"Electric Blue" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of US band Hall & Oates.[2] 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 & Oates track.[3]
"Electric Blue" was released in August 1987 as the second single from Icehouse's fifth studio album, Man of Colours (1987). It was issued through Regular Records in Australia and through Chrysalis Records in Europe and North America. In Australia, "Electric Blue" was available for a limited time on 7-inch blue vinyl. It is played regularly on Australian radio stations and remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.[4]
John Oates created the falsetto backing vocals as one of the first parts of the song, which took Iva Davies by surprise, because he was used to adding backing vocals as a finishing touch. Davies said the title was inspired by the 1970 T. Rex song "Jewel", which contains the verse, "Her eyes electric blue". Davies said, "I was taken by the description of a girl's eyes as 'electric blue'."[3]
The music video for "Electric Blue" was shot on the roof of the New South Wales Teachers Federation building at 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia. The actress featured in the video is Paris Jefferson,[5] who also appeared in the music video for Icehouse's previous single, "Crazy".
A remix version by Skipraiders was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.[6]Electropop group Ming and Ping recorded a cover as a track on their 2014 album "The Light of Day/The Darkness of Night". American indie rock band the Killers performed the song in a livestream in August 2020, which Davies later called "the most impressive" cover he'd seen.[7]
^Molanphy, Chris (15 January 2022). "Rock 'n Soul Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
^"APRA search engine". APRA. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. ELECTRIC BLUE
^Electric Blue (Australian 7-inch single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. K-389.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Electric Blue (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. X-14508.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Electric Blue (Australian cassette single sleeve). Icehouse. Regular Records. 1987. C 14508.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Electric Blue (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Icehouse. Chrysalis Records. 1987. CHS 12 3239.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Electric Blue (UK CD single liner notes). Icehouse. Chrysalis Records. 1987. CHSCD 3239.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
