Election Day (song)

For other songs with the same name, see Election day (disambiguation) § Music.

"Election Day"
7" single sleeve
Single by Arcadia
from the album So Red the Rose
B-side	"She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless"
Released	14 October 1985 (1985-10-14) [1]
Studio	Studio de la Grande Armée (Paris)
Genre	New wave [2]
Length	4:30 (single version) 8:39 (Consensus mix) 8:27 (Cryptic cut no voice mix) 9:06 (Cryptic cut/Fact and Story mix)
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Nick Rhodes Simon Le Bon
Producer(s)	Alex Sadkin
Arcadia singles chronology
"Election Day" (1985) "Goodbye Is Forever" (1986)
Music video
"Election Day" on YouTube

"Election Day" is the first single released by the Duran Duran offshoot band Arcadia. ^[3]

It was released by Parlophone in October 1985 and subsequently hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at No. 6 in the US and No. 7 in the UK. In Italy, spurred on by several high profile TV appearances, it became a huge hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 between November 1985 and January 1986. It also reached the Top 5 in New Zealand and Ireland. Along with the Arcadia members, "Election Day" features Grace Jones on vocals and speech segments.

Lyrical content

When Smash Hits published the lyrics in their magazine, they published the complete lyric, which included a verse that was subsequently dropped from the released version of the song:

Don't even try to induce, In all my restrain there's no hesitation

All the signs on the loose 'cause sanity's rare this end of the hard day

Shadows are crawling out of the subway

Any way that you choose in every direction just to confuse me

This additional verse was also included in the lyrics which were printed on the back of the sleeve of the "Cryptic cut no voice" release.

Music video

The dark and moody video—with Gothic imagery inspired by Jean Cocteau's 1946 film, La Belle et la Bête —was shot in and around Paris in late September 1985. It was directed by Roger Christian. There is a short cameo appearance by an actor dressed like William S. Burroughs. A documentary film was made on the filming and production of the music video. ^[4]

Official remixes

It was the first Duran Duran–related single to have more than one remix of the lead track, a feature that would continue on "Notorious" a year later. There were a total of seven mixes of "Election Day":

• Album version (5:29) – Original mix; all except the early rough mix are different permutations of this version
• Single version (4:30) – Edited album version
• Consensus mix (8:39) – 12" and promo video version
• "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" (4:28) – Instrumental B-side; title from first verse of the song
• Cryptic cut/Fact and Story mix (9:06) – Largely instrumental, featuring extended passages and a short 'political speech'
• Cryptic cut no voice mix (8:27) – The "Cryptic cut" mix, without the speech
• Early rough mix (9:04) – An early, mostly instrumental version

Formats and track listings

7": Parlophone / NSR 1 (UK)

1. "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30
2. "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" – 4:28

• Track 1 is also known as the "7 inch mix"
• B-side is an instrumental version of "Election Day"

12": Parlophone / 12 NSR 1 (UK)

1. "Election Day" (Consensus mix) – 8:39
2. "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30
3. "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" – 4:28

12": Parlophone / 12 NSRA 1 (UK)

1. "Election Day" (Cryptic cut no voice mix) – 8:27
2. "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30
3. "Election Day" (Consensus mix) – 8:39

12": Townhouse / PSLP393 (UK)

1. "Election Day" (Cryptic cut / Fact and Story mix) – 9:06

• 1-sided UK promo, unlabelled
• This version was later referred to by Le Bon and Rhodes as the "Cryptic cut"
• The name "Fact and Story mix" comes from the spoken word part in the mix and was first referred to by this name on a bootleg remix album

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Election Day" Chart (1985–1986) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50) [6] 14 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [7] 8 Germany (Media Control Charts) [8] 21 Ireland (IRMA) [9] 5 Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [10] 1 Japan (Oricon) [11] 93 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [12] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [13] 4 Norway (VG-lista) [14] 7 Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) [15] 18 UK Singles Chart [16] 7 US Cash Box Top 100 [17] 7 US Billboard Hot 100 [18] 6

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Election Day" Chart (1986) Position US Billboard Hot 100 [19] 86

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [20]	Gold	50,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Arcadia

• Simon Le Bon – vocals
• Nick Rhodes – keyboards
• Roger Taylor – drums

Additional musicians

• Grace Jones – guest vocalist
• Carlos Alomar – guitars
• Masami Tsuchiya – guitars
• Mark Egan – bass guitar; double bass
• Andy Mackay – tenor saxophone

Technical

• Alex Sadkin – producer; engineer

Covers, samples, and media references

On Duran Duran's 'Strange Behaviour' tour, the band performed a medley of "Election Day" and the Power Station's single, "Some Like It Hot".

References

1. "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 12 October 1985. p. 16. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Various Artists - Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Vol. 15 (1995) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
3. Van Matre, Lynn (November 24, 1985). "Duran Duran Spawns Yet Another New Band: Arcadia Scales The Charts". Chicago Tribune .
4. "Filming Election Day" - September 1985, Paris, France. Video.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
6. "ultratop.be". Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
7. "Top Singles - Volume 43, No. 14". RPM. 14 December 1985. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
8. "germancharts.de" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
9. "The Irish Charts - IRMA". IRMA. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
10. "Top 3 in Europe". Eurotipsheet . Vol. 2, no. 48. 2 December 1985. p. 16.
11. Oricon Chart Book: 1968–1997. Tokyo: Oricon. 1997. ISBN   4-87131-041-8.
12. "dutchcharts.nl". Hung Medien. MegaCharts . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
13. "charts.nz". Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
14. "norwegiancharts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
15. "der Schweizer Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
16. "OfficialCharts.com". Official Charts . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
17. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research.
18. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010. Record Research.
19. "1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. December 27, 1986. p. Y-21.
20. "Canadian single certifications – Arcadia – Election Day". Music Canada . Retrieved 2 August 2023.

External links

• Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes being interviewed on Arcadia and the theme of Election Day
• Election Day at Discogs (list of releases)