Beat the Clock (Sparks song)

Infobox Single
Name = Beat the Clock


Artist = Sparks
from Album = No. 1 In Heaven
Released = July, 1979
Format = 7", 12"
Recorded = 1979
Genre = Disco
New Wave
Length = 4:24
3:49 (7" edit)
Label = Virgin Records
Writer = Ron Mael, Russell Mael
Producer = Giorgio Moroder
Last single = "The Number One Song In Heaven"
(1979)
This single = "Beat the Clock"
(1979)
Next single = "Tryouts for the Human Race"
(1979)

Beat the Clock is a Disco single by Sparks released 1979. It is named after the gameshow Beat the Clock.

The song peaked at #10 in August 1979 and spent six weeks in the UK top forty singles chart [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=8373 www.chartstats.com Statistics of Beat the Clock single] ] . It was their third and final top ten single in the UK.

The song was lifted from the album "No. 1 In Heaven" and produced by Giorgio Moroder for Mellow B.V. During the late seventies he was one of the premier producers, his working relationship grew from Sparks appreciation of Donna Summer's dynamic "I Feel Love" which Moroder co-wrote and co-produced.

The 12 inch remix was the first of the groups extended remixes. The remix utilised the drum pattern from the songs mid-section and added a new keyboard melody line during the chorus. The "long version" as it was dubbed was edited to three and a half minutes and released as the b-side to seven inch single. Long versions of "The Number One Song in Heaven" and "Tryouts for the Human Race" - both singles from the same album as "Beat the Clock" were merely the standard album versions.

An additional b-side on twelve inch versions was a commercial promoting the album "No. 1 in Heaven", which featured clips of most of the tracks. The advert was narrated by Peter Cook. [http://www.discogs.com/release/310929 www.discogs.com Beat the Clock single track listing] ] Twelve inch versions came as coloured picture discs, the inner seven inch was a picture disc while the outer five inches came in a variety of differing colours such as blue, yellow and pink.

The song was subsequently reworked for the album "Plagiarism" in 1998 and a live version was released as a b-side on the UK CD single "Now that I Own the BBC" in January 1996.

Track listing

;Seven inch Virgin VS270
# "Beat the Clock" — 3:49
# "Beat the Clock" (Alternative Mix) — 3:32

;Twelve inch Virgin VS27012
# "Beat the Clock" — 3:49
# "Untitled Commercial"
# "Beat the Clock" (Long Version) — 6:43

Chart positions

Personnel

* Chris Bennett, Backing Vocals
* Keith Forsey, Drums
* Ron Mael, Keyboards, Synthesiser, Vocals
* Russell Mael, Vocals
* Jack Moran, Backing Vocals
* Giorgio Moroder, Synthesiser
* Dan Wyman, Synthesiser Programming
* Dennis Young, Backing Vocals

References

Trivia

On the album "Stars on Long Play" by Stars On (StarSound in the UK), a quick lyrical reference to "Beat The Clock" can be heard on the extended side-length (mostly) Beatles medley.