Never Say Never (Romeo Void song)

Last updated
"Never Say Never"
Romeo Void - Never Say Never.png
Single by Romeo Void
from the album Benefactor
ReleasedDecember 1981 (EP) [1]
November 1982 (7-inch single) [2]
RecordedOctober 1981 [3]
Genre
Length
  • 5:53
  • 6:05
  • 3:27
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s)
  • Debora Iyall
  • Peter Woods
  • Frank Zincavage
  • Benjamin Bossi
  • Larry Carter
Producer(s)
Audio sample

"Never Say Never" is a 1982 song by the new wave band Romeo Void. One of their best-known songs, "Never Say Never" was a favorite on early MTV, featuring a black-and-white music video that spoofs Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless . The song is driven by a throbbing, funky bassline and punctuated by jagged guitar and saxophone, incorporating post-punk influences. The song reached #17 on the Billboard Dance / Disco chart chart on the 27th of March, 1982. [4]

Contents

Composition

Musically, the song has been described as post-punk, [5] new wave, [6] dance-rock, [5] [7] and disco-punk. [8]

Legacy

The song was featured in the 1984 film Reckless starring Aidan Quinn as a football star and renegade. Quinn's character takes over the school dance's DJ booth to play the single, much to the dismay of all his classmates. A dance sequence ensues with Quinn's character moshing about while a somewhat distraught Daryl Hannah tries to figure out how to dance with him.

A small segment of the song was featured in a scene of the film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story . It also was included in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street . In 2016, it was featured in the show Ash vs Evil Dead during a scene of the season two episode Trapped Inside.

The song is in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It is heard in the game on the radio station Wave 103. [9]

Covers

Never Say Never (EP)

Never Say Never
EP by
ReleasedDecember 1981
RecordedOctober 1981 [10]
Genre New wave
Length20:23
Label 415
Producer
Romeo Void chronology
It's a Condition
(1981)
Never Say Never
(1981)
Benefactor
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [11]
Robert Christgau B+ [12]

An EP by American new wave band Romeo Void was released in 1981. It was released on CD in 2006 by Wounded Bird Records, as four bonus tracks to their reissue of Benefactor .

All tracks by Debora Iyall, Peter Woods, Frank Zincavage, Benjamin Bossi and Larry Carter.

  1. "Never Say Never" – 6:06
  2. "In the Dark" – 4:33
  3. "Present Tense" – 5:47
  4. "Not Safe" – 3:57
Personnel

Chart positions

Single
YearChartPosition
1982US Billboard Dance / Disco Top 80 (chart) [13] #17

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References

  1. https://www.discogs.com/release/924065-Romeo-Void-Never-Say-Never [ bare URL ]
  2. https://www.45cat.com/record/3803378us [ bare URL ]
  3. https://www.discogs.com/release/924065-Romeo-Void-Never-Say-Never [ bare URL ]
  4. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1982/BB-1982-03-27.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. 1 2 Gerard, Chris (30 September 2015). "The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 4: 40 - 21". PopMatters . Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. Phares, Heather. "Never Say Never - Romeo Void | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. Billboard. Vol. 95. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 22 January 1983. p. 43.
  8. Sheffield, Rob (September 27, 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 9, 2023. ..."Never Say Never," the definitive art-school punk-disco hit.
  9. "Radio Stations and Songs - GTA: Vice City Wiki Guide". IGN. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  10. https://www.discogs.com/release/924065-Romeo-Void-Never-Say-Never [ bare URL ]
  11. Ruhlmann, William. "Never Say Never [EP] - Romeo Void". AllMusic .
  12. "CG: Romeo Void". Robert Christgau.
  13. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1982/BB-1982-03-27.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]