Imagination (Belouis Some song)

"Imagination" is a song by British musician Belouis Some, from his 1985 debut album Some People. Upon its first release as a single in the UK in 1985, the song only managed to chart at No. 50, but a re-release proved more successful, hitting the top 20 and peaking at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1986.[2] In the U.S., the song reached No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1985.

"Imagination"
Single by Belouis Some
from the album Some People
Released1985
GenreNew wave[1]
Length3:32
LabelParlophone Records
Songwriter(s)Belouis Some
Producer(s)Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero
Belouis Some singles chronology
"Target Practice"
(1984)		 "Imagination"
(1985)		 "Some People"
(1985)

Belouis Some described the song as being "about a British man's encounter with an extremely self-indulgent American woman",[3] and one that "expresses the conflict between reality and dreams".[4] Speaking of the song to Number One in 1986, he commented: ""Imagination" isn't an erotic song because it doesn't go for the jugular in say the same way that Prince does, but it is very suggestive."[5]

Music video

A music video was produced for "Imagination", and was directed by Storm Thorgerson. It caused controversy as it contained full frontal nudity.[6] In an interview with Number One, Belouis Some said of the video: "It wasn't done to cause a stir, it was done for artistic reasons and we put a lot of our own money into it. It became an obsession for all of us because we believed in it so much."[7] The video received medium rotation on MTV.[8]

Critical reception

Upon release, Cash Box listed the single as one of their "feature picks" during April 1985. They commented: "With a dour vocal a la Rick Ocasek and a theatrical sensibility, Belouis Some delivers a well produced and interesting debut."[9] Paul Bursche of Number One wrote: "Imagine a David Bowie single from his Young Americans period played by his Let's Dance band and you'll have a fair idea of what this is about. It's played exceptionally well and is a brilliant single.[10] In a review of the 1986 re-issue, Dave Rimmer of Smash Hits said: "Despite one or two winceworthy lines, this is really a bit of a beaut. Deserves to be a hit this time round, I reckon, and probably will be."[11]

Cover versions and other uses

The song was used as a soundtrack for a humorous Barclays Bank advertisement in the 1980s, as well as the 1987 movie Ghost Chase. It was sampled by Boyzone members Keith 'N' Shane in their song "Girl You Know It's True" in 2000[12] and covered by Harry as part of the album The Trouble with... Harry in 2003.[13]

Chart performance
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 90
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 40
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Chart[16] 25
German Singles Chart[17] 48
Italian Singles Chart[18] 7
Swiss Singles Chart[19] 30
UK Singles Chart[20] 50
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21] 88
U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Singles Chart[21] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales Chart[21] 42
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart[22] 16
New Zealand Singles Chart[23] 38
UK Singles Chart[20] 17
Chart (1995) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[20] 95

References
  1. "Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Vol. 14 - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. "Belouis Some | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  3. "Archives: Chicago Tribune". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1985-12-19. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  4. Number One magazine - 25 May 1985 - Some Hope - page 33
  5. Number One magazine - 8 February 1986 - Imagine - page 8
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Number One magazine - 8 February 1986 - Imagine - page 10
  8. Billboard magazine - MTV Programming - June 1, 1985 - page 39
  9. Cash Box newspaper - April 13, 1985 - Single releases - page 9
  10. Number One magazine - Singles - Paul Bursche - 23 March 1985 - page 44
  11. Smash Hits - Review: singles - Dave Rimmer - 15–28 January 1986 - page 39
  12. "Keith 'N' Shane's 'Girl You Know It's True' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled.
  13. "Harry's 'Imagination' - Discover the Original Song". WhoSampled.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 280. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. "Belouis Some - Imagination". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  16. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  17. Steffen Hung. "germancharts.com - Belouis Some - Imagination". Germancharts.de. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  18. "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: S". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  19. Steffen Hung. "Belouis Some - Imagination". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  20. "BELOUIS SOME | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  21. "Artist Search for "belouis some"". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. Steffen Hung. "Belouis Some - Imagination". charts.nz. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
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