"Wouldn't It Be Good" | ||||
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Single by Nik Kershaw | ||||
from the album Human Racing | ||||
B-side | "Monkey Business" | |||
Released | 21 January 1984 | |||
Format | 7", 12", CD Single, CD Maxi | |||
Recorded | Summer 1983 | |||
Genre | Synthpop, New wave | |||
Length | 4:32 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Writer(s) | Nik Kershaw | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Collins | |||
Nik Kershaw singles chronology | ||||
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"Wouldn't It Be Good" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was released one month prior to his debut studio album Human Racing. The release was Kershaw's second single, and features the non-album track, "Monkey Business" as the B-side, which was also released as a bonus track on 2012 re-release of the album.
"Wouldn't It Be Good" was the second single from Kershaw's debut solo album Human Racing and turned out to be among his more popular single releases. It spent three weeks at #4 in the UK charts and became a hit throughout Europe, as well as a top 10 hit in Canada. Kershaw is also most closely associated with this song in the U.S., where it narrowly missed going Top 40. Kershaw performed this song at Live Aid in London's Wembley Stadium in July 1985.
Kershaw's first single from this album had failed to be a major hit, and it was on the strength of this recording's success that the earlier single, "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", was promoted for a re-release. This time the single went all the way to #2 in the UK, becoming his highest-charting single there to date.
"Wouldn't It Be Good" was released in a single version and an extended 12" version. The main synth tune was produced using a combination of PPG Wave 2.2 and a Yamaha DX7. A remix by Simon Boswell, clocking in at 7:20, appears on the album Retro:Active 4: Rare & Remixed.
The music video for "Wouldn't It Be Good", directed by Storm Thorgerson, was released in 1984 and received heavy rotation on MTV, which helped the song reach No. 46 on the US charts. It used chroma key technology to achieve the alien suit's special effects.
The video opens with two men talking, followed by heavy breathing. Nik Kershaw, wearing a vintage white suit, crosses in front of an antique car, carrying a briefcase. He enters ornate doors, and the music starts to play. Kershaw climbs stairs inside the building, enters a room and leans against the door. He opens his hand and lets a rock fall. His clothing and haircut transform, becoming 80s fashion, and the suit plays vague scenes. He crosses to a bank of equipment, adjusts dials and then looks out the window. He begins to sing. Sitting down, he presses buttons on a bulky remote, and more definite video scenes begin to play on his white clothing, showing people, shoes, grass, a satellite dish and other items that illustrate what he sings.