Walk Like an Egyptian

"Walk Like an Egyptian"
1986 cover art
Single by The Bangles
from the album Different Light
B-side	"Angels Don't Fall in Love" "Not Like You"
Released	September 1986
Format	7" single 12" maxi
Recorded	Sunset Sound Factory (1985)
Genre	Pop rock[1][2]
Length	3:24
Label	Columbia Bangle-a-lang Music
Writer(s)	Liam Sternberg
Producer(s)	David Kahne
The Bangles singles chronology
"If She Knew What She Wants" (1986) "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986) "Walking Down Your Street" (1987) "Everything I Wanted" (1990) "Walk Like An Egyptian (remix)" (1990) "The Eternal Mix" (1990) Alternative cover 1990 reissue cover

"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song made famous by American band the Bangles. It was released in September 1986 as the third single from the album Different Light. It was a million-selling single and became Billboard's number-one song of 1987.

Origin

Music producer Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance, which reminded him of figures in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, "All the old paintings on the tombs/They do the sand dance don't you know".

Recording

By January 1984, Sternberg was finished cutting a demo version of the song with Marti Jones singing the lyric. He offered his song to Toni Basil, who turned it down.^[3] Lene Lovich recorded the first version of the song, but it went unreleased when Lovich decided to take a sabbatical from music to raise her family. From Peer Southern Publishing, David Kahne, the producer of Different Light, received a copy of the demo and liked it, especially Jones's "offhand quality".^[3]

Kahne took the song to the Bangles who agreed to record it. He had each member of the group sing the lyrics to determine who would sing each verse, with Vicki Peterson, Michael Steele and Susanna Hoffs singing lead vocals on the first, second, and third verses, respectively, in the final version. Kahne did not like any of Debbi Peterson's leads, and so she was relegated to backing vocals. This angered Peterson and caused tension within the group. The situation was exacerbated by the drumming in the song being done by a drum machine instead of by her, further diminishing her role in the song.^[4] (Peterson can be seen playing the tambourine during their 1986 performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test.^[5])

Chart performances

"Walk Like an Egyptian" was released as the third single from Different Light. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1986. The song reached a peak of number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1986 and reached number one in the US on December 20, staying at the top of the Hot 100 for four weeks, carrying it over into January 1987. The song is the first song by an all-female group playing (mostly) their own instruments to top the Billboard singles chart.^[6] The success of the song and "Manic Monday" propelled Different Light to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the group's most successful album.^[7]

Music video

The music video for "Walk Like an Egyptian" was nominated for Best Group Video in the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards.^[8] The street scenes were filmed in New York City. It featured people dancing in a pose similar to the pose depicted in the Ancient Egyptian reliefs that inspired songwriter Liam Sternberg; while most of them are ordinary people, some famous figures and objects were depicted dancing in that same pose through the use of simple special effects, like Lady Diana, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the Statue of Liberty. In a popular scene from the video, Hoffs was filmed in a close-up where her eyes moved from side to side, looking left and right. When asked about the scene in an interview with online magazine PlanetOut.com, Hoffs explained that she was actually looking at individual audience members during the video shoot, which took place with a live audience. Looking directly at individual audience members was a technique she used to overcome stage fright, and she was unaware that the camera had a close-up on her while she was employing this technique, switching between one audience member on her left and one on her right.^[9]

1990 re-release

In 1990, "Walk Like an Egyptian" was re-issued as a single in the UK to promote the Bangles' Greatest Hits album. It featured new remixes for the song called Ozymandias Remix. With the group having parted ways by then, little promotion was made and it charted at number 73 in the UK.

Airplay post 9/11

"Walk Like an Egyptian" was one of the songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks^[10] and was also included in a "list of records to be avoided" drawn up by the BBC during the Gulf War.^[11]

Accolades

Year	Publisher	Country	Accolade	Rank
1986	Hot Press	Ireland	"Singles of the Year" (20)[12]	4
1986	The Village Voice	United States	"Singles of the Year" (25)[13]	16
2003	Giannis Petridis	Greece	"2004 of the Best Songs of the Century"[14]	*
2003	Paul Morley	United Kingdom	"Greatest Pop Single of All Time"[15]	*
2003	Pause & Play	United States	"Vault Of Fame" (Songs)[16]	*
2005	Bruce Pollock	United States	"The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000"[14]	*
2009	Gilles Verlant and Thomas Caussé	France	"3000 Rock Classics"[14]	*
2009	Radio Veronica	Netherlands	"Best Of The 80's" (100)[17]	99

