Time (Clock of the Heart)

"Time (Clock of the Heart)" is a song by the British new wave band Culture Club, released as a stand-alone single in most of the world and as the second single from their debut album Kissing to Be Clever in North America. Following on the heels of the band's global #1 hit, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time (Clock of the Heart)" peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, selling over 500,000 copies in the UK. In the United States, the song matched the #2 peak of its predecessor on the Billboard Hot 100, kept from the #1 spot by "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara for two weeks.

"Time (Clock of the Heart)"
Single by Culture Club
from the album Kissing to Be Clever
B-side
  • "White Boys Can't Control It"
  • "Romance Beyond the Alphabet" (US version)
Released19 November 1982 (UK) / 29 March 1983 (US)
Recorded1982
Genre
Length3:42
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Roy Hay, Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss
Producer(s)Steve Levine
Culture Club singles chronology
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
(1982)		 "Time (Clock of the Heart)"
(1982)		 "I'll Tumble 4 Ya"
(1983)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

In Europe and United Kingdom, it was a stand-alone single, released in November 1982. For this market, its first inclusion on a Culture Club album was on their 1987 compilation, called This Time: The First Four Years.

Cash Box said the song has "a gentle funk anchor on an otherwise airy romantic ballad."[3] In a retrospective review of the song, Allmusic journalist Stewart Mason wrote: "Of all of Culture Club's early hits, Time (Clock of the Heart) has probably aged the best. Boy George drops the cryptic self-mythology long enough to deliver a tender, heartfelt lyric on lost love."[4]

The music video has been released in two versions. The only difference was a scene where the group is watching television, along with vocalist Helen Terry. In one version, a Christmas tree is shown. In the other, the tree is removed. This was because of the date of release for certain markets. The "Christmas" version (which is on the 2005 DVD "Greatest Hits") was for European countries and the "regular version" was for the other markets, where the song was released in Spring 1983.

The US single was released with the B-side being an instrumental version of the song called "Romance Beyond the Alphabet", which not only removed the vocals but at least one layer of melody as well.

The music video was featured during a flashback scene on the TV show Mr. Robot, season 4, episode 3.[5]

The song has been re-recorded as a dance/pop track and been re-released as "Time 2022" on digital/streaming platforms.

Formats and track listing
  • 7" Single (UK, Europe, Canada)
  1. "Time (Clock of the Heart)" – 3:42
  2. "White Boys Can't Control It" – 3:42
  • 7" Single (U.S.)
  1. "Time (Clock of the Heart)" – 3:41
  2. "Romance Beyond the Alphabet" (Time Instrumental) – 3:34
  • 12" Single (UK, Europe)
  1. A1."Time (Clock of the Heart)" – 3:42
  2. B1."White Boys Can't Control It" – 3:42
  3. B2."Romance Beyond the Alphabet" – 3:44
  • 12" Single (Canada)
  1. A1."Time (Clock of the Heart)" – 3:42
  2. B1."Romance Beyond The Alphabet" – 3:42
  3. B2."I'm Afraid Of Me (Extended Version)" –
  • 12" Single/EP (Japan)
  1. A1."Time (Clock of the Heart)" – 3:42
  2. A2."White Boy (Long Version)"
  3. B1."I'm Afraid Of Me (Long Version)" –
  4. B2."Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (Dub Version)" –

Personnel
Culture Club
Additional members
  • Helen Terry: backing vocals
  • Phil Pickett: piano, glockenspiel and tubular bells
  • Steve Grainger: saxophone
  • Trevor Bastow: strings arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications
Country Provider Certification Sales/shipments
Canada CRIA Gold[22] 50,000+
United Kingdom BPI Gold[23] 500,000+

Notes
  1. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Here Comes That Feeling: New Pop". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 535. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  2. Sheffield, Rob (27 September 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2023. Time (Clock of the Heart)" is a bittersweet soft-soul lament...
  3. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 April 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  4. Mason, Stewart (3 November 1982). "Time (Clock of the Heart) – Culture Club : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. Murthi, Vikram (20 October 2019). "Mr. Robot Recap: Russian Roulette". Vulture. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  6. "Radio 2 – Top 30 van zaterdag 05 februari 1983" (in Dutch). VRT Top 30. 5 February 1983. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  7. "De Nederlandse Top 40". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Radio 538. 15 January 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  8. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association. 28 November 1982. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  9. "The Official Charts Company – Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart)". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  11. "Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart) (Song)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. 15 April 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  12. "Top Singles – Volume 38, No. 13, May 28, 1983". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. 28 May 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  13. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  14. "Chartverfolgung: Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart)" (in German). Media Control Charts. 21 March 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  15. "Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart) (Song)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. 15 May 1983. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  16. "Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart) (Song)". Sverigetopplistan. 22 February 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  17. "Culture Club – Time (Clock of the Heart) (Song)". Swiss Charts (in German). Hung Medien. 20 March 1985. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  18. "Hot 100: Week of Jun 18, 1983 – Time (Clock of the Heart)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 18 June 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  19. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 62.
  20. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  21. "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. 24 December 1983. p. TA-18.
  22. "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)". Canadian Recording Industry Association. 1 August 1983. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  23. "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. 1 January 1983. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
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