"Union City Blue" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. The song was featured on their 1979 studio album Eat to the Beat. Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison, the song was inspired lyrically by Harry's experiences while acting in the 1980 film Union City as well as her New Jersey roots. Musically, the song features a drum part composed by drummer Clem Burke.
"Union City Blue" was released in the UK and Europe as the second single from Eat to the Beat, reaching number 13 in the UK. The single was not released in the US, despite drummer Burke's later assertion that the song would have been a good single release. The release was accompanied by a music video filmed aerially at the Union Dry Dock in nearby Weehawken, New Jersey. The song has since seen critical acclaim and a remixed version saw commercial success in the 1990s.
Background
"Union City Blue" was cowritten by singer Debbie Harry and bassist Nigel Harrison. Harry based the lyrics and title of the song on her experiences acting in the 1980 movie Union City, which she had appeared in. According to Harry, she wrote the lyrics one evening during a break in the shooting.[4] Director Marcus Reichert later recalled that Harry was not allowed to sing on the film's soundtrack for contractual reasons, so the song did not appear in the film. Harry, who was raised in New Jersey, had also performed as a go-go dancer in Union City before finding success with Blondie.[5]
Musically, Harry described the song as "one of Nigel's English drinking songs."[6] Blondie drummer Clem Burke later stated that the song reflected the band's New York origins.[7] Burke composed the drum part himself; he recalled, "I come up with my parts generally, and things like Union City or Dreaming, those were my parts, yeah." Burke named the song as a favorite to perform, stating, "I definitely enjoy playing that."[8]
Release
The song was released as the second single from the album in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1979. The song was never released as a single in the US; Popdose later wrote of this decision, "While 'The Hardest Part' is a great album cut, it's not exactly Top 40 friendly like 'Union City Blue' instantly is."[9] A video was produced for the single, directed by David Mallet, which featured the band performing at the Union Dry Dock in nearby Weehawken, New Jersey.[5] Nigel Harrison recalled:
We eventually went down to Union City and we have an aerial view with a helicopter and the whole bit way down there on the dock. It comes from across the river.[10]
The track was re-released on CD and vinyl on October 16, 1995,[11] as a maxi single in both the UK and US, featuring various remixes of the song by Diddy, Burger Queen, OPM and Jammin' Hot. A previously heavily bootlegged live version from 1979 of Donna Summer's hit "I Feel Love" was included as a b-side. Charting a second time after its original 1979 release, the single peaked at number 31 in the UK. The remixed version of "Union City Blue" was also included on the compilations Beautiful: The Remix Album (UK) and Remixed Remade Remodeled: The Remix Project (US).
Critics have acclaimed "Union City Blue". Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone wrote, "'Union City Blue' evokes life-or-death romance. Mixed with the intertwined-guitars-and-keyboards density of 'Dreaming,' 'Union City Blue' has the force of an incantation. Key words — power, passion — slip out with a resonant urgency. Harry's finally using her sweet tones to create real emotional intensity." Sam Armstrong of uDiscoverMusic wrote that the song "conjures the sort of romantic yearning you only ever get from finding yourself adrift in a city where anything can happen."[13]
Far Out Magazine wrote glowingly of the song, stating, "The song, steeped in the teapot of punk and finished with the creamy texture of new-wave, came to represent the evolution of not only punk into something entirely new but was a mark of the turning decades."[14]Pop Expresso named the song as the band's fifth best song.[15]
Cover versions
"Union City Blue" was covered by the British rock band Radiohead in 1995. Jack Whatley of Far Out Magazine said: "While Thom Yorke's vocal is undeniably his own, the rest of the band fall in line for a somewhat straightforward cover." Whatley concluded that "it is still one of the better Blondie covers you're likely to hear."[14]
