Sugar Daddy (Thompson Twins song) explained

Sugar Daddy
Cover:Thompsontwinssugardaddy.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Thompson Twins
Album:Big Trash
B-Side:Monkey Man
Released:25 September 1989 (UK)[1]
Genre:Pop rock
Length:3:30
Label:Warner Bros.
Producer:
  • Tom Bailey
  • Alannah Currie
Prev Title:In the Name of Love '88
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Bombers In The Sky
Next Year:1989

"Sugar Daddy" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1989 as the lead single from their seventh studio album Big Trash. The song was written and produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie. "Sugar Daddy" reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (their final Top 40 hit in the US) and number 97 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] [3]

Background

In a 1989 interview on MuchMusic, Bailey described the song as sounding "quite sugary" but added "the message is quite disturbing". He added, "It's about sexual manipulation, affection traded for power, and as with all those sort of power-gain relationships, there's always a sugar coating, so that's why the song is so sugary but the message so bizarre."[4]

Music video

Speaking on MuchMusic, Currie revealed some of the unused sequences of the video, "The video was funny. I wanted to be the angel of death in it, with a black guitar and wings, but I kept getting stuck up there and screaming to get down, so we had to lose some of those shots. And then they built this enormous 12 foot skirt, I wanted to have these men coming out from under my skirt, and they edited that down to make it a bit more acceptable. I wanted to be the original hell's angel, it didn't quite come off. I always get disappointed by our videos."[4]

Critical reception

On its release, Music & Media considered the song "playful and catchy", with "more raunch than their previous material".[5] Phil Cheeseman of Record Mirror commented, "The Twins return to what they're best at - bad pop/rock singles with inane lyrics, those bursts of guitar and pressing the button on the synthesiser marked 'orchestral boom'."[6]

Billboard described "Sugar Daddy" as "refreshing pop" and a "jaunty piece of ear candy".[7] Stephanie Brainerd of Cash Box commented, "This is your average neo-disco synthesized dance mix, and really, it's not a bad one, but from the Thompson Twins? This tune might possibly fare well on the dancefloor, but I don't believe it's their best effort."[8]

In a review of Big Trash, Australian daily newspaper The Age noted the song as one of the album's "superb creations", adding that it was a "pleasant single, though not as amusing as the observant title track".[9]

Formats

7-inch single

  1. "Sugar Daddy" - 3:30
  2. "Monkey Man" - 3:34

12-inch single

  1. "Sugar Daddy (12" Remix)" - 5:40
  2. "Sugar Daddy (Sugar House Mix)" - 7:30
  3. "Sugar Daddy (Sugar House Dub)" - 5:40

12-inch single (US only)

  1. "Sugar Daddy (Sweet N' Low Mix)" - 5:40
  2. "Sugar Daddy (Big Daddy's Dub)" - 5:14
  3. "Sugar Daddy (7" Remix)" - 3:37
  4. "Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Mix)" - 7:30
  5. "Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Dub)" - 5:47
  6. "Monkey Man" - 3:33

CD single

  1. "Sugar Daddy" - 3:30
  2. "Sugar Daddy (12" Remix)" - 5:40
  3. "Sugar Daddy (Sugar House Mix)" - 7:30

CD single (US only)

  1. "Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Mix)" - 7:44
  2. "Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Edit)" - 4:10
  3. "Monkey Man" - 3:36
  4. "Sugar Daddy (Sweet N' Low Mix)" - 5:40
  5. "Sugar Daddy (7" Remix)" - 3:39

CD single (US promo)

  1. "Sugar Daddy (LP Version)" - 3:30
  2. "Sugar Daddy (7" Remix)" - 3:37
  3. "Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Mix)" - 7:30
  4. "Sugar Daddy (Sweet N' Low Mix)" - 5:40

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[10] 155
Canadian Singles Chart[11] [12] 38
UK Singles Chart97
US Billboard Dance/Club Play2
US Billboard Hot 10028
US Billboard Hot Dance Music Sales28
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[13] 16

Notes and References

  1. 23 September 1989. This Week - Releases. Record Mirror. 39.
  2. Web site: Thompson Twins - Chart History . . 30 December 2021.
  3. Web site: Thompson Twins; full Official Chart History . . 30 December 2021.
  4. Web site: Thompson Twins (1989) on Canada's music station, "Much Music" . YouTube . 2014-03-02.
  5. September 23, 1989 . Previews: Singles. Music & Media.
  6. Cheeseman. Phil. 21 October 1989. Singles. Record Mirror. 14.
  7. September 30, 1989. Single Reviews. Billboard.
  8. September 30, 1989 . Pure pop for now people. Cash Box.
  9. Web site: The Age - Google News Archive Search.
  10. Web site: Week commencing 30 October 1989 . Bubbling Down Under . 30 October 2020 . 26 December 2021.
  11. Web site: Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2014-03-02.
  12. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2014-03-02.
  13. Web site: Thompson Twins - Chart history . Billboard . 2017-06-04.