The Riddle (Nik Kershaw song)

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"The Riddle"
Nik Kershaw The Riddle 12" Cover.jpeg
Cover of the 12-inch single
Single by Nik Kershaw
from the album The Riddle
Released5 November 1984 (1984-11-05)
Recorded1984
Genre
Length3:52
Label MCA
Songwriter(s) Nik Kershaw
Producer(s) Peter Collins
Nik Kershaw singles chronology
"Human Racing"
(1984)
"The Riddle"
(1984)
"Wide Boy"
(1985)
Music video
"The Riddle" on YouTube

"The Riddle" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released in 1984 as the lead single from his second studio album of the same name. Kershaw described the lyrical content as being nondescript to fill as a "guide vocal" for the production. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top 10 in countries like Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. An accompanying music video was made for the song and features references to Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865).

Contents

The song was covered by many artists, including Gigi D'Agostino (1999), dArtagnan (band) ,Jack Holiday and Mike Candys (2012).

Lyrics

The "riddling" lyrics caused speculation among listeners as to their meaning; Kershaw states that there is in fact no intended meaning at all, the words simply being a "guide vocal" thrown together to fit the music. Kershaw has stated: "In short, 'The Riddle' is nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar." [1]

Music video

The music video to "The Riddle" depicts Kershaw walking through a house shaped like a question mark, making his way through certain obstacles and looking through drawers while singing. The video depicts many references to Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) with an appearance of a young girl exiting the room through a small door, two portly gentlemen who resemble Tweedledum and Tweedledee and an observation made by Kershaw to Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

At the beginning of the music video, Kershaw is seen trying to get through a door with a screwdriver. The video ends with the camera moving up away from Kershaw to reveal that the question mark is lying in an alleyway, at which point, a man in a green costume seen earlier in the video comes and picks it up. The green man is the Riddler, a villain from the Batman comics.

Two versions of the video exist, with minor differences.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

7" Single (WEA NIK 6) [2]
A: "The Riddle" – 3:52
B: "Progress" (Live) – 3:02

12" Single (WEA NIKT 6) [3]
A: "The Riddle" (Extended Riddle) – 5:08
B: "Progress" (Live) – 3:02

Cassette Single (WEA NIKC 6) [4]
A1: "The Riddle" – 3:52
A2: "Interview"
A3: "Progress" (Live) – 3:02
B1: "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Extended Mix)
B2: "Wouldn't It Be Good" (Extended Mix)

Credits

"The Riddle" [2]
Produced by Peter Collins

"Progress"
Recorded Live at Hammersmith Odeon.
Mixed by Simon Boswell

"The Riddle (Extended Riddle)"
Produced by Peter Collins
The extended mix is named "Special Extended Mix" on the cover and "Extended Riddle" on the label.

Charts

Gigi D'Agostino version

"The Riddle"
Gigi The Riddle.jpg
Single by Gigi D'Agostino
from the album L'Amour Toujours
B-side "Remix"
ReleasedDecember 1999
Recorded1999
Genre Italo dance
Length4:45
Label ZYX
Songwriter(s) Nik Kershaw
Producer(s) Gigi D'Agostino
Gigi D'Agostino singles chronology
"Another Way"
(1999)
"The Riddle"
(1999)
"La Passion"
(2000)
Music video
"The Riddle" on YouTube

"The Riddle" was covered as a dance song by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino, featuring uncredited vocals by British singer Adam Austin. This version was released on D'Agostino's second studio album, L'Amour Toujours (1999). The same lyrics are used as in Kershaw's song, but the order is changed and the tempo is faster.

Music video

The music video, which was made by Andreas Hykade, features La Linea -styled animation like the "Bla Bla Bla" music video (both of which feature the same humanoid character), taking place entirely with white lines on a light green background and features the aforementioned character fighting a dragon on a mountainous terrain.

