Back to the Wall (song)

"Back to the Wall" is a song by Australian rock group Divinyls. Released in February 1988 as the lead single from their third studio album Temperamental, the song made the top forty on the Australian singles chart.

"Back to the Wall"
Single by Divinyls
from the album Temperamental
B-side
  • "Fighting"
  • "Out of Time"
Released8 February 1988[1]
Recorded1988
GenreRock
Length4:38
LabelChrysalis Records
Songwriter(s)Christina Amphlett
Mark McEntee
Richard Feldman
Producer(s)Mike Chapman
Divinyls singles chronology
"Heart Telegraph"
(1986)		 "Back to the Wall"
(1988)		 "Hey Little Boy"
(1988)

Background

By October 1986, Divinyls had been reduced to the duo of Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee. Their third studio album Temperamental was in the recording stages and their label Chrysalis Records informed them that it would be make-or-break record, largely depending on whether it received attention internationally such as in the US.

Legacy

The song was played in the 1988 hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and is on the soundtrack to the film.

In 2018, the song was covered by Tropical Fuck Storm and appeared as the b-side to their single "You Let My Tyres Down". The cover garnered praise and has been called "a spine-tingling take on an underrated Divinyls classic [...] [T]he vocal delivery of Fiona Kitschin and Erica Dunn, at once fierce and vulnerable, lends a prescient edge to Chrissy Amphlett’s lyrics: "We are living in desperate times / These are desperate times, my dear"." Kitschin herself called it "a really timely song [...] written and sung by a woman, so it made sense to be performed by the women in the band."[2][3]

Track listing
Australian 7" single
  1. "Back to the Wall" - 4:38
  2. "Fighting" - 3:45
Australian 12" single
  1. "Back to the Wall" - 4:38
  2. "Fighting" - 3:45
  3. "Out of Time" - 5:46

Charts
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australia (Australian Music Report)[4] 33

References
  1. "Australian Music Report No 706 – 8 February 1988 > Singles: New Releases". Australian Music Report. Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Imgur.com.
  2. "Tropical Fuck Storm Announce Debut Album, 'A Laughing Death in Meatspace'". February 2018.
  3. Farnell, Guido. "Live Review: Tropical Fuck Storm, Sugar Fed Leopards, School Damage | theMusic.com.au | Australian music news, gig guide, music reviews". themusic.com.au.
  4. "Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart – Week Ending 22nd May, 1988". ARIA. Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Imgur.com. N.B. ARIA licensed the Australian Music Report chart between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
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