"Real Men" is a song by English singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, released in 1982 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, '' Night and Day''. The song was written by Jackson, and was produced by Jackson and

David Kershenbaum David Kershenbaum is an American record producer and entrepreneur, born in Springfield, Missouri. He has worked with many artists including Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Joe Jackson, Laura Branigan, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Cat Stevens, Elkie Broo ...

. Although "Real Men" only reached number 89 in the UK Singles Chart, it became a hit in the Dutch language area, as well as Australia where it peaked at number 6. The song was covered by

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

on her 2001 album of gender-swapped covers, ''

Strange Little Girls ''Strange Little Girls'' is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female point of view. Amos created fe ...

''.

Background

Jackson has described "Real Men" as being about the "age old battle of the sexes". He told ''

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 ...

'' in 1982, "I think your average male has had his masculinity and supremacy threatened to the point where he's not sure what it is he's supposed to do. Intelligent, forward thinking, in the sexual arena, is being done by women. It's all about the way stereotypes have reversed, turned upside down and become meaningless." The song has also been described as examining the themes of sexuality and male sexual attraction to other men. Jackson believed the lyrics remained relevant years later, when he told

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

in 1998, "I still think very much people don't know what a real man is anymore. What is the role of a man? How is a man supposed to be? I think we're in this period of transition of redefining the sexes, which is really interesting to me."

Music video

The song's music video was directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burning Up (Madonna song), Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run t ...

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single,

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for '' Smash Hits'', and assist ...

, writing for ''

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 ...

'', considered "Real Men" as a return to the "small-guy bitterness" of Jackson's early records. He called it a "tough, piano-backed ballad" that "spits and scratches" and sees Jackson "kick sand in the faces of macho men". Mike Nicholls of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' called it a "portentous thought-provoking ditty" with a "nice tune", "mighty strum-und-drang production" and lyrics "intoned with so much of his usual boring venom one loses the drift of whatever the hell it is he's on about". Frank Edmonds of the '' Bury Free Press'' felt the "terribly earnest and meaningful song" is "far too serious to be entertaining". In a review of ''Night and Day'', Mike Day of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' considered "Real Men" to be a "superbly grandiose creation" with "

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

-style piano", a "wailing vocal chorus that is vintage

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature the E Street B ...

", "echoing drums" and lyrics that "cut a swathe through male chauvinism". Susan Molloy of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' described it as "lyrically one of the most outrageous songs for a long time" which "seemingly ends with a plea for grass-roots heterosexuality". Alan Kellogg of the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'' noted the "sheer lyric depth" and "brittle intensity", adding it was "a song for the Eighties if there ever was one".

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' commented that it "solemnly blends string chamber music with echoes of Phil Spector, as Jackson sorts out the contradiction between the traditional male role of warrior and today's macho gay culture". In 2015, Kevin Wuench of ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'' said of the song's lyrical message: "'Real Men' is not so much pro-gay song but more an open-ended song that asks the listener to make their own definition of what makes a real man".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

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 ...

described the song as "haunting" in a retrospective review of ''Night and Day''.

Track listing

7-inch single #"Real Men" – 4:03 #"Chinatown" – 4:26 12-inch single (The Real Men EP, Dutch release) #"Real Men" – 4:05 #"El Cancer" – 6:06 #"El Blanco" – 3:52 #"Un Otro Mundo" – 4:00

Personnel

* Joe Jackson – vocals, keyboards *

Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952) is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. Maby was born and raised in the central south coast town ...

– bass * Larry Tolfree – drums * Sue Hadjopoulos – percussion * Ed Rynesdal –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

Production * Joe Jackson – producer, mixing *

– producer, mixing * Michael Ewasko – engineer Other * Gary Green – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Joe Jackson 1982 songs 1982 singles Joe Jackson (musician) songs LGBTQ-related songs Songs about New York City Songs written by Joe Jackson (musician) Song recordings produced by David Kershenbaum A&M Records singles Music videos directed by Steve Barron