Released December 1985 Recorded 1985 Length 5:10
3:54 (7") | Format 7", 12" Genre New wave, synthpop Label Capitol | |
"Let's Go All the Way" is a song by American group Sly Fox. Released as a single in December 1985 from their debut studio album of the same name, the record entered the Billboard chart on December 28 and went Top 10 in both the U.S. and the UK. Despite receiving considerable commercial and critical success, the group failed to match expectations with their later singles, and are sometimes referred to as a one-hit wonder.
Contents
Sly Fox original
The track begins with synthesizer-processed chanting, with the lines "Simonini" repeating over a recurrent buzzing until drums and a synth-led riff begin. The duo of Gary "Mudbone" Cooper and Michael Camacho's harmonized vocals then come in, punctuated with deadpan "yeah, yeah, yeah"s.
Lyrical content
While the title, repeated in the chorus, is often construed to be about consummating a sexual relationship, the rest of the song's lyrics contain no sexual content. Rather, the lyrics express disillusionment with aspects of late-20th century politics ("presidential party/No one wants to dance") and a yearning to perfect the human condition ("We need heaven on earth today/We can make a better way").
Music video
A music video received heavy airplay on MTV and is credited with greatly adding to the "infectious" song's success. The video juxtaposes three distinct modes. First straightforward and color negative studio performance of the duo dancing, emoting, and performing along with the song in a bright pop-art style. This is interspersed with shots of an interracial pair of young boys engaged in various activities, predominantly picking toy weapons of war out of a shopping cart and smashing them with hammers on an anvil, as news footage is projected on a white backdrop. In other shots they march and stagger about dressed in combat fatigues and cavorting in sunglasses and surfer jams. The third thread consists of depression-era black & white clips from slapstick comedies and footage of factory workers. An atomic bomb blast is seen in reverse. The video ends with the two children in normal garb walking up to a large globe, picking the world up and carrying it.
While the song isn't overtly anti-war, recurring themes from the video suggest it has such a theme. The destruction of weapons of war and the reverse-motion nuclear explosion et al. can be viewed in the historical context of the time, the penultimate years of the Cold War; in 1986 the Reagan administration was ramping up spending on the so-called Star Wars SDI missile defense system as it officially abandoned the mutually signed but never-ratified SALT II arms-reduction treaty with the Soviet Union.
Chart performance
When released, the song was a top 10 hit in the US, peaking at number seven, after reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart earlier in the year. AllMusic notes that "the song's oddball mix of hip-hop, Latin pop, disco, and new wave, crossed radio formats, from R&B to Top-40 to 'Rock of the ‘80s' stations ruled by the Smiths and the Cure." On the strength of the single's multiformat success, the band's album hit the Top 40 in two formats as well, peaking at number 31 on the Top 200 Albums chart and at number 34 on the Top R&B Albums chart.
Remixes
The 'Multi-Mix' remix by Les "Mix Doctor" Adams of DMC contains samples of "We Will Rock You" by Queen and "A Fly Girl" by Boogie Boys.
"One-hit wonder"
The duo released two follow-up singles from the album, both of which charted. The freestyle track "Como Tu Te Llama" was a Dance Music/Club Play hit, spending 9 weeks on that chart and reaching number 13. "Stay True" managed to dent the Hot 100, at #94. But "Let's Go All The Way" proved to be their only lasting international mainstream success, branding them as one-hit wonders. The song and its video retain their popularity in retro flashback programs and 1980s nights at dance clubs.
Insane Clown Posse version
Insane Clown Posse member Joseph Bruce, who performs as 'Violent J', was driving home to Detroit from Cleveland, Ohio in a car he'd just purchased that only had a cassette player. At a gas station, he purchased an ’80s Hits tape that contained the Sly Fox song. Bruce liked it and decided to reinterpret it.
Allmusic described Insane Clown Posse's version as "their most blatant attempt at radio play". MTV aired the band's video for the song, but only once, in the late evening. The group decided to bombard MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) with requests for the video while on their "Bizaar Bizzar Tour," posting on its website that December 8, 2000, was the day for fans to phone in.
On that day, the band and assorted Psychopathic Records employees and friends drove down to New York City. They were met by nearly 400 Insane Clown Posse fans standing outside in front of the TRL studios with signs supporting the duo. Thirty minutes before the show began, Viacom security guards and New York City police officers were dispatched to remove them from the sidewalk. When some refused to move on the grounds that it was a public street and no other individuals were asked to move, they allege they were assaulted. All phone requests for the video were ignored, and the band was never mentioned during the show. MTV later informed Island Records that the network chose which bands and videos were eligible to be featured on TRL.
Other versions
The song was covered in 1999 by supergroup The Wondergirls in a more rock style.
In 2004, the English-Irish boy-band Phixx recorded a version of the song on their album Electrophonic Revolution.
Liverpool singer-songwriter Ian McNabb (formerly of The Icicle Works) covered the song on his 2015 album Krugerrands.
In popular culture
The song is featured in the 2014 re-release of Grand Theft Auto V on the in-game Non-Stop-Pop radio station, as well as one of the game's trailers.