1984 single by Talk Talk
"It's My Life " is a song by the Englishnew wave bandTalk Talk . Written byMark Hollis andTim Friese-Greene , it was the title track on the band's second album,It's My Life (1984), and released as its first single in January 1984. It reached number 46 on theUK Singles Chart but did better in several other countries, reaching number 33 inGermany , number 32 inNew Zealand , number 25 inFrance , number nine in Italy and number 30 inCanada . In the United States, the song peaked at number one on theBillboard Dance/Disco Top 80 chart. It was the group's only top-40 hit on theBillboard Hot 100 , making Talk Talk aone-hit wonder in the US .
The single was re-released in the UK in 1985 but stalled at number 93. In 1990, however, "It's My Life" was reissued again to promote the compilation albumNatural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk . This time, the song was a hit in the UK, reaching number 13, the band's highest chart-placing single in their native country. In 2003, the Americanrock bandNo Doubt released a cover version that became a hit in several countries, including the US, where it reached number 10 on the Hot 100.
There are two versions of the video for "It's My Life". The first, envisioned by directorTim Pope as a statement against the banality oflip-synching , consists almost entirely of footage from the 1979BBC wildlife documentaryLife on Earth , interspersed with shots of Talk Talk lead singerMark Hollis standing in various places throughout theLondon Zoo . Hollis deliberately avoids performing to the camera: He keeps his hands in his coat pockets and his mouth is taped shut,[ 7] [ 8] the latter often obscured by hand-drawn animated lines that occasionally appear in the documentary footage sequences as well.[ 9]
The second version, recorded at the behest ofEMI , consisted of the entirety of the original video projected on a green screen behind Hollis on guitar and vocals as well as his two bandmates as they lip-synched and mimed the song, deliberately poorly and with comic exaggerated gestures.[ 10]
Talk Talk
Additional musicians
7-inch single
"It's My Life" – 3:51 "Does Caroline Know?" – 4:36 12-inch single – North America
"It's My Life" (Extended Version) – 6:14 "It's My Life" – 3:51 "Again, a Game...Again" – 4:09 12-inch single – Europe
"It's My Life" (12-inch Remix) – 6:16 "Does Caroline Know?" – 4:33 "It's My Life" – 3:51 7-inch single
"It's My Life" – 3:51 "Renée" (Live fromHammersmith Odeon ) – 7:28 CD maxi
"It's My Life" – 3:51 "Renée" (Live from Hammersmith Odeon) – 7:28 "It's My Life" (Live from Hammersmith Odeon) – 7:58 Region Certification Certified units /salesUnited Kingdom (BPI )[ 28] Platinum 600,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
No Doubt recorded acover version of "It's My Life" to promote their firstgreatest hits album The Singles 1992–2003 (2003). Because the band was on hiatus while lead singerGwen Stefani recorded her solo debut album,Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004), they decided to record a cover to avoid having to write a new song.[ 31] After considering hundreds of songs, they narrowed it down to two contenders – "It's My Life" by Talk Talk and "Don't Change " by Australian rock bandINXS . "A Question of Lust " by Englishelectronic bandDepeche Mode was another close contender.[ 32]
No Doubt later had second thoughts about recording a cover and contemplated writing new material.[ 31] However, they became more comfortable after rehearsing "It's My Life" with producerNellee Hooper ,[ 32] referring to it as a "feel-good" song.[ 31] No Doubt's version of "It's My Life" was nominated forBest Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the47th Annual Grammy Awards .[ 33] Jacques Lu Cont , the song'sprogrammer , created the Thin White Duke mix of "It's My Life", which won the award forBest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical .[ 34]
Commercial performance [ edit ] No Doubt's cover version was successful in the United States, reaching number 10 on theBillboard Hot 100 , and remaining on the chart for 28 weeks.[ 35] On theRadio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay chart, the song debuted at number 41 on 10 October 2003 issue, and after six weeks reached and peaked at number five, staying there for two non-consecutive weeks. It remained on the top-ten of the chart for nine weeks and remained on it for 20 weeks.[ 36]
It was moderately successful onadult contemporary stations, reaching number 20 on the USAdult Contemporary chart, but had high longevity and appeared atop theAdult Top 40 'srecurrent chart. The single was more successful atnightclubs , peaking at number 16 on the USDance Club Songs chart, and had some play onmodern rock stations, reaching number 32 on the USAlternative Songs chart.[ 37] TheRecording Industry Association of America certified thedigital download Platinum for selling one million copies.[ 38]
On theUK Singles chart , "It's My Life" debuted at number 20. It reached a higher position when it was released as adouble A-side single with theInvincible Overlord remix of the song "Bathwater " which charted at number 17. It was more of a success across Europe, reaching the top-ten in Italy, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, France and Switzerland.[ 35] The single reached number seven on theARIA Charts in Australia, lasting 17 weeks on the chart,[ 35] and was listed at number 81 on the 2004 year-end chart.[ 39] TheAustralian Recording Industry Association certified the single Platinum in 2004 for shipping 70,000 copies.[ 40]
The 1930s-stylemusic video for the song was directed byDavid LaChapelle .[ 41] In the video, Stefani portrays ablack widow whose look closely resembles that of actressJean Harlow , whom Stefani portrayed in theMartin Scorsese filmThe Aviator .[ 42] She is put on trial and sentenced to death for the murders of three men she knew, who are portrayed by the other members of the band.
