Back to the 80s (song)

"Back to the 80s" is a song by Norwegian-Danish band Aqua. The song was written by members Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, and produced by Rasted, for their second greatest hits album (2009). "Back to the 80s" was Aqua's first single in eight years, following the release of the 2001 single "We Belong to the Sea". "Back to the 80s" was released on 25 May 2009 as the lead single from Greatest Hits and topped the Danish Singles Chart for six weeks.

For the musical, see Back to the 80s (musical).

"Back to the 80s"
Single by Aqua
from the album Greatest Hits
Released25 May 2009
StudioElektron
Length3:46
LabelUniversal
Composer(s)Søren Rasted
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)Søren Rasted
Aqua singles chronology
"We Belong to the Sea"
(2001)		 "Back to the 80s"
(2009)		 "My Mamma Said"
(2009)
Music video
"Back to the 80s" on YouTube

Background and composition

The song details a large number of celebrities and artifacts from the 1980s, such as Ronald Reagan, Miami Vice, M&M's, Michael Jackson, The Terminator (in the original Danish release of the song), the Commodore 64, Soap, Rocky, Cherry Coke, Mr. T, Twisted Sister, MTV, Iron Maiden, 7 Up, Bananarama, The Breakfast Club, Huey Lewis and the News, Top Gun, David Hasselhoff, The Cosby Show, the Rubik's Cube, Dynasty, Moon Boots, Devo, Barbie, Poltergeist and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Upon international release of the single, the group decided to change the line "When M&M was just a snack and Michael Jackson's skin was black" from the original Danish release to "When M&M was just a snack and Arnie told us I'll be back" (in reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Terminator). They decided on this out of respect for Jackson, who died only a month after the single was released.[1][2]

The song was released as a CD single in France on 9 November 2009. France is the only country receiving a CD release of "Back to the 80s", including the original song and two additional remixes.[3]

Chart performance

"Back to the 80s" debuted on 5 June 2009 at number one on both the Danish Singles Chart and Airplay Chart. It claimed the mark for most weekly plays on Danish radio with 585.[4] The single spent six weeks at No. 1 in Denmark and peaked at No. 3 in Norway and at No. 25 in Sweden.

Music video

In mid-May, it was announced that a video was being made. Due to a lengthy post-production process, the video didn't hit the internet until 10 June 2009. The video features the group in front of a variety of green screen created backgrounds, dressed in 1980s rocker fashions. The video is presented in "Aquascope", returning to the Aquarium-era tradition.

Track listings
Danish promo CD[5]
No.TitleLength
1."Back to the 80s" 
French CD single[6]
No.TitleRemixed byLength
1."Back to the 80s" (radio edit) 3:44
2."Back to the 80s" ((D.J Tool's) Remix 2009)René Dif, Michael Parsberg5:28
3."Back to the 80s" (Fugitive's Retro Mastermix)Kenny Hayes5:26
UK digital download[7]
No.TitleRemixed byLength
1."Back to the 80s" 3:46
2."Back to the 80s" (Fugitive's Retro Mestermix)Kenny Hayes5:26
Australian digital download[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Back to the 80s" (radio edit)3:47
2."Back to the 80s" (extended version)6:37
3."Back to the 80s" (remix)6:32

Credits and personnel

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Aqua retter i teksten Archived 17 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine, TV 2 14 August 2009
  2. Kristian Hansen (13 August 2009). "Aqua ændrer uheldig sangtekst om Jackson" (in Danish). BT. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  3. "Back to the 80s gets a CD release in France". Aquarama.tk. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  4. Strøyer, Rasmus (10 June 2009). "Alle elsker Aqua" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  5. Back to the 80s (Danish promo CD liner notes). Aqua. Universal Records. 2009. AQUA80CDP1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. Back to the 80s (French CD single liner notes). Aqua. Universal Music France. 2009. 272 557 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Aqua – Back to the 80s MP3 Downloads – 7digital Archived 17 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Back to the 80's (2009) | Aqua | High Quality Music Downloads | zdigital Australia". 9 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  9. "Aqua – Back to the 80's". Tracklisten.
  10. "Airplay Top-20 – Uge 26 - 2009". hitlisterne.dk. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  11. "Bit Track Top-20 – Uge 33 - 2009". hitlisterne.dk. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  12. "Back to the 80's – Aqua (Danish Digital Songs chart history)". Billboard Biz. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  13. "Ringtoner Top-10 – Uge 26 - 2009". hitlisterne.dk. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  14. "Aqua – Back to the 80's" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. "Aqua – Back to the 80's". VG-lista.
  16. "Back to the 80's – Aqua (Norway Digital Songs chart history)". Billboard Biz. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  17. "DigiListan 2009-08-02" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  18. "Aqua – Back to the 80's". Singles Top 100.
  19. "Danish single certifications – Aqua – Back to the 80's". IFPI Danmark.
  20. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
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