Live It Up (Mental As Anything song)

Last updated

"Live It Up"
Live It Up - Mental As Anything.jpg
Single by Mental As Anything
from the album Fundamental
B-side "Good Friday"
Released20 May 1985 (1985-05-20)
Length
  • 4:15 (album version)
  • 3:50 (radio version)
Label WEA
Songwriter(s) Greedy Smith
Producer(s) Richard Gottehrer
Mental As Anything singles chronology
"You're So Strong"
(1985)
"Live It Up"
(1985)
"Date with Destiny"
(1985)
Music video
"Live It Up" on YouTube

"Live It Up" is a song by Australian rock band Mental As Anything, released in May 1985 in Australia and then in Europe and the United States in 1986 and 1987 after the song's appearance in the film Crocodile Dundee . At the 1985 Countdown Australian Music Awards, the song won Best Single. [1]

Contents

Background

"Live It Up" was written by Mental As Anything keyboardist and singer Greedy Smith. [2] Smith did not initially think the song would be a hit when he wrote it, but became more confident as the song was completed; he explained, "You know when I felt that was going to be a hit? When we finished mixing it. It took about half an hour to write in my head. But then two years to get it right. We had no idea of how big it would be." [3]

After the song's success, Smith did not seek to directly replicate its style. He later said, "it's not about duplicating the song, you have to duplicate all the conditions around it. Which is an art in itself. It's not really that possible. It's a bit like cricket. You can't understand how a team can win or lose, but it's just the vibe of it as Michael Caton would say." [3]

Release and reception

"Live It Up" appears on the band's 1985 album, Fundamental . It was released in Australia as the album's second single in May 1985 and quickly climbed the Kent Music Report chart to peak at No. 2 for three weeks behind Madonna's "Angel / Into the Groove". It spent 12 weeks in the Top 10, becoming the fourth biggest-selling single of 1985 in Australia.[ citation needed ]

The single was later released in 1986 and 1987 in Europe after it was featured in the hit film Crocodile Dundee . "Live It Up" is the band's most successful and most popular song, reaching the top 20 in various countries. The song peaked at No. 2 in Ireland, No. 3 in the UK, [4] No. 4 in Norway, No. 6 in Germany and New Zealand, No. 15 in Austria and No. 20 in Sweden.

Greedy Smith later recounted the single's success. "And I remember when 'Live It Up' went to number three in the UK… that was a special moment. It had been a hit in Australia but nobody was interested over there and in Europe. Then, when Crocodile Dundee came out, our record company over there said 'Let's put the poster on the single pack. After that, it was a huge hit. So we were very grateful to have a bit of a go around there." [5]

"Live It Up" has been placed in the collection of the Australian National Film and Sound Archive, with the song being described as "wistful and yet danceable". [6]

In 2020, the song became an unofficial anthem of Glasgow based football team Rangers FC to mock their city rivals Celtic FC and in December 2020 Rangers fans began a campaign to get the song to number one in the UK charts for Christmas. [7]

Live performances

"Live It Up" remains a mainstay of Mental As Anything's live setlist. Greedy Smith explained, "We mainly concentrate on the songs that people know off the radio: 'If You Leave Me', 'Too Many Times', 'Live It Up', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Rock and Roll Music'." [8]

Track listings

7-inch single [9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up" Greedy Smith 3:36
2."Good Friday" Martin Plaza 4:27
Australian 12-inch single [10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up" (extended mix)Smith5:49
2."Live It Up" (7-inch version)Smith4:27
3."Three Steps to Your Place" Reg Mombassa 2:59
European 12-inch single [11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up" (remix)Smith6:06
2."Good Friday"Plaza4:29
UK 12-inch single [12]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up" (extended remix)Smith6:06
2."Three Steps to Your Place"Mombassa3:00
3."Good Friday"Plaza4:27

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Live It Up"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
Australia20 May 19857-inch vinyl WEA [32]
United Kingdom5 January 1987
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
Epic [33]

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