Before Too Long
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"Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, ''
Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...
''. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of
Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...
. It reached No. 15 on the Australian
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Singles Chart, remaining for 19 weeks. The track was a surprise hit for Kelly at a time when chart success had eluded him and provided increased interest for the release of ''Gossip'', which would become his biggest mainstream success to that date. The success of the single can partly be attributed to the accompanying video, which was directed by John Witteron, depicting Kelly as a long-suffering cab driver dealing with a night shift full of eccentric passengers. At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song was nominated for Best Male Performance in a Video and Best Single, losing out to
John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
's "
You're the Voice "You're the Voice" is a song recorded by Australian singer John Farnham released in 1986. It became an immediate hit in Australia as well as several European countries including the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was released as a single in Sept ...
" in both categories. In January 2018, as part of
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...
's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Before Too Long" was ranked number 79.


Background

After recording his solo album, ''
Post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...
'' in early 1985, Paul Kelly established a full-time band in Sydney. It included
Michael Armiger Michael William Armiger is an English-born Australian guitarist and teacher. He has been a member of various groups including Paul Kelly Band (1983–84), Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls (1985–86), John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong (1987– ...
(bass guitar, rhythm guitar), Michael Barclay (drums, ex-
Weddings, Parties, Anything Weddings Parties Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Austral ...
) and Steve Connolly (lead guitar). Bass guitarist Jon Schofield and
keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...
Peter Bull soon joined.Spencer et al, (2007), Kelly, Paul and the Coloured Girls entry. Retrieved 21 March 2010. Through a joke based on
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
's song " Walk on the Wild Side", the band became known as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls.McFarlane, , retrieved 14 March 2010. Armiger left and the Coloured Girls line-up stabilised in late 1985 as Barclay, Bull, Connolly and Schofield. In April 1986, the band entered Trafalgar Studios and released their debut 24-track double LP, ''
Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...
'' in September. It included remakes of four songs from ''Post''. ''Gossip'' peaked at No. 15 on the Australian
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Albums Chart. Charting singles from the album were "Before Too Long", released in June ahead of the album, which peaked at No. 15 on the related Singles Chart and "Darling It Hurts". "Before Too Long" was written by Kelly; its success is partly due to the accompanying video, which was directed by John Witteron, depicting Kelly as a long-suffering cab driver dealing with a night shift full of eccentric passengers. A trimmed version of ''Gossip'', featuring 15 tracks on a single LP, was released in the United States by
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
in July 1987.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Mike DeGagne noted that " tbursts at the seams with blustery, distinguished tunes captivating both the somberness and the intrigue thrown forward from this fine Australian storyteller". The album was co-produced by Kelly with Alan Thorne (
Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
,
The Stems The Stems are a garage punk band founded by Dom Mariani in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. The group is heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. They broke up in August 1987 and reformed in 2003, releasing a new albu ...
) who, according to music journalist
Robert Forster Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), followed ...
(former
The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster (musician), Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only co ...
singer-songwriter), helped the band create "a sound that will not only influence future roots-rock bands but, through its directness, sparkle and dedication to the song, will also come to be seen as particularly Australian. Ultimately, it means the records these people made together are timeless". Due to possible racist connotations, the band changed its name for international releases to "Paul Kelly and the Messengers". They made a US tour, initially supporting
Crowded House Crowded House are an Australian-New Zealand rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Paul Hester (drums), who were both for ...
and then headlining, travelling across the US by bus. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' rock critic
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' second album, '' Under the Sun'', was released in late 1987 in Australia and New Zealand; and early 1988 in North America and Europe (under the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers). On the Kent Music Report Albums Chart it reached No. 19 with the lead single "
To Her Door "To Her Door" is a song by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as a single ahead of their second album, '' Under the Sun'' (released in North America and Europe as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers). The single was released in September ...
", written by Kelly, peaking at No. 14 on the related singles chart.


Track listing

# "Before Too Long" (Paul Kelly) – 3:20 # "White Train" (Kelly) – 2:41


Personnel

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls * Michael Barclay – drums, backing vocals * Peter Bull – keyboards, backing vocals * Steve Connolly – guitar, backing vocals * Paul Kelly – acoustic guitar, lead vocals * John Schofield – bass guitar, backing vocals Additional musicians * Astrid Munday – backing vocals Production details * Producer – Alan Thorne, Paul Kelly * Engineer – Alan Thorne * Studio – Trafalgar Studios, Sydney Art work * Cover art – Ann Richmond (picture sleeve)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

;General * Note: Archived nlinecopy has limited functionality. * * ;Specific {{Authority control 1986 singles Paul Kelly (Australian musician) songs 1986 songs Songs written by Paul Kelly (Australian musician)