She kills the first man (guitaristTom Dumont ) with rat poison mixed into his dinner, the second (bassistTony Kanal ) by running him over with his car, and the third (drummerAdrian Young ) by throwing her hair dryer into the bathtub to electrocute him. These scenes are intercut with moments of Stefani in court and being dragged to thegas chamber , wearing aprison uniform , where she is executed. The video ends with the three murder victims together, presumably in the afterlife, laughing at her televised execution.
The music video was moderately successful on video chart programs. OnMTV 'sTotal Request Live , it reached number seven in November 2003[ 43] and was on the countdown as late as January 2004.[ 44] The video peaked at number eight onMuchMusic 'sCountdown and remained on the program through March 2004.[ 45] At the2004 MTV Video Music Awards , "It's My Life" won the awards forBest Group Video andBest Pop Video . It also received nominations forBest Direction ,Best Cinematography , andBest Art Direction .[ 46]
Track listing and formats [ edit ] 2-track
"It's My Life" – 3:46 "Rock Steady" (live) – 5:53 CD single
"It's My Life" – 3:46 "Sunday Morning " (2002 live) – 4:49 "Rock Steady" (2002 live) – 5:53 "Bathwater " (2002 live) – 4:01 UK CD single [ 47]
"It's My Life" – 3:46 "Rock Steady" (2002 live) – 5:53 "Bathwater" (2002 live) – 4:01 UK re-issue "It's My Life" / "Bathwater"double A-side CD single [ 48] [ 49]
"It's My Life" – 3:46 "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord Remix) – 3:07 "It's My Life" (Jacques Lu Cont 's Thin White Duke Mix) – 6:59 "It's My Life" (Chocolate O'Brian Remix) – 5:43 "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord Remix Video) "It's My Life" (Video) Chart (2003) Position CIS Airplay (TopHit)[ 87] 87 Ireland (IRMA)[ 88] 85 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[ 89] 68 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard )[ 90] 83
Chart (2004) Position Australia (ARIA)[ 91] 81 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[ 92] 84 Brazil (Crowley )[ 93] 29 Germany (Media Control GfK)[ 94] 78 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[ 95] 22 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[ 96] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[ 97] 54 Sweden (Hitlistan)[ 98] 58 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[ 99] 67 USBillboard Hot 100[ 100] 38 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard )[ 101] 11 US Dance Radio Airplay (Billboard )[ 102] 21 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard )[ 103] 22
Region Certification Certified units /salesAustralia (ARIA )[ 104] Platinum 70,000^ Norway (IFPI Norway)[ 105] Platinum 10,000* New Zealand (RMNZ )[ 106] Gold 15,000‡ United Kingdom (BPI )[ 107] Silver 200,000‡ United States (RIAA )[ 108] Platinum 1,000,000‡ * Sales figures based on certification alone.^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United States "It's My Life" 20 October 2003 Interscope [ 109] Australia 17 November 2003 CD [ 110] United Kingdom 24 November 2003 [ 111] "It's My Life" / "Bathwater" 1 March 2004 [ 112]
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