"Middleman" is a song by English rock band

Terrorvision Terrorvision are an English rock band. They were formed in 1987 (as The Spoilt Bratz) in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and initially disbanded in 2001. The band used Bradford as a base after the name change to Terrorvision in 1991, by which time ...

, which was released in June 1994 as the second single from their second studio album ''

How to Make Friends and Influence People ''How to Make Friends and Influence People'' is the second album by the rock band Terrorvision, released in 1994 on Total Vegas Recordings. " Oblivion", " Middleman", "Pretend Best Friend", "Alice What's the Matter", and "Some People Say" were ...

''. The song was written by Terrorvision and produced by

Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, the Distillers, Maxïm ...

. "Middleman" reached No. 25 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for five weeks. The song's music video was directed by

Tim Royes Tim Royes (25 December 1964 – 13 August 2007) was a British music video director and editor. He had directed and produced videos for artists such as Westlife (" Mandy"), Melanie C (" I Want Candy", " The Moment You Believe", " Carolyna"), Emm ...

and produced by Alan Wachs.

Critical reception

On its release as a single, Alan Jones of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' chose "Middleman" as the "pick of the week". He considered the song to be a "tuneful rock record", which he felt showed the band moving "closer to the mainstream". He noted the song as being "tastefully decorated by strings" and added, "It is not so very far removed from the style of ELO in the Seventies, with some of

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

's vocal devices also coming into play." Jennifer Nine of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' picked it as one of the magazine's "singles of the week" and commented, "'Middleman' boasts

's sure use of tension and space, with upfront naked vocals suddenly ambushed by guitars. It's also got some unabashedly

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band in Western popular ...

-y chord progressions, ruggedly supple rock vocals, hooks for days and strings 'n' choruses. The concluding 'doo-doo, doo-doo' bit is pure gold." ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' felt the song "could have been a Troggs tune". They added, "Streetwise as these lads are, they don't turn down their amplifiers. Brilliant!" David Quantick of ''

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 ...

'' remarked, "Chunka grumble! Terrorvision sound like they're from that town in America but they're from Bradford or nearby, and 'Middleman' has a riff that swings like a can of cold beans."

Track listing

12-inch single (limited edition) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"Surrender" – 4:24 #"The Passenger" – 4:57 Cassette single (UK) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #" Oblivion" – 3:03 CD single (UK #1) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"I'll Be Your Sister" – 2:33 #"Wishing Well" – 2:29 CD single (UK #2) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"The Passenger" – 4:57 #"Surrender" – 4:24 CD single (UK promo) #"Middleman" (Radio Edit) – 3:35 CD single (European release) #"Middleman" – 3:32 #"The Passenger" – 4:57

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD1 and CD2 liner notes and the ''

'' booklet. Terrorvision * Tony Wright – vocals * Mark Yates – guitar * Leigh Marklew – bass * Ian "Shutty" Shuttleworth – drums Additional musicians * Audrey Riley – string arrangement and backing vocals on "Middleman" * Billy McGhee – string arrangement on "Middleman" Production *

– producer and mixing on "Middleman" * Al Clay – engineer on "Middleman" * Mike Cyr – assistant engineer on "Middleman" * Chris Sheldon – mixing on "Middleman" * Terrorvision – producers on "I'll Be Your Sister", "Wishing Well", "Surrender" and "The Passenger"

Charts

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles Terrorvision songs EMI Records singles Song recordings produced by Gil Norton Music videos directed by Tim Royes