"Electric Blue" is a 1987 hit single by the Australian rock / synthpop band Icehouse and was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of the U.S. band Hall & Oates. The single reached number one on the Australian singles chart on 16 November 1987, #7 on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 21 May 1988, #10 on the Canadian Singles Chart and #53 on the UK singles charts. Released in August it was the second single from their number one album Man of Colours on Regular Records in Australia and, with a slightly different cover, on Chrysalis Records for European and North American releases. It is played regularly on Australian radio stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.
The video clip for Electric Blue was shot on the roof of 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, Sydney Australia. It is now the Teachers Federation House.
John Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name then it would have been a Hall and Oates track.
It was written specifically for Amanda as she was dating John Oates at the time.
In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7 inch blue vinyl.
A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002. In July 2007, it was covered by pop artist Steve Ward at the Pink Lemonade Breast Cancer Foundation fundraiser.
On 5 September 2011, "Electric Blue" re-entered the Australian (ARIA) Singles Chart at #80.
Famous quotes containing the words electric and/or blue:
“That’s the down-town frieze,
Principally the church steeple,
A black line beside a white line;
And the stack of the electric plant,
A black line drawn on flat air.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Tommy is three and when he’s bad
his mother dances with him.
She puts on the record,
“Red Roses for a Blue Lady”
and throws him across the room.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)