream of being a rock star. Gervais said, "This film delves much more into his private life than The Office ever did and we really get to peel back the layers of this extraordinary, ordinary man." He has emphasised that it is "not an Office film".
"My Man and Me" is a song written, recorded and produced by the British female singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul for her second album, Taste Me... Don't Waste Me, and released as a single backed with de Paul's smoochy version of "Dancing on a Saturday Night" on 21 February 1975.
Nina Boldt, known mononymously and professionally as NINA is a German singer-songwriter based in London and Berlin. Her music is a fusion of pop, new wave, and electronic music. She released her debut album Sleepwalking in 2018 and her follow-up album Synthian in 2020. Her third major release Control was released as an EP via Lakeshore Records and features samples from Cliff Martinez's film score for Drive, which began a mainstream modern revival of the cliche 1980s music, art, and graphics scene.