"Together in Electric Dreams" is a song by the British singer and composer Philip Oakey, and Italian composer and producer Giorgio Moroder. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the original soundtrack of the film Electric Dreams (1984). It later formed part of the joint album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, released in 1985. Released as a single in the United Kingdom in September 1984, it proved a major commercial success, even eclipsing the original film it was intended to promote. It reached No.3 in the UK Singles Chart, staying in the charts for 13 weeks.
The single also hit the Australian Top 5 and had minor chart success in New Zealand and the Netherlands. It was the only song from the brief Oakey/Moroder partnership that achieved commercial success, and was released as a single in the United States in 1988.
Background
The film Electric Dreams was director Steve Barron's first full feature film. Barron's prior work included conceiving and directing a number of innovative music videos during the early 1980s. His biggest success up to that point had been as director of the music video for The Human League's "Don't You Want Me" in 1981, which helped the single become number one in the United Kingdom and United States.
For the film Electric Dreams, Barron wanted to emulate the huge success of the film Flashdance a year earlier. Flashdance had used the electronic music of Giorgio Moroder, so Barron enlisted Moroder as director of music, who wrote most of the score. Barron wanted the end credits to roll to "an emotional" song in the same way as Flashdance had done.
Moroder wrote "Together in Electric Dreams" as a male solo vocal, and Barron suggested his former associate Philip Oakey for the part.
After the initial full recording of the song was completed, Moroder told Oakey that the first take was "good enough, as first time is always best". Oakey, who thought he was just rehearsing, insisted on doing another take. Moroder agreed, though Oakey believes that Moroder still used the first take on the final production.
Originally released to advertise the film, "Together in Electric Dreams" quickly overshadowed the original film, and became a success in its own right. Oakey stated that it is ironic that a track that took literally ten minutes to record would become a worldwide hit, while some of his Human League material that took over a year to record did not.
Music video
The promotional video was originally designed to promote the film Electric Dreams not the song, and this was how most viewers in the United States would see it. In the United Kingdom, where the original film was a flop, the promotional video was perceived to be a music video first, and often erroneously a Human League video.
Like many film soundtrack promos, the video splices key scenes from the film with footage of Philip Oakey. In addition, other promotional scenes were created especially for the video: an Electric Dreams signboard is seen behind Oakey twice, the actual movie poster is seen behind him on the freeway and the computer from the film is seen relaxing on the beach.
Oakey is seen being driven around what is purportedly San Francisco (but was actually Los Angeles) singing the lyrics. The video would famously finish with a sock puppet parody of the MGM Lion on a television screen, on a beach. Giorgio Moroder himself makes a cameo appearance in the video, as the boss of the radio station taken over by the computer.
Charts
In the media
- It was used in an advert by EDF Energy in April 2012. This contributed to the song re entering the charts that year.
Association with The Human League
Philip Oakey is the lead singer of the British synthpop band The Human League. Because of this, "Together in Electric Dreams" is often erroneously credited as a Human League single. It was also released at the height of the band's international fame and success; because of this popularity the single has been included in the band's various Greatest Hits compilation albums released later.
Although the Human League have never recorded their own version, due to the song's popularity the band frequently play a unique Human League version when they perform live, often as an encore. The Human League version differs considerably from the Giorgio Moroder produced original in that it has a longer, more dramatic intro and female backing vocals by Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, which are now as prominent as Oakey's lead.
Electric Dreams (album)
Together in Electric Dreams is an EP, released in the United Kingdom in November 2007. It was produced by Rob da Bank, and released by Sunday Best Recordings.
The album features five very different interpretations of the hit song "Together in Electric Dreams", originally written and released by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder in 1984. The only track not especially commissioned for the album was the version by Lali Puna, which had previously been released on the tribute album Reproductions: Songs of The Human League (2001).
Track listing
- A1. "Together in Electric Dreams" â€" Kish Mauve
- A2. "Together in Electric Dreams" â€" Le Vicarious Bliss Pop Experience featuring Headbangirl
- A3. "Together in Electric Dreams" â€" Daisy Daisy
- AA1. "Together in Electric Dreams" â€" Subway
- AA2. "Together in Electric Dreams" â€" Lali Puna
References
External links
- Together in Electric Dreams at Discogs
- Together in Electric Dreams music video at Clipland