"That Was Yesterday" is the second single taken from the album ''

Agent Provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commit a crime that would not otherwise have been committed and then reports the person to the authorities. They may target individuals or groups. In jurisdictions in which conspiracy is a ...

'' by the band Foreigner. This song was available in four versions, as a remixed single, an extended remix, an orchestral version, and the original mix. The song was written by

Lou Gramm Louis Andrew Grammatico (born May 2, 1950), known professionally as Lou Gramm, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as co-founder and original frontman of the rock band Foreigner from 1976 to 1990 and again from 1992 to 2003, ...

and Mick Jones, and the B-side "Two Different Worlds" is also of note for being the first solo-written Lou Gramm song to appear on a single. The extended remix added additional lyrics to the intro, and these lyrics can also be heard in the live version from the DVD ''All Access Tonight - 25 - Live In Concert''.

Composition

Mick Jones explained that he draws much songwriting material from subconscious emotions from past relationships. He said "That Was Yesterday" "...is a song about a relationship that failed, which you're still clinging onto. You still feel that there's a chance to resurrect it. Some of these songs require really digging down deep, and sometimes they bring out very painful moments that you've had. A lot of the songs that I've written of that kind of emotion, they bring me to tears. They're painful to recall."

Reception

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critic Bret Adams later called the song "a terrific hit single," citing its "catchy

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

" and "nifty

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lick." ''

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'' described it as a "gothic ballad" and compared it to Foreigner's previous single "

I Want to Know What Love Is "I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, ''Agent Provocateur''. The song reached number one on both the United King ...

" by stating that "That Was Yesterday" has "thrumming synths...rather than soaring choristers." ''

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'' critic Scott Miley said that it "adeptly reflect despair with tantalizing synthesizers." ''

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'' described it as a "mid-tempo rocker" and said "brooding and at times powerful, 'That Was Yesterday' takes a hard look at a lost romance and

's lead vocal is emotionally biting." ''

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'' writer Jan DeKnock made it a "Pick Hit" saying it likely won't perform as well as "I Want to Know What Love Is" because "its harder rock edge will keep it off some of the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

stations that made 'Love' such a big hit" but said that "That Was Yesterday" is "just the kind of good, solid

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

that always finds a place on the charts." ''Gazette'' writer Chris Rubich called it a "song of love, longing and loss" that is enhanced by its "dreamlike instrumentals." ''

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'' writer Sean Daly regarded it as one of the "more forceful recordings" on ''

''. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Jeff Giles regarded "That Was Yesterday" as one of Foreigner's "better singles." ''Knight News Wire'' writer

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criticized the song as being "sludgy," whose primary audience is "late '20s to early '30s

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s on

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." ''

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'' critic Jim Angell praised the synthesizer playing. But ''

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'' music writer Curt Anderson criticized the fact that the slow keyboard buildup went nowhere, "as if the mere sound of a synthesizer is all the song needs." Gramm disagreed with the decision to release "That Was Yesterday" as the second single from ''Agent Provocateur'' because that meant that the first two singles were ballads. Gramm stated "I always thought our rock songs upheld a tradition of good

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and here we release two ballads in a row." Jones regarded it as his favorite song from the album.

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was created for "That Was Yesterday," directed by Jim Yukich. As with "I Want to Know What Love Is", the music video for "That Was Yesterday" is based on a live performance of the song. The video was filmed at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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. The band had intended the video for "That Was Yesterday" to be "flashier" than that for "I Want to Know What Love Is." Jones has stated that he was pleased with the "warmth" of the song in the video.

Charts

The single reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and also reached #4 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart and #24 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. It also reached the Top 40 on the UK singles chart (#28), the Netherlands (#19), Switzerland (#29) and Germany (#31).

Weekly charts

References

{{Foreigner 1985 singles Foreigner (band) songs 1984 songs Songs written by Mick Jones (Foreigner) Songs written by Lou Gramm Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Alex Sadkin Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (Foreigner) Music videos directed by Jim Yukich