Heat of the Moment
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"Heat of the Moment" | ||||||||
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![]() Cover of the European single
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Single by Asia | ||||||||
from the album Asia | ||||||||
B-side | "Time Again" (UK) "Ride Easy" (outside of UK) |
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Released | April 1982 | |||||||
Format | 7" vinyl + Song on Asia album Tape and 33 | |||||||
Genre | Rock | |||||||
Length | 3:50 | |||||||
Label | Geffen | |||||||
Writer(s) | John Wetton, Geoff Downes | |||||||
Producer(s) | Mike Stone | |||||||
Asia singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Heat of the Moment" is the first hit single released by progressive rock supergroup Asia from their smash 1982 eponymous debut. The song was the most popular on the album, and won enormous success in North America, reaching #4 in both the Canadian Singles chart and on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was aided by an innovative - and hugely popular - MTV music video. It was written by singer and bass guitarist John Wetton, and keyboardist Geoff Downes.
The single also climbed to the top position on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, remaining six non-consecutive weeks at #1 in the spring and summer of 1982.[1][2][3] It was written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes. "Heat of the Moment" is featured at the beginning of another Asia song called "Don't Call Me" as a dialing number from a telephone.
Contents
Interpretation
The lyrics contain the line, "And now you find yourself in '82". While this is often interpreted as a reference to the year the single was released, Wetton has said that instead of 1982 it is a location, possibly meaning the 82nd meridian east that runs through the continent of Asia which is shown on a spinning globe in the song's music video.[4] However, in live versions, Wetton has often substituted the current year for "82" in the second verse and rhymed it with another word. In a Reddit AMA, John specifically says it doesn't refer to the year 1982.[5]
B-sides
"Time Again" is the B-side of the UK release. The song was written by all the band members, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton, and can also be found on the Asia album.
"Ride Easy" is the B-side of the singles released outside of the UK. This song was written by Wetton and Howe. It was never given a regular release on a studio album, but it was included in the EP Aurora, released only in Japan in 1986. During an interview on the 2007 released Asia DVD Fantasia: Live in Tokyo, Wetton indicated that "Ride Easy" is one of his favourite Asia songs.
It was eventually released on CD on The Very Best of Asia: Heat of the Moment (1982-1990).
Track listing
- US 7" single
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Heat of the Moment" | 3:50 |
2. | "Ride Easy" | 4:35 |
- UK 7" single
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Heat of the Moment" | 3:50 |
2. | "Time Again" | 4:45 |
Chart performance
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Kent Music Report[6] | 26 |
Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] | 4 |
Dutch Top 40[8] | 34 |
French Singles Chart[9] | 39 |
German Media Control Charts[10] | 7 |
Irish Singles Chart[11] | 30 |
Italian Singles Chart[12] | 16 |
New Zealand Singles Chart[13] | 46 |
Polish Singles Chart[14] | 6 |
Radio Luxemburg Singles[15] | 26 |
South African Singles Chart[16] | 4 |
Swiss Singles Chart[17] | 2 |
UK Singles Chart[18] | 46 |
US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 4 |
US Billboard Mainstream Rock[19] | 1 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1982) | Position |
---|---|
Canadian RPM Top Singles[20] | 47 |
German Media Control Charts | 41 |
Italian Singles Chart[21] | 89 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 40 |
U.S. Cashbox Top 100[22] | 43 |
Popular culture
- It was featured multiple times in the Supernatural episode "Mystery Spot" as the music Sam wakes up to every Tuesday, itself a reference to Groundhog Day.
- "Heat of the Moment" was repopularized in 2005 when it was featured in the motion pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Matador.[citation needed]
- The ASIA album is visible in the 2013 futuristic Tom Cruise sci-fi movie Oblivion.
- In a 2001 episode of South Park titled "Kenny Dies", Eric Cartman sings the song to the United States Congress to convince them to reverse a ban on stem cell research (telling them that he wanted to save his 8-year-old friend Kenny McCormick from muscular dystrophy), eventually leading members of Congress in a sing-along.[23]
- The song is featured in the Season 4 episode "Shuffle, Ball Change" of Cold Case.[citation needed]
- The song is a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.[citation needed]
- The song is in the score of the musical Rock of Ages.[citation needed]
- In Sleepaway Camp one of the characters is wearing this song's cover on his shirt.[citation needed]
- The character of Bobo sings part of the song on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 after a performance by Pearl Forrester and Observer.[citation needed]
References
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External links
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- ↑ http://infodisc.fr/Artistes.php
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- ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/aa.htm
- ↑ http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Asia&titel=Heat+Of+The+Moment&cat=s
- ↑ http://www.lp3.pl/alpt.phtml?m=1&nn=10#navigation
- ↑ http://umdmusic.com/default.asp?Lang=Czech&Chart=F&ChDay=&ChMonth=&ChYear=&ChBand=Asia&ChSong=
- ↑ http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(A).html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://musicvf.com/Asia.art
- ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6167&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=etg0falg2hk823f26tcs13s3f3
- ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1982.htm
- ↑ http://www.cashboxcountdowns.com/archives/80s_files/1982YESP.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls
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- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2012
- Asia (band) songs
- 1982 singles
- Debut singles
- Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one singles
- Music videos directed by Godley and Creme
- Songs written by John Wetton
- Songs written by Geoff Downes
- Song recordings produced by Mike "Clay" Stone