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    Red Box - For America - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    1986 Red Box Singles

    Red Box – For America

    3 Views1 Min Read

    The Eighties Archive

    Song Number 0085
    Released in the autumn of 1986, For America by the British synthpop group Red Box remains a masterclass in masking sharp, satirical political commentary beneath the glittering surface of an infectious pop melody. Formed by Simon Toulson-Clarke and Julian Close, Red Box had already achieved significant success in Europe with their previous hit, Lean on Me. However, the creation of For America was born out of direct tension between the musicians and their record label, WEA. Deeming the group’s eclectic, world-music-inspired material to lack traditional mainstream appeal, the record executives explicitly requested that the duo write something tailormade to attract American radio programmers and corporate media buyers.
    Toulson-Clarke responded not with a submissive commercial track, but with a brilliant, sardonic parody of the very system demanding his compliance. For America explicitly critiques what the band viewed as the style-over-content approach dominant in American media, advertising, and culture during the mid-1980s. Beyond the superficial consumer culture, the lyrics also carry a deeper, bite-sized anti-war sentiment, heavily alluding to the controversial United States military interventions in Grenada and Nicaragua under the Reagan administration. The song continuously juxtaposes this sobering sociopolitical reality against an absurdly joyous musical backdrop.
    Musically, the song is a sonic marvel of the 1980s synthpop era, pairing driving electronic drum beats and bright synthesizer hooks with a relentless, eccentric vocal arrangement. It famously features a joyous, looping yodel that serves as both a catchy earworm and a parody of rural, idealized Americana stereotypes. The chant of “Where is the peace and understanding?” acts as the moral anchor of the track, repeated like a mantra over the layered instrumentation. This brilliant contrast between an upbeat dance rhythm and a skeptical inquiry into global peace allowed the track to resonate broadly.
    Ironically, the record executives got exactly what they wanted in terms of global numbers, even if the song bit the hand that fed it. While For America predictably failed to become a major radio hit inside the United States, it became a massive international triumph. The single outsold the band’s previous hits on a global scale, rocketing to the number-one spot on the music charts in six different countries. In the United Kingdom, the song spent twelve weeks on the official singles chart, peaking at number ten and securing the band a memorable, high-energy performance on the iconic television program Top of the Pops.
    Decades after its release, For America is celebrated as a definitive artifact of eighties intelligent pop. It stands alongside contemporaries of the era who used the accessibility of the dancefloor to distribute subversive ideas to the masses. By transforming a corporate demand for conformity into a global critique of American imperialism and media consumption, Red Box created a timeless piece of art that remains as musically infectious as it is conceptually sharp.
    The song peaked at No. 10 in the UK charts on 22nd November 1986.
    Red Box - For America - Eighties Archive - Promo Advert
    Red Box - For America - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    Red Box - For America - (UK 7'' Cover (Front)
    Red Box - For America - UK 7'' Cover - Back
    Red Box - For America - UK 7'' Cover (Back)
    A-Side For America (3:45)
    (Simon Toulson-Clarke)
    Produced By David Motion
    B-Side R ‘N A (4:04)
    (Simon Toulson-Clarke, Julian Close)
    Produced By Red Box
    UK Top 40 Chart Run [11 Weeks] – 1st November 1986 – 10th January 1987
    33
    22
    13
    10
    10
    11
    20
    26
    36
    37
    40

    Officially Released Versions

    For America (Single Version) (3:45)
    For America (Bazooka Mix) (6:00)
    For America (Boys Own Mix) (3:41)

    See ALL releases of ‘For America’ on Discogs.

    Lyrics

    Deviate to contemplate this audio visual opiate
    (One hundred years from now)
    Title fights and human rights, we’re satellites, you’re parasites
    (Hey-yah-ha)
    Now I’ve got to tell you that I’ve been down, down so low that I bit the ground
    (Let’s hear it from the heart of America)

    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-oh
    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-ah, ya-da-dee-yeh-ah (Ah)
    In Americ-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-eh
    Urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei USA (For America)

    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round (In America)
    Yea-oh-ayda-yea-ooh-ah

    A pocket full of posies and cheap-scented roses
    (Every house should have its hat on)
    So in and out and round and round, up and down and lost and found
    (Hey-yah-ha)
    Magazines and gasoline and made-in-Taiwan western scenes
    (Will you hear us in the heart of America?)

    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-oh
    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-ah, ya-da-dee-yeh-ah (Ah)
    In Americ-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-eh
    Urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei USA (For America)

    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round (In America)
    Yea-oh-ayda-yea-ooh-ah, in America
    Yeah, eh

    Na-na-ne-na-ne-na-na

    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-oh
    Ya-da-dee-yeh, yea-ah, ya-da-dee-yeh-ah
    In Americ-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-eh
    Urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei-urelei USA (For America)

    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round (For America)
    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round (For America)
    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round (For America)
    Where’s the peace and understanding?
    Go drum, go dance, sound on sound
    All this peace and understanding
    Go drum, go dance, round and round

    Written By Simon Toulson-Clarke

    Red Box - For America - Promo Advert

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    Red Box
    For America
    Red Box - For America - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    Red Box - For America - VIT Album

    Date Released

    October 1986

    Highest Chart Position

    No. 10

    Genre

    Electronic, Pop, SynthPop

    Date Of UK Top 40 Entry

    1st November 1986

    Record Label

    SIRE RECORDS

    Catalogue Number

    YZ 84

    Other Songs In Archive

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