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Track listings

1985 release 7" single "Walk Like an Egyptian" (3:21) "Angels Don't Fall in Love" (3:21) 12" maxi "Walk Like an Egyptian" (extended dance mix) (5:48) "Walk Like an Egyptian" (dub mix) (5:17) "Walk Like an Egyptian" (a capella mix) (2:47)

1986 release 7" single "Walk Like an Egyptian" (3:21) "Not Like You" (3:05) 12" maxi "Walk Like an Egyptian" (extended dance mix) (5:48) "Walk Like an Egyptian" (dub mix) (5:17) "Walk Like an Egyptian" (a cappella mix) (2:47) "Angels Don't Fall in Love" (3:21)

Charts and sales

Weekly charts Chart (1986–87) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 1 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[21] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[22] 1 Europe (Pan-European Charts)[23] 7 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 11 France (SNEP)[25] 15 Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 2 Italy (FIMI)[28] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 2 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[32] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[33] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 8 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[35] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[36] 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[36] 46 US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[36] 15 US Cash Box[37] 1 Chart (1990) Peak position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 73

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[39] 48 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 63 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 27 Chart (1987) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[42] 7 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[43] 51 Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)[44] 25 Italy (FIMI)[28] 38 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[45] 64 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[46] 95 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[47] 8 US Billboard Hot 100[48] 1 Certifications and sales Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[49] Gold 50,000 Netherlands (NVPI)[50] Platinum 100,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Silver 250,000 United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 500,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Use in other media

• The song was used as the theme of the ending credits of the Japanese animated series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (based off the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) for the first 24 episodes.^[53]
• The song was used in Totally Spies! The Movie.^[54]

References

1. Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson – Never Again". About.com. Retrieved February 15, 2014. David Kahne is responsible for over 2 decades of pop-rock classics from seminal work with the Bangles ("Manic Monday," "Walk Like an Egyptian," "Going Down to Liverpool") to more recent production efforts for the Strokes.
2. ""Walk Like an Egyptian" – The Bangles – 1986". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 15, 2014. A three-and-a-half-minute slice of mainstream guitar rock with a touch of girl-group pop
3. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (5 ed.). Random House Digital. p. 656. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
4. Alter, Gaby (September 1, 2009). "Classic Tracks: The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian"". Mix. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
5. The Old Grey Whistle Test Vol. 3 (DVD). BBC Video. 2006.
6. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 hits uit de Top 40, Page 234, 9023009444
7. "Bangles – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
8. "1987 Video Music Awards". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
9. Stewart, Jenny (August 8, 2009). PlanetOut Talks to Susanna Hoffs at the Wayback Machine (archived August 12, 2009). PlanetOut.com. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
10. Murphy, Heather (September 17, 2001). "It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It". Slate. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
11. "Unfit for Auntie's airwaves: The artists censored by the BBC". The Independent. December 14, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
12. "Hot Press Albums Of The Year 1986: The Critics’ Choice". Hot Press. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
13. "Village Voice - Pazz & Jop Lists > 1986: Singles". The Village Voice. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
14. "Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
15. "Paul Morley". Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
16. Songs at the Wayback Machine (archived August 2, 2003). Pause & Play. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
17. "Radio Veronica". Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
20. "Ultratop.be – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
21. "Radio 2 Top 30 : 17 januari 1987" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
22. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0766." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
23. "Billboard – Hits Of The World". Billboard 98 (50): 56. December 13, 1986. ISSN 0006-2510.
24. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
25. "Lescharts.com – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
27. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walk Like an Egyptian". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
28. "I singoli più venduti del 1987" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
29. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
30. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
31. "Charts.org.nz – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
32. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (B)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
33. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
34. "Swisscharts.com – Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
35. "Archive Chart: 1986-11-15" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
36. "Different Light – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
37. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 20, 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
38. "Bangles: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
39. "Jaaroverzichten 1986" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
40. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
41. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
42. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 439. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
43. "Jaaroverzichten 1987" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
44. "Top Singles – Volume 47, No. 12, December 26 1987". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
45. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
46. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
47. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1987". Rock.co.za. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
48. "Top 100 Hits for 1987". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
49. "Canadian single certifications – Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian". Music Canada.
50. "Dutch single certifications – Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
51. "British single certifications – Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Walk Like an Egyptian in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
52. "American single certifications – Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
53. Komatsu, Mikikazu (January 10, 2015). "Pat Metheny Group's 1987 Song "Last Train Home" Featured as New ED Song for "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
54. "Various Artists – Totally Spies Bof". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 2, 2015.

External links

• The Bangles' official website