"Best Years of Our Lives" is a song recorded by English band Modern Romance. It was released in October 1982 as a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

and

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

. A Japanese and German edition was also released.

Formats

7-inch single

The 7-inch single was available in two versions: *''Best Years of Our Lives'' *''We've Got Them Running (The Counting Song)'' A limited edition "Xmas Party Mix" remix of the song became available as a 7-inch single over Christmas 1982, which received substantial radio airplay in place of the original version over Christmas 1982.

12-inch single

*''Best Years of Our Lives'' (Parts 1&2) Midnight Mix *''Best Years of Our Lives'' (Parts 1&2) Extended Mix *''We've Got Them Running'' (The Counting Song)

Chart position

History

"Best Years of Our Lives" was the biggest-selling single for Modern Romance. It was the first single to feature

Michael J. Mullins Michael J. Mullins (born Michael John Mullins on 9 November 1953) is an English vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Salsa music, salsa band Modern Romance (band), Modern Romance (1982–85). Modern Romance achieved eight to ...

as lead vocalist and peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in late 1982. The single can be found on Modern Romance's hit albums '' Trick of the Light'' (1983) and '' Party Tonight'' (1983). It also made an appearance on their farewell single " Best Mix of Our Lives" (1985) in a medley with four other singles: " High Life", " Don't Stop That Crazy Rhythm", "Everybody Salsa", and "Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey". It served as a

e-mixon the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of " Best Mix of Our Lives" and as a

e-mixon the

of the 12-inch version of "Best Mix...". The original

, "We've Got Them Running (The Counting Song)", was taken from the Modern Romance debut studio album '' Adventures in Clubland'' and features the lead vocals of

Geoff Deane Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadian ...

. It was written by Modern Romance founder member David Jaymes. The latest appearance of "Best Years..." is on the compilation CD ''Modern Romance: The Platinum Collection'' (2006). As part of a long string of cover version songs,

Black Lace Black Lace are a British pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, "Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they f ...

released their re-creation in 1989.

Personnel

– vocals *David Jaymes – bass guitar *Robbie Jaymes – synthesizer *Paul Gendler – guitar *

John Du Prez John Du Prez (born Trevor Jones; 14 December 1946) is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including '' Oxford Blues'' (1984), ...

– trumpet *Andy Kyriacou – drums *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

–

producer (music) A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

– vocals (on We've Got Them Running (The Counting Song))

Baha Men cover

In 2001, the song regained popularity after it was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by the Bahamian

Junkanoo Junkanoo (also Jonkonnu) is a festival that originated during the period of African chattel slavery in British American colonies. It is practiced most notably in The Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize, and historically in North Carolina and Miami, w ...

group

Baha Men Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initially play ...

and featured in the 2001 DreamWorks' animated fairy tale comedy film ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

''. It was the Baha Men's sixth single and reached number 49 on the Australian

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

and number 70 on the

Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

. It also appeared on their album '' Move It Like This''.

Critical reception

The Baha Men cover received generally positive reviews. According to the ''

Baltimore Afro-American The ''Baltimore Afro-American'', commonly known as ''The Afro'' or ''Afro News'', is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the ''AFRO-American'' chain and the longest-running Africa ...

'', the song was "shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to

Who Let the Dogs Out? "Who Let the Dogs Out" (originally titled "Doggie") is a song written by the Trinidadian musician Anslem Douglas and then recorded by the Bahamian Junkanoo band Baha Men. Originally released by Douglas as "Doggie" in 1998, it was covered by ...

," while Terry vanHorn of

MTV.com MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

called it a "playful dance song." Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, also of MTV.com, referred to the song as ''upbeat''.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1982 singles Modern Romance (band) songs 2001 singles Baha Men songs Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Songs written by Geoff Deane Songs written by David Jaymes 1982 songs