Planet Claire

"Planet Claire"
Single by The B-52's
from the album The B-52's
B-side	"Downtown"
Released	July 6, 1979
Format	7" single
Recorded	1978–79
Genre	New wave[1]
Length	4:35
Label	Island Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Fred Schneider Keith Strickland
Producer(s)	Chris Blackwell
The B-52's singles chronology
"Rock Lobster" (1978/1979) "Planet Claire" (1979) "Dance This Mess Around" (1979)

"Planet Claire" is the second single released by The B-52's from their self-titled debut album. The single was their second to chart anywhere, at no. 43 in Australia and no. 24 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, along with album tracks "Rock Lobster" and "Dance This Mess Around".^[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The B-52's, except where noted. 

A-side
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Planet Claire"	Fred Schneider Keith Strickland	Pierson Schneider	4:35

B-side
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Downtown"	Tony Hatch, arranged by Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson	Pierson C. Wilson	2:57
Total length:				7:30

Personnel

• Fred Schneider – vocals, walkie-talkie
• Kate Pierson – Farfisa organ, synth bass, wailing
• Cindy Wilson – bongos
• Ricky Wilson – electric guitar, smoke alarm
• Keith Strickland – drums, percussion, all other sounds

Chart positions

Charts (1980)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	43
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4]	35
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[2]	24

In popular culture

• "Planet Claire" is also the name of a rock musical encompassing songs of The B-52's. The plot involves a young girl named "Claire" who works in a dive bar called the "Love Shack." She is involved in a car crash that causes her to awake on Planet Topaz, where parallel versions of her friends back on Earth help her on a journey of self-discovery before she is returned home. It debuted in 2002 at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick, Maryland, and was directed by Tad Janes, with costumes and choreography by Julie Herber. The musical was shown once more in 2004 at the Baltimore Theater Project, and was revived for a third time in Frederick in May 2010. The book of the musical was written by Tad Janes, Gené Fouché and Timothy King.
• Canadian thrash metal band Obliveon released a cover of "Planet Claire" on an EP in 1998.
• The instrumentals are featured in the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Mystery Men (1999)
• The DreamWorks Animation movie Monsters vs. Aliens released in 2009 contains a version of the song covered by Les Deux Love Orchestra. This version is noteworthy as Les Deux Love Orchestra contains members of Henry Mancini's original "Peter Gunn" orchestra. Mancini is listed as co-writer on the track. The credits of the film also include the original B-52's version.
• The comedy movie Paul released in 2011 contains this song.^[5]

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Planet Claire – Song Review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
2. "The B-52's – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
3. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
4. "Charts.org.nz – The B-52's – Planet Claire". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
5. Monger, James Christopher. "Original Soundtrack – Paul". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 19, 2014.