"Heavy Cross" is a song by American band

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 on April 28, 2009, as the first single from the band's fourth album ''

Music for Men ''Music for Men'' is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Gossip. It was released on June 19, 2009, by Columbia Records. Critical reception ''Music for Men'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, ...

''. The song was the first international hit for Gossip, reaching the top ten across Europe, with a massive commercial success in Germany. When writing it, the band was influenced by

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

. The band recorded a studio version of the song in early 2009, but they had already been playing it live for two years.

Background and writing

Singer

Beth Ditto Mary Beth Patterson (born February 19, 1981), known by her stage name Beth Ditto, is an American singer and songwriter most notable for her work with the indie rock band Gossip. Her voice has been compared to Etta James, Janis Joplin and Tina ...

explained to the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' that the song is: "about recreation and my friends, who I feel like are the ultimate creative re-creators." Composer and guitarist Nathan Howdeshell explained: "Heavy Cross' was an attempt to make my

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

sound like an Italo

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

line. I had been listening to Charlie's 'Spacer Woman' and still can't get over the

arpeggiated An arpeggio () is a type of chord in which the notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpeggios may include all notes ...

synth, so I detuned my

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

to be the same notes and muted it and then came that song. Beth

itto ''Itto'' is a 1934 French drama film directed by Jean Benoît-Lévy and Marie Epstein and starring Simone Berriau, Simone Bourday and Hubert Prélier.Kennedy-Karpat p.9 It was shot on location in Morocco. Cast * Simone Berriau as Itto * Simone ...

busted some

elements, and since I have been listening to lots of

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

, I put a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

synth on the track as opposed to a real bass: we wanted something steeped in '80s darkwave. I can't stop listening to ' Red Light' by

Hannah Blilie Hannah Blilie is an American musician who is the drummer of the American band Gossip (band), Gossip and formerly Chanti Darling and Shoplifting (band), Shoplifting. She has also performed with Sarah Dougher, Chromatics (band), Chromatics, Stilett ...

decided to stay on the

drum rim Drum hardware is the set of parts of a drum or drum kit that are used to tension, position, and otherwise support the instruments themselves. Occasionally, the hardware is used percussively as well, the most common example being a rim shot. John ...

s for the majority of the track, making it more of a Creatures-type track (another

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), better known by her stage name Siouxsie Sioux (, ), is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who w ...

reference)." "Heavy Cross" was recorded in a studio in early 2009, although the band had already been playing the song live for two years. They had started their 2007 Glastonsbury concert at the

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

stage, performing an early version of it which was broadcast on

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

. The song, especially the intro, has considerable similarities with the ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American media franchise, entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three-television series: the original ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequ ...

'' theme song.

Commercial performance

The single was a commercial success. It reached the top 10 in Australia and on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

chart from mid- to late 2009. It peaked just outside the top 10 in New Zealand, and made the top 40 in Ireland and the UK; Gossip had already achieved two top 40 singles in the latter region, with "

Standing in the Way of Control ''Standing in the Way of Control'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Gossip, which was released on January 24, 2006. The album was produced by Guy Picciotto and Ryan Hadlock It reached number 1 on the UK indie chart and also ...

" and " Listen Up!" in 2006. The single was especially successful in Germany, where it was certified triple gold for selling over 450,000 copies and is, , the "most successful internationally produced single of all time". As of April 2011, the single had spent 97 weeks on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

without ever reaching No. 1, staying for 27 weeks in that chart's top 10. In 2011, it was included in a J'Adore advert from

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

, making it rise to fame again.

Track listings

UK CD # "Heavy Cross" # "Heavy Cross" (Fred Falke Remix) Australia CD # "Heavy Cross" (radio edit) # "Heavy Cross" # "Heavy Cross" (Fred Falke Remix) # "Heavy Cross" (Burns Remix)

Personnel

– vocals *

Brace Paine Gossip (or the Gossip) is an American indie rock band from Searcy, Arkansas, formed in 1999. For most of their career, the band has consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell, and drummer Hannah Blil ...

– guitar, keyboards, bass guitar *

– drums

Charts

NRJ Session

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Gossip (band) songs Songs written by Brace Paine Songs written by Hannah Blilie Songs written by Beth Ditto 2009 songs Columbia Records singles