"How Long" is the debut single by the English band Ace, from their 1974 debut album '' Five-A-Side''. It reached No. 3 in the US and Canadian charts, and No. 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In a 1981 issue of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'',

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

named the song as one of his top 10 favourites, describing it as a "classic single".

Background

Although widely interpreted as being about

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and leg ...

, the song was in fact composed by lead singer

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

upon discovering that bassist Terry ("Tex") Comer had been secretly working with the Sutherland Brothers and

Quiver A quiver is a container for holding arrows, bolts, ammo, projectiles, darts, or javelins. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were tr ...

. The ‘friends with their fancy persuasions’ cited in the lyrics are said to be in reference to the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's management. The guitar solo is by lead guitarist Phil Harris. Alan 'Bam' King was the band's rhythm guitarist, formerly with the Action. The band had originally tried to record the song as a "Motown"-type single for Anchor Records, but gave up in favour of recording their first album at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in Wales. The song was recorded for the album.

Personnel

*Phil Harris -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Alan "Bam" King -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

, vocals *

- organ, vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

*Terry "Tex" Comer -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

*Fran Byrne -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

*Australian band

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

charted in the top 50 of the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

with their version. It is from their only album release ''Scandal'' (1978). *

Lipps Inc. Lipps Inc. ( , a pun on the phrase "lip sync") was an American disco and funk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is best known for the chart-topping 1980 worldwide hit single "Funkytown", which hit No. 1 in 28 countries and was certifi ...

, in 1980, hit No. 4 on the U.S. dance chart, No. 29 on the U.S. soul singles chart, No. 42 in Canada (2 weeks), and No. 44 in Australia. A sample of their cover was later used in Cypis's 2015 single "Gdzie jest biały węgorz". "How Long" was used in a popular Internet meme in 2020 of a computer-generated cow dancing, known as "Polish Cow". *

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, in 1981, charted in the top 50 of the

and US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 26 in Ireland. It was included on his album '' Tonight I'm Yours''. *In 1993, British reggae group

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't T ...

and singer

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is an English pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single " The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population. Career Yazz was born ...

reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart, with their take from Yazz's 1994 album '' One on One''. *Composer and original vocalist Paul Carrack recorded a solo version for his 1995 album '' Blue Views''. It hit No. 32 on the UK chart.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1974 songs 1974 debut singles 1977 singles 1981 singles Ace (band) songs Aswad (band) songs Barbara Mandrell songs Lipps Inc. songs Paul Carrack songs Rod Stewart songs Yazz songs Anchor Records singles Songs written by Paul Carrack Cashbox number-one singles Songs about infidelity