All You Zombies (song)

"All You Zombies" is a song by American rock band The Hooters, written by the band's founding members Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman. It was first recorded live and released as a single in 1982. It was subsequently included on the band's debut album Amore (1983) and an extended version of the song was included on their second album Nervous Night (1985). This version was released as a single in 1985 and reached no. 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also charted within the top 20 in Germany and New Zealand, but was most successful in Australia, where it reached no. 8.

"All You Zombies"
7" single cover (1985)
Single by The Hooters
from the album Amore and Nervous Night
Released1982 (original live release)
1985 (extended studio version)
GenreRock
Length4:09 (original live release)
5:54 (extended studio version)
LabelEighty Percent (1982)
Columbia (1985)
Songwriter(s)Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman
Producer(s)Rick Chertoff
The Hooters singles chronology
"Fightin' on the Same Side" "All You Zombies"
(1982)		 "Hanging on a Heartbeat"
(1984)
"Hanging on a Heartbeat"
(1984)
"All You Zombies"
(1985)
"And We Danced"
(1985)
Alternative cover
7" live single cover (1982)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"All You Zombies" on YouTube

Background

Influenced by reggae music, co-writer Eric Bazilian said the band was working on a different song when the idea "just came to us, like a vision." The band members dropped their work on the other song and finished "All You Zombies" that night. Writing partner Rob Hyman believed the song to be the fastest they had written "that was of any quality."[1][2]

The Hooters first released a version of "All You Zombies" recorded live at the Emerald City nightclub in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on 11 April 1981. The single was released in 1982 by Eighty Percent Records. A different version of the song later appeared on the Amore album, released independently in 1983. Hyman and Bazilian had worked with Cyndi Lauper on her album She's So Unusual, which led to Columbia Records offering the band a contract. They re-released "All You Zombies" with additional instrumental sections, making the song almost six minutes long. It became a minor hit in the US, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and a top 10 success in Australia, where it peaked at no. 8 for two weeks in September 1985.[3] The single also reached the top 20 in New Zealand and Germany.

Eric Bazilian told the Chicago Tribune in 1985 that he didn't know the meaning of the song despite having written it. "People ask us what it's about ... the weird thing is we didn't consciously put [the heavy stuff] there."[1] Hyman later told Songfacts that the biblical images, including Moses and Noah, were not part of any agenda, though some radio stations refused to play it. "I love songs like that, you just listen and every time you hear it you kind of wonder what's going on."[2]

Formats and track listings
  • 7" single (1982)
A. "All You Zombies" (Live) – 4:09
B. "Rescue Me" – 4:03
  • 7" single (1985)
A. "All You Zombies" (Long) – 5:54
B. "Nervous Night" – 3:57
  • 12" promo single (1985)
A. "All You Zombies" (Long) – 5:54
B. "All You Zombies" (Short) – 3:52
  • 12" single (1986)
A. "All You Zombies" (Extended Version) – 5:58
B. "Where Do the Children Go" (Extended Version) – 5:29

Charts

Cover versions
  • The song was covered by German singer Sandra for her eighth studio album The Art of Love (2007). It was then released as a promotional single to radio stations in Poland where it received considerable airplay.
  • German band Santiano covered the song in German as "Bis in alle Ewigkeit (Walhalla)" on their 2013 album Mit den Gezeiten. They changed the lyrics into a song about the Vikings going to Valhalla.
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References
  1. Popson, Tom (6 September 1985). "Just What Does "Zombies" Say?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  2. "All You Zombies by the Hooters". Songfacts. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1985". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "HOOTERS – ALL YOU ZOMBIES" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  6. "Hooters - All You Zombies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  7. "Billboard: The Hot 100, 29 June 1985". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  8. "The Hooters > Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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