Target Practice (song)

"Target Practice" is a song by British musician Belouis Some, which was released in 1984 as his first major label single after his 1981 debut "Lose It to You". The song was written by Some, and produced by Peter Schwier and Ian Little.[2]

This article is about the Belouis Some song. For other songs, see Target Practice.
"Target Practice"
Single by Belouis Some
from the album Some People
Released21 May 1984[1] (1st version)
GenreNew wave, synth-pop
Length4:16
LabelEMI, Parlophone
Songwriter(s)Belouis Some
Producer(s)
Belouis Some singles chronology
"Lose It to You"
(1981)		 "Target Practice"
(1984)		 "Imagination"
(1985)

"Target Practice" was re-recorded in New York in early 1985, with Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero as the producers.[3] This new version was included on Some's 1985 debut album Some People. It was also released as a single in 1986 and reached No. 16 on South Africa Springbok Chart in 1986, which was his third consecutive top 20 hit there.[4] A music video for the 1986 release was directed by Brian Travers and produced by Annie Croft for PMI.[5]

Background

In a 1984 interview with Sunday Sun, Some stated, "Unfortunately, people may get the wrong idea about me from the single. It does sound like Bowie, but it is the only track on my forthcoming LP which does. I've been trying my hardest not to sound like Bowie, even though I'm a great fan of both him and Roxy Music."[6]

Critical reception

On its release, Paul Benbow of Reading Evening Post said of the 1984 version, "The voice sounds not unlike David Bowie at first but there the similarity ends. Straight pop song with a catchy hook line but no classic."[7] Linda Duff of Smash Hits noted the "strange, rather wordy lyric" and "clever take-off of Mr Bowie's singing style", but felt the song was otherwise "completely unremarkable".[8]

In a review of Some People, Voice of Youth Advocates described the re-recorded track as "electro power pop a la Power Station" and one that "sounds like a hit."[9] Billboard considered the song to be one of the album's best tracks and noted it being "rockier" than the title track.[10]

Track listing

1984 release

7–inch single[11][12]

  1. "Target Practice" – 4:04
  2. "Some People" – 4:15

12–inch single[13][14]

  1. "Target Practice" (Extended) – 7:22
  2. "Some People" – 4:15
  3. "Target Practice" (Revisited) – 7:40

Charts
Chart (1984) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[15] 189

References
  1. "Another news-corner". Music & Media. 15 May 1984.
  2. "Belouis Some - Target Practice". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  3. "Belouis Some - Target Practice". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  4. Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  5. "Music on Video - Promos" (PDF). Music Week. 1 February 1986. p. 29. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via World Radio History.
  6. McKay, Neil (24 June 1984). "Some People go-it-alone". Sunday Sun. p. 27.
  7. Benbow, Paul (21 July 1984). "Singles". Reading Evening Post.
  8. Duff, Linda (5 July 1984). "Singles". Smash Hits. p. 19.
  9. "Voice of Youth Advocates: VOYA. - Google Books". 1985. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  10. "Billboard - Google Books". 1985-04-27. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  11. Target Practice (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Belouis Some. EMI. 1984. EMI 5462.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Target Practice (European 7-inch single sleeve). Belouis Some. EMI. 1984. 1A 006-2001747.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Target Practice (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Belouis Some. EMI. 1984. 12EMI 5462.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Target Practice (Dutch 12-inch single sleeve). Belouis Some. EMI. 1984. 1A K062-20 0210 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. "Gallup Top 200 Singles". Gallup. 16 June 1984. Retrieved 19 September 2022 – via ukmix.org.


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