The Clash "Hitsville UK" (1980)

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Description

"Hitsville U.K." is a song by The Clash and the second off their fourth album Sandinista!. A duet between lead guitarist Mick Jones and his then-girlfriend Ellen Foley, it's the 13th single release by The Clash.

The lyrics refer to the emerging indie scene in British music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which is held in contrast to the "mutants, creeps and musclemen" of the major labels with their "expense accounts" and "lunch discounts", making "AOR" and using "chart-hyping" to sell their records. References are made to a number of UK independent labels (Small Wonder, Rough Trade, Fast Product and Factory).

Lyrics:

They cried the tears, they shed the fears,
Up and down the land,
They stole guitars or used guitars
So the tape would understand,
Without even the slightest hope of a thousand sales
Just as if, as if there was, a Hitsville in U.K.,
I know the boy was all alone, til the Hitsville hit U.K.
They say true talent will always emerge in time,
When lightening hits small wonder
Its fast rough factory trade,
No expense accounts, or lunch discounts
Or hyping up the charts,
The band went in, 'n knocked 'em dead, in 2 min. 59
- No slimy deals, with smarmy eels - in Hitsville U.K.
Lets shake'n say, we'll operate - in Hitsville U.K.
The mutants, creeps and musclemen,
Are shaking like a leaf,
It blows a hole in the radio,
When it hasn't sounded good all week,
A mike'n boom, in your living room - in Hitsville U.K.
No consumer trials, or A.O.R., in Hitsville U.K.,
Now the boys and girls are not alone,
Now the Hitsville's hit U.K.

Songwriter: Joe Strummer / Mick Jones
Hitsville U.K. lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group