"Island of Lost Souls" is a song recorded by the band Blondie and released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, The Hunter, in April 1982.
| "Island of Lost Souls" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Blondie | ||||
| from the album The Hunter | ||||
| B-side | "Dragonfly" | |||
| Released | April 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Genre | Calypso, pop, new wave | |||
| Length | 3:49 (UK), 4:44 (US) | |||
| Label | Chrysalis Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Deborah Harry and Chris Stein | |||
| Producer(s) | Mike Chapman | |||
| Blondie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Island of Lost Souls" on YouTube | ||||
Song information and chart success
editContinuing the band's penchant for spanning different genres of music, including rock, disco, reggae and rap/hip-hop (all of which had given the band No. 1 hits), "Island of Lost Souls" saw Blondie delve into calypso music. The song was recorded in the autumn of 1981, and promotional copies of the single were sent to U.S. radio stations on 31 October 1981.
Upon its release in 1982, "Island of Lost Souls" was not one of Blondie's biggest hits, only reaching the Top 10 in Belgium, although it did top the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary chart. It peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 (becoming Blondie's final U.S. Top 40 hit on that chart to date), and also reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom.[1]
Music video
editThe music video was filmed in the Isles of Scilly in the UK. It features three scenes interspersed with each other: a group of men dressed as undertakers in a Cornish gig boat, the band dressed in white monk robes (the members apart from Harry play horns and saxophones while wearing fish masks), and the band dressed as a Latin American band.
Track listing
editUS 7" (CHS 2603, April 1982)
UK 7" (CHS 2608 & 7" Picture Disc CHSP 2608, April 1982)
- "Island of Lost Souls" (7" edit) (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:49
- "Dragonfly" (Harry, Stein) – 5:47
UK 12" (12 CHS 2608, April 1982)
- "Island of Lost Souls" (Album version) (Harry, Stein) – 4:44
- "Dragonfly" (Harry, Stein) – 5:47
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 13 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] | 8 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[3] | 1 |
| Germany (GfK)[4] | 66 |
| Irish Singles Chart[5] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] | 20 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] | 18 |
| UK Singles Chart[8] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] | 37 |
Covers
editBrazilian singer and hostess Mara Maravilha recorded a Portuguese version of the song titled "Na Ilha dos Sonhos Perdidos", on her 1990 album Deixa a Vida Rolar.[10]
References
edit- ^ Everyhit.co.uk UK Top 40 database Accessed: November 29, 2006
- ^ "Blondie – Island of Lost Souls" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Adult Contemporary – Volume 36, No. 25, July 31, 1982". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Blondie – Island of Lost Souls" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Island of Lost Souls in Irish Chart". IRMA. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2014. Only one result when searching "Island of Lost Souls"
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Blondie" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Blondie – Island of Lost Souls". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Blondie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Blondie awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Na Ilha Dos Sonhos Perdidos de Mara Maravilha : Vivo Música by Napster". vivomusica.napster.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-13.