'Suburbia' was the last single released from the 'Please' album.
Production and Recording[]
The album version, which was produced by Stephen Hague, appeared first. The bassline is inspired by Madonna's 'Into The Groove', according to Chris, who wrote all the music for 'Suburbia'. The album version almost exactly resembles their original demo recording.
For the 7" and 12", Julian Mendelsohn was brought in to re-mix, and he transformed the track into an epic soundscape, complete with riot sounds, explosions and a heavier percussion arsenal. The smashing glass in the Julian Mendelsohn version was a pane of glass smashed and recorded at Sarm West Studios.
Lyrics[]
The lyrics were inspired by a film of the same name as the song, directed by Penelope Spheeris. Says Neil:
I thought it was a great idea to write a song about suburbia and how it's really violent and decaying and a mess...that the suburbs are really nasty, that behind lace curtains everyone is an alcoholic or a spanker or a mass murderer.
Neil is referring to his own mother in the line "mother's got a hairdo to be done..."
Suburbia where the suburbs met utopia where the suburbs met utopia Lost in the high street, where the dogs run roaming suburban boys Mother's got her hairdo to be done She says they're too old for toys Stood by the bus stop with a felt pen in this suburban hell and in the distance a police car to break the suburban spell Let's take a ride and run with the dogs tonightin suburbia You can't hide Run with the dogs tonight in suburbia Break the window by the town hall Listen! A siren screams there in the distance like a roll call of all the suburban dreams Let's take a ride and run with the dogs tonight in suburbia You can't hide run with the dogs tonight in suburbia I only wanted something else to do but hang around I only wanted something else to do but hang around It's on the front page of the papers This is their hour of need Where's a policeman when you need one to blame the colour TV? Let's take a ride and run with the dogs tonight in suburbia You can't hide run with the dogs tonight in suburbia Suburbia where the suburbs met utopia What kind of dream was this so easy to destroy? And who are we to blame for the sins of the past? These slums of the future? suburbia where the suburbs met utopia suburbia where the suburbs met utopia
Releases and Versions[]
'Suburbia' was the last single from Please, released in late 1986.