"Sex Talk" is a song by British band T'Pau, written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It was originally released as a single in 1987 under the title "Intimate Strangers", but failed to chart.[2] It was re-titled "Sex Talk" and included on the band's debut studio album Bridge of Spies (1987).[3] In 1988, a live version of the song, recorded at the SEC Centre on 29 October 1987, was released as a single and reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] This live version of "Sex Talk" was only released in the UK and Ireland. Elsewhere, a 7" remix of the track, "Bridge of Spies", was released instead.
| "Sex Talk" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by T'Pau | ||||
| from the album Bridge of Spies | ||||
| B-side | "Monkey House" | |||
| Released | 21 March 1988[1] | |||
| Length | 4:43 | |||
| Label | Siren Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Carol Decker Ron Rogers | |||
| Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker | |||
| T'Pau singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Speaking to eonmusic in 2018, Decker recalled of the song: "I wrote that on my first trip to New York. There were all [these] ads; "Dial Me!" on television, and I just thought; "Wow, that's weird, phone people up and talk dirty"... so I did it, of course!"[5]
Reception edit
Upon release of the 1988 single, Music & Media wrote: "Another dramatic, pumping, rock track, that has all the chances to hit the charts again."[6] Ben Thompson from NME stated: "I just want to have a laugh, you know how it is says Carol Decker, the Sarah Ferguson of raunch, and you know she means it."[7] The magazine's Neil Taylor felt Decker "really has got a quite an alluring voice" and that the song "whips up a frenzy of guitars which Carol wades through blasting her six-shooter vocal bullet-fast and bullet-precise."[8] Betty Page of Record Mirror wrote: "T'Pau show their true colours and get down to a full-blooded slice of raunch 'n' roll recorded live, with plenty of guitar drama and Carol Decker giving it her all. It's brave of them to release a live 45, but it does capture the T'Pau live vibe well."[9] In a review of T'Pau (Bridge of Spies), Pete Bishop of The Pittsburgh Press commented: "There's "Sex Talk", which has fake horns and real guitar and would do credit to the Eurythmics, although Miss Decker, a less adenoidal Cyndi Lauper with little body to her strident voice, is no Annie Lennox."[10]
Track listing edit
Intimate Strangers edit
- 7" single
- "Intimate Strangers" - 4:12
- "No Sense of Pride" - 3:52
- 12" single
- "Intimate Strangers" - 4:12
- "No Sense of Pride" - 3:52
- "You Give Up" (Live) - 3:58
Sex Talk (Live) edit
- 7" single (1988 release)
- "Sex Talk" (Live) - 3:54
- "Monkey House" (Live) - 4:13
- 12" single (1988 release)
- "Sex Talk" (Live) - 4:34
- "Monkey House" (Live) - 4:13
- "You Give Up" (Live) - 3:59
- CD single (1988 release)
- "Sex Talk" (Live) - 4:43
- "Heart & Soul" - 5:19
- "Monkey House" (Live) - 4:28
- "You Give Up" (Live) - 4:10
Personnel edit
T'Pau
- Carol Decker – lead vocals
- Dean Howard – lead guitar
- Ronnie Rogers – rhythm guitar
- Michael Chetwood – keyboards
- Paul Jackson – bass
- Tim Burgess – drums
Production
- Roy Thomas Baker - producer of "I Will Be with You"
- T'Pau - producers of "No Sense of Pride"
- Norman Goodman - engineer on "No Sense of Pride", mixing on live tracks
Other
- Mark Millington - sleeve design (1987 and 1988 releases)
- Zoe Wilson - front cover photography
- Mauro Carraro - back cover photography
Charts edit
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[11] | 76 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 21 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[4] | 23 |
References edit
- ^ Smith, Robin (19 March 1988). "News: Talk Dirty to Me". Record Mirror. p. 4. ISSN 0144-5804.
- ^ "TPau / The Story Behind The Tracks". superdeluxeedition. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
- ^ "Rock over London". Music & Media. 2 April 1988.
- ^ a b "TPau: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Carol Decker T'Pau eonmusic Interview August 2018". Eonmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
- ^ "Previews: Singles". Music & Media. 2 April 1988.
- ^ Thompson, Ben (16 April 1988). "Singles". NME. p. 21. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Neil (2 April 1988). "Singles". NME. p. 12. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Page, Betty (2 April 1988). "45". Record Mirror.
- ^ Bishop, Pete (26 July 1987). "'In the Dark' a lively, upbeat offering from the Grateful Dead". The Pittsburgh Press.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 17. 23 April 1988. p. 24. OCLC 29800226.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sex Talk". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 August 2023.