"Black and Blue" is a 1971 song by Chain which is said to be "genuine Australian blues". It is a song about a chain gang from Australia's convict past, and it struck a raw chord with young suburban audiences, to the extent that it reached #1 on the Australian charts. The song was written by the four members of Chain at the time (the classic Chain line up); Matt Taylor, Phil Manning, Barry Sullivan & Barry Harvey.
"Black and Blue" features on the double gold certified album Toward The Blues which was released in September 1971 and went to #6 nationally in Australia. The album reached ARIA gold status for the 2nd time in 1998. Also available in CD format and the 30th anniversary "remixed" version of the album was released as a CD in September 2001. The 30th anniversary CD included 3 bonus songs; Chain's number 2 hit single "Judgement", "Blow in D", and the single version of "Black and Blue". Chain appeared at a special night to mark the 30th anniversary of the release of "Toward the Blues" held in Melbourne at the Mercury Lounge during September 2001.
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or blue:
“The liberal wing of the feminist movement may have improved the lives of its middle- and upper-class constituency—indeed, 1992 was the Year of the White Middle Class Woman—but since the leadership of this faction of the feminist movement has singled out black men as the meta-enemy of women, these women represent one of the most serious threats to black male well-being since the Klan.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“They said, “You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are.”
The man replied, “Things as they are
Are changed upon a blue guitar.””
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)