Wouldn't It Be Good

"Wouldn't It Be Good" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 20 January 1984 as the second single from his debut studio album, Human Racing (1984). The release was Kershaw's second single, with the non-album track "Monkey Business" as its B-side; it was a bonus track on the 2012 re-release of the album. The music video was directed by Storm Thorgerson.

"Wouldn't It Be Good"
Single by Nik Kershaw
from the album Human Racing
B-side"Monkey Business"
Released20 January 1984 (1984-01-20)[1]
RecordedSummer 1983
Genre
Length
  • 4:32 (album version)
  • 4:29 (single version)
  • 6:50 (extended version)
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)Peter Collins
Nik Kershaw singles chronology
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
(1983)		 "Wouldn't It Be Good"
(1984)		 "Dancing Girls"
(1984)
Music video
"Wouldn't It Be Good" on YouTube

Background and recording

"Wouldn't It Be Good" was the second single from Kershaw's debut studio album Human Racing (1984). It spent three weeks at number four on the UK Singles Chart and was successful throughout Europe, as well as a top-10 entry in Canada and Australia. Kershaw is also most closely associated with this song in the United States, where it narrowly missed the top 40. Kershaw performed this song at Live Aid in London's Wembley Stadium in July 1985.

Kershaw's first single from this album had failed to be a major hit, and it was on the strength of this recording's success that the earlier single, "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", was promoted for a re-release. This time the single went all the way to number two in the UK, becoming his highest-charting single there to date.

Kershaw remembers that this was one of the last songs he wrote for the Human Racing album, firstly mapping out the chords on a keyboard. However, the aggressive guitar sound he wanted led to a clash in harmonics and therefore the result sounded rather unpleasant. Thus he decided to create a kind of "guitar orchestra", inspired by work of Queen's Brian May, where the notes were separated into single lines and harmonies.[2] Kershaw elaborates on the layering of the guitar lines:

I think I'm playing fifths in one go. But some of the more subtle notes just didn't work, so I think I did about four takes of each note, so there were a lot of takes, and this was all on analogue tape, obviously. We then bounced them all together to make that one sound.[2]

According to Kershaw, there were about 20 guitars on this song alone, and there was a bit of trouble in trying to get the other instruments being overdubbed (such as bass and keyboards) in tune with the guitars.[3]

The main synthesizer riff was produced using a combination of PPG Wave 2.2 and a Yamaha DX7.[4]

Release

"Wouldn't It Be Good" was released in a single version and an extended 12" version. A remix by Simon Boswell, clocking in at 7:20, appears on the album Retro:Active 4: Rare & Remixed.

In 1985, "Wouldn't It Be Good" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Gotcha!

Music video

In the music video for "Wouldn't It Be Good", Kershaw is an extraterrestrial visitor who observes the characteristics of the people around him. It was directed by graphic designer Storm Thorgerson,[5] was released in 1984 and received heavy rotation on MTV, which helped the song reach No. 46 on the US charts. It used chroma key technology to achieve the alien suit's special effects. The music video was filmed in mid-January 1984 over a period of three days, primarily in and around St. James' Court Hotel, London. The closing scenes were recorded at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, near Cambridge.[6][7]

According to Kershaw, the song was about "always wanting it better than everyone else", a concept which the director of the video further developed and integrated into the video plot of Kershaw being the alien who steps into other people's shoes. But in the end the alien realises that it was not such a good idea at all, and decides to return to his home planet.[6]

Critical reception

In a review of the single's 1991 reissue, Stephen Dalton of NME praised it as "a deeply felt ennui at the hopeless dreams and aspirations of idealistic youth" and a "welcome re-release from a much underrated innovator of early synth-pop".[8]

Track listings
  • 7-inch single
A. "Wouldn't It Be Good" – 4:35
B. "Monkey Business" – 3:28
  • 12-inch single
A. "Wouldn't It Be Good" (special extended mix) – 6:50
B. "Monkey Business" – 3:28

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Wouldn't It Be Good"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

References
  1. "News" (PDF). Record Mirror. 14 January 1984. p. 5. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  2. O'Neill, Eamon (June 2017). "Nik Kershaw". Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. Webb, Nick (January 1986). "Nik Kershaw: Recording Secrets". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. "The Official Nik Kershaw Website". Nikkershaw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. "Wouldn't It Be Good (1984)". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  6. "The Nik Kershaw Picture Show". It.kershaw.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  7. "Nik Kershaw". The London Salad. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  8. Dalton, Stephen (30 November 1991). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 20.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 165. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6753." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
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  14. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1, no. 2. 9 April 1984. p. 10. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
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  17. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Nik Kershaw" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Nik Kershaw" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  19. "Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
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  21. "Nik Kershaw – Wouldn't It Be Good". VG-lista. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  22. "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts K". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
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  30. "National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. No. 548. 31 December 1984 – via Imgur.
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