"Such a Shame" is a song written by

Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band ...

for the English band

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " S ...

's second album '' It's My Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's second single and went on to become a top 10 hit across Europe.

Overview

"Such a Shame" was inspired by

Luke Rhinehart George Powers Cockcroft (November 15, 1932 – November 6, 2020), widely known by the pen name Luke Rhinehart, was an American novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''The Dice Man,'' the story of a psyc ...

's ''

The Dice Man The Dice Man is a 1971 novel by American novelist George Cockcroft, writing under the pen name, "Luke Rhinehart". The book tells the story of a psychiatrist who makes daily decisions based on the casting of a dice, diсe. Cockcroft describes t ...

'', one of composer Mark Hollis' favourite books. When asked what drove him to respond to Rhinehart's book, Hollis replied, "A good book, not a lifestyle I'd recommend." The song was released as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in early 1984, with the cover art designed by James Marsh. Some pressings of the single came with an additional 7" release ''The Talk Talk Demos'' which included three songs recorded in June 1981: "Candy", "

" and "Mirror Man". Writing in the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Richard Cook slated the song, describing it as "faceless regret coaxed from lurex trashcan." "Such a Shame" became a hit in continental Europe in 1984 and 1985, reaching the top 10 in several countries, including number 1 in Switzerland. It was their third number 1 single after the

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed version of the song "Talk Talk" which topped the South African charts in 1983 and the single " It's My Life" which was number 1 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play in 1984. In the US, "Such a Shame" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was a top 20 hit in the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play. The single entered the top 10 in the pan-European singles

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day ( spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in ...

chart. It only reached number 49 in the UK. The song was featured in a European TV commercial for the French car

Peugeot 205 The Peugeot 205 is a supermini ( B-segment) car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1983 to 1999. It was declared "car of the decade" by '' CAR Magazine'' in 1990. It also won '' What Car?s Car of the Year for 1984. The 205 was int ...

in the 1980s. In November 1990, the single was re-issued to promote the compilation '' Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk''. Following Hollis' death in early 2019, "Such a Shame" charted at number 5 on Digital Song Sales in France and number 44 on Back Catalogue Singles in the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

region of Belgium.

Track listings

Original release

* 7" single (EMI 5433) :A. "Such a Shame" — 3:59 :B. "Again, a Game... Again" — 4:06 * 12"

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

(12EMI 5433) :A. "Such a Shame" (12" Mix) — 6:54 :B1. "Such a Shame" — 5:43 :B2. "Again, a Game... Again" — 4:06

1990 release

* 7" single (R 6276) :A. "Such a Shame" (Original Version) — 4:28 :B. "Dum Dum Girl" (Live from 1986

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

) — 3:39 * 12"

(12R 6276) :A. "Such a Shame" (Remixed by Gary Miller) — 5:40 :B1. "Such a Shame" (Original Version) — 4:28 :B2. "Dum Dum Girl" (Live from 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival) — 3:39 * CD maxi single (CDR 6276) #"Such a Shame" (Original Version) — 4:28 #"Such a Shame" (Remixed by Gary Miller) — 5:40 #"

" (Live from 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival) — 3:30 #"Dum Dum Girl" (Live from 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival) — 3:39

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sandra version

German singer Sandra covered "Such a Shame" for her seventh studio album ''

The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...

'' (2002). Her version was produced by

Michael Cretu Michael Cretu ( ro, Mihai Crețu, ; born 18 May 1957) is a Romanian-German musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the musical project Enigma, which he formed in 1990. Cret ...

and

Jens Gad Jens Gad is a German producer, songwriter and guitarist of Danish parents. He started making music at young age. Gad produces music for many artists (Sandra Cretu / Sandra Gambino) and was previously co-producer for the musical project, Enigma. ...

. It was released on 25 March 2002 and reached number 76 on the official

German singles chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

Track listing

* CD

#"Such a Shame" (Radio Edit) — 4:18 #"Such a Shame" (Straight Dance Mix) — 7:54 #"Such a Shame" (Cool Club Mix) — 5:22 #"Such a Shame" (Karaoke Version) — 4:18

Charts

An Pierlé version

An Pierlé An Pierlé (born An Miel Mia Pierlé on 13 December 1974) is a Belgian pianist and singer-songwriter. Career She studied classical piano and enrolled at the age of 17 at the art school in Antwerp. In her third year there she made a solo prog ...

recorded a cover of "Such a Shame" for her 2013 album ''Strange Days''. The song reached number 45 in the Walloon region of Belgium.

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles 1990 singles 2002 singles Talk Talk songs EMI Records singles Parlophone singles Music videos directed by Tim Pope Number-one singles in Switzerland Sandra (singer) songs Virgin Records singles Songs written by Mark Hollis (musician) Song recordings produced by Tim Friese-Greene

Overview

Track listings

Original release

1990 release

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sandra version

Track listing

Charts

An Pierlé version

See also

References