Weekly charts

2000 weekly chart performance for "The Riddle"
Chart (2000)Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [27] 14
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) [28] 8
Canada Dance/Urban ( RPM ) [29] 12 [lower-alpha 1]
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles) [30] 15
France (SNEP) [31] 7
Germany (Official German Charts) [32] 4
Hungary (MAHASZ) [33] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] 8
2002 weekly chart performance for "The Riddle"
Chart (2002)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [35] 4
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia) [36] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [37] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [38] 4

Year-end charts

2000 year-end chart performance for "The Riddle"
Chart (2000)Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [39] 26
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [40] 53
Germany (Official German Charts) [41] 23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [42] 67
2002 year-end chart performance for "The Riddle"
Chart (2002)Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) [43] 47
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [44] 61
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [45] 52

Certifications

Certifications for "The Riddle"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria) [46] Gold25,000*
France (SNEP) [47] Silver125,000*
Germany (BVMI) [48] Gold250,000^
Italy (FIMI) [49] Gold50,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Jack Holiday and Mike Candys version

  1. "The Riddle" reached number 12 when RPM ceased publication in November 2000.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gigi D'Agostino</span> Italian DJ (born 1967)

Luigino Celestino di Agostino, known professionally as Gigi D'Agostino, is an Italian DJ and music producer. In 1986, he started his career as a DJ spinning Italo disco. His biggest chart successes include "Bla Bla Bla", "Another Way", a cover of Nik Kershaw's "The Riddle", "La Passion", "Super" and "L'Amour Toujours", all in the years 1999 and 2000. The hookline of "L'Amour Toujours" was also used for the 2018 hit game remix/mashup "In My Mind".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikita (song)</span> 1985 single by Elton John

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">For an Angel</span> 1998 single by Paul van Dyk

"For An Angel" is a trance track by German DJ Paul van Dyk, which served as his debut track and would become his most famous work. The song was initially released in 1994 as a track on 45 RPM on the MFS record label, which was van Dyk's first studio album. It was later reworked and re-released in 1998 as "E-Werk Remix" on Deviant Records, a homage to the E-Werk nightclub where van Dyk used to be the resident DJ, the song held number one on the UK Dance Chart for several weeks. Since its release, the track has become one of the greatest and most influential trance tracks of all time. It was voted as the eighth greatest dance record of all time by Mixmag readers. The song was featured on the Gigi D'Agostino compilation album, Il programmino di Gigi D'agostino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When a Heart Beats</span> 1985 single by Nik Kershaw

"When a Heart Beats" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released as the lead single from his third studio album, Radio Musicola (1986)—although the song does not appear on the LP version of the album, only on the cassette and CD editions. Kershaw's eighth single overall, it features the track "Wild Horses"—which was originally included on his previous studio album, The Riddle (1984)—as its B-side.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brother Louie (Modern Talking song)</span> 1986 song by Modern Talking

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Boy (song)</span> 1985 single by Nik Kershaw

"Wide Boy" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was his sixth consecutive top-20 single, peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. It was followed by "Don Quixote" which was to become the last of his string of top-20 singles on the UK chart. "Wide Boy" also charted highly in Ireland and Australia, peaking at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively.

"In My Mind" is a 2012 song by Australian house music producer Ivan Gough and house music duo Feenixpawl, featuring the vocals of indie pop musician Georgi Kay.

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"The Riddle Anthem"
JH MC - The Riddle Anthem single cover.jpg
Single by Jack Holiday and Mike Candys
Released19 November 2012 (2012-11-19)
Genre Electronic
Length3:13
Songwriter(s) Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)
  • Mike Candys
  • Jack Holiday
Jack Holiday singles chronology
"Children 2012"
(2012)
"The Riddle Anthem"
(2012)
"The Riddle Anthem (Rework)"
(2018)
Mike Candys singles chronology
"Sunshine (Fly So High)"
(2012)
"The Riddle Anthem"
(2012)
"Bring Back the Love"
(2013)