"Hyperactive!" is a single by the English new wave and synth-pop musician Thomas Dolby, taken from his second studio album The Flat Earth, released on January 9, 1984 by EMI and Capitol Records. Backing vocals were provided by Adele Bertei. Additional spoken word vocals were provided by Louise Ulfstedt and Kevin Armstrong as "The Analyst."[1]

"Hyperactive!"
Single by Thomas Dolby
from the album The Flat Earth
B-side
  • "White City" (UK),
  • "Get Out Of My Mix [Special Dance Version]" (US)
ReleasedJanuary 9, 1984 (1984-01-09)
Recorded1983
Genre
Length4:46
Label
Songwriter(s)Thomas Dolby
Producer(s)Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby singles chronology
"Get Out of My Mix"
(1983)
"Hyperactive!"
(1984)
"I Scare Myself"
(1984)
Music video
"Hyperactive!" on YouTube

According to Thomas Dolby, he initially composed the song for Michael Jackson, whom he met in 1982. He decided to record it by himself since he never got any feedback from Jackson after sending him a demo tape.[2]

It was the first single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the Canadian RPM charts,[3] but only reached number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Chart positions edit

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 26
New Zealand (RIANZ)[5] 41
Canada RPM Top Singles[6] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 62
UK Singles Chart[8] 17
U.S. Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80[9] 37

In other media edit

The song appeared in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the fictional in-game radio station "Wave 103".

In 2017, the song was featured over the second episode closing credits of the FX series Legion.

The song appears in the ninth episode of fourth season of Breaking Bad.

References edit

  1. ^ "MusicBrainz". Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  2. ^ Record Collector, Issue 366/2009
  3. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 7, 1984" (PDF).
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Hyperactive!". charts.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  6. ^ "RPM Top 50 Singles - April 7, 1984" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Thomas Dolby - Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Thomas Dolby - Hyperactive!". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 81.

External links edit