Square Rooms

"Square Rooms"
Single by Al Corley
from the album Square Rooms
B-side"Don't Play with Me"
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1984
Recorded1984
StudioWeryton Studios
GenreEuro-pop
synth pop[1]
Length3:39
LabelMercury
Songwriters
ProducerHarold Faltermeyer
Al Corley singles chronology
"Square Rooms"
(1984) 		"Cold Dresses"
(1985)

"Square Rooms" is a song by American singer and actor Al Corley. It was the first single from his debut album of the same name. First released in 1984; the song was a hit single in Continental Europe, and had a moderate success in the United States in 1985.

Background and writing

After two seasons playing one of the leading characters in the American TV series, Dynasty, Al Corley left the nighttime soap opera to become a singer.

The media-savvy singer affected the brooding look and attitude popular among pop stars and GQ models at the time: pouty, dark glances and tousled hair. His choice of image worked best in France, where his television performances elicited the unbridled enthusiasm of teenage girls. However, according to Elia Habib, a French charts specialist, his success was not only based on his physical appearance. Indeed, "Square Rooms"' music had a large popular appeal and had a production designed for the dance floor. It was produced and composed by the German musician Harold Faltermeyer, who had previously arranged "Self Control", a worldwide pop and dance-floor smash for Laura Branigan in 1984 which featured a similar vocal hook. Faltermeyer would achieve his greatest personal success later the same year, composing, performing and producing the score to Beverly Hills Cop, a 1984 film directed by Martin Brest, including its hit instrumental theme composition "Axel F".[2]

Personnel

  • Al Corley: lead vocals and backing vocals, simmons electronic drums
  • Harold Faltermeyer: synthesizers, sequencer and drum machine
  • Mats Bjorklund: electric guitar
  • Judy Cheek: backing vocals
  • Tony Burrows: backing vocals
  • Wolly Emperhof: backing vocals
  • Herbert Ihl Marotta: backing vocals

Chart performance

"Square Rooms" was released first in Switzerland, where it peaked at number six on October 21, 1984, and staying in the top 30 for ten weeks.[3] The single debuted at number 47 on the French Singles Chart on January 5, 1985, and topped the chart for five nonconsecutive weeks, from March 9 to April 13, 1985. After its peak, it lingered on the charts until its 27th week, on July 20, 1985.[4] The song reached number 12 in Italy, number 13 in Germany, and number 15 in Austria.[5] "Square Rooms" was released last in Corley's native US, where the single reached number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 1, 1985, as well as number 26 on the Billboard dance chart[6] the week of June 22, 1985. The single sold 2 million copies by 1985.[7]

Formats and track listings

7" single
No.TitleLength
1."Square Rooms"3:39
2."Don't Play with Me"4:20
12" maxi
No.TitleLength
1."Square Rooms (12" version)"8:02
2."Square Rooms (7" version)"3:39
3."Don't Play with Me"4:20
  • The 12-inch (long) version includes an entire additional verse prior to the first chorus. This verse is excised in both the single and album versions of the song.

Charts

Covers

A French cover version was recorded by France Lise under the title "On vit à deux".[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dance/Disco > Picks > Al Corley – Square Rooms (8:00)". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 17. April 27, 1985. p. 67. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ^ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 35. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  3. ^ a b "Al Corley – Square Rooms". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Al Corley – Square Rooms" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Al Corley – Square Rooms" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Al Corley – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  7. ^ Vare, E. A. (June 26, 1985). "Former 'Dynasty' star tries recording career". Oakland City Journal. p. 21.
  8. ^ "Al Corley – Square Rooms" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  9. ^ "European Top 100 Singles". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 16. April 22, 1985. p. 9. OCLC 29800226.
  10. ^ "European Airplay Top 50". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 16. April 22, 1985. p. 6. OCLC 29800226.
  11. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 3, 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Square rooms" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  12. ^ "Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 22. June 1, 1985. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 18, 1985". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012.
  14. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "Top – 1985". Top-france.fr (in French). Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Lemonier, Marc (2008). Nos années Top, clips et 45 tours: 1984–1991 (in French). pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-2-258-07648-8.
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