Cruise Control (Headless Chickens song)

"Cruise Control" was first released on Headless Chickens' second album, Body Blow, in 1991.[2] The same year, the song was issued as the album's second single in New Zealand. On 1 September 1991, the single debuted on the RIANZ Singles Chart at number 28. Over the next eight weeks, the song rose and fell within the top 30 until rising to its peak of number six on 3 November. Afterwards, the single descended from the chart, spending five weeks in the top 10 and 20 weeks in the top 50. The original version of "Cruise Control" remains the band's longest-charting single in their home country.[3]

In 1994, the track was remixed by English band Eskimos and Egypt as the "Eskimos in Egypt" mix and released as a single.[4] In October 1994, this version of the song entered Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, rising into the top 50 on 20 November.[5][6] Three weeks later, the remix peaked at number 26, staying on the chart for 11 weeks and becoming the band's only single to reach the top 50 in Australia.[6] In New Zealand, the remix was issued as a double A-side with new song "George",[7] peaking atop the RIANZ chart for four nonconsecutive weeks in 1994 and 1995. This release spent 17 weeks in the top 50 and is Headless Chickens' highest-charting single in New Zealand, earning a gold sales certification for selling over 5,000 copies.[8][9]

Critically, New Zealand film and television website NZ on Screen called the Eskimos in Egypt mix one of the band's "most poppy and accessible songs".[10] A music video directed by Jonathan Ogilvie was made for the remix, featuring Headless Chickens in a car as they ride through various landscapes at night. Throughout the video, the members partake in various activities, including eating lollipops, shaving, talking on mobile phones, and holding up a poster of the Knight Rider franchise.[10]

The original version of "Cruise Control" was nominated for Single of the Year at the 1992 New Zealand Music Awards, losing to "Why Does Love Do This to Me" by the Exponents, while the original video was nominated for Best Video, losing to the clip for Push Push's song "Trippin'".[11] In 1995, the video for the remix was nominated for the same award (as was the video for "George") but lost again, this time to Supergroove's "Can't Get Enough" video.[12] In 2001, the APRA named the original version of "Cruise Control" the 76th-best "New Zealand Song of All Time".[13]

Credits are lifted from the CD singles and the Body Blow album booklet.[4][14][20]

Studios

• Recorded and mixed in 1991 at Incubator Studios (Auckland, New Zealand)
• Mastered at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles)