The Safety Dance was the first and biggest-selling single by the 1980s synth pop group Men Without Hats, written by Ivan Doroschuk. Released in the USA in 1982 and in the United Kingdom in September 1983, the song peaked at number three on the Hot 100. In the UK the song also proved successful, reaching the top ten. The song would prove to be the only major hit for the group. Their follow-up album, Folk of the 80s (Part III), reached no higher than #127 on the Billboard album chart.
| "The Safety Dance" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Security (song)" |
Though music fans have often interpreted the song as a metaphor for nuclear war, a call for safe sex, and even a protest against club slam dancing bans, group member Stefan Doroschuk said in an online interview that "The Safety Dance" is about nonconformism and everyone's ability to leave their friends behind and strike out on their own[citation needed]. The music video showed the band, along with Mike Edmonds, orchestrating a morris dance, in a scene reminiscent of The Wicker Man. The music video also shows a maypole dance.
Track listing
12" Maxi version
- The Safety Dance (Extended Version)
- I Got the Message
- Antarctica
7" Single version
- The Safety Dance
- Security
Trivia
- The idea that the song was the band's reaction to the ban that many clubs placed on pogoing in mosh pits - very popular in the punk subculture of the day - is erroneous. This is confirmed by Stefan Doroschuk (see above). This misconception was repeated on the recent Channel 4 TV programme, 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders, broadcast in the UK, during May 2006.
- A parody of the song called "The Sulu Dance" was popularized on the Howard Stern radio show. The song was created by Kidd Chris and is based on the Star Trek character Mr. Sulu, played by George Takei.
- The song was parodied on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in a skit about fictional channels. One was the "Men Without Hats Conversation Channel" featuring a man singing "You can (make toast,get divorced,etc.) if you want to..." in various conversations and getting punched in the face when he sings "You can bring the check if you want to..." to a waiter.
- In 1984, "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of the song called "The Brady Bunch."
- In the TV series Futurama, episode "Future Stock", a 1980s Wall Street power businessman is brought into the 31st century. He and Fry reminisce about "The Safety Dance", which prompts Fry to quip "Y'know, that dance wasn't as safe as they said it was."
- The song was also featured in the movie Bio-Dome (1996) with Pauly Shore as an unsuccessful torture method intended to remove the protagonists from the Biodome.
- The song was featured in the Scrubs season 5 episode "My Day at the Races", when Carla asks Turk about the possibility of their future son wanting to dance instead of playing football. He responds, "He can dance if he wants to. He can leave his friends behind. Cause his friends don't dance and if they don't dance, well, they're no friends of mine!"
- Homer Simpson unsuccessfully tried to sing the song on The Simpsons episode "Bye Bye Nerdie", singing "You can dance, you can dance, everybody look at your pants!"
- In the South Park episode Asspen features a club mix of the Safety Dance that Butters dances to, prompting Cartman to respond, "Butters, I hate you with every inch of my body."
- In the TV series Beavis and Butthead, episode "Cow Tipping", the song is featured in one of the music-video segments, much to the disgust of the title characters.
- The little person in the song's music video is actor Mike Edmonds (Return of the Jedi, Time Bandits, Flash Gordon).
- It shows up on Skippy's list "202. Despite the confusing similarity in the names, the "Safety Dance" and the "Safety Briefing" are never to be combined."
- "Safety Dance" was rated #83 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders.
- In an episode of That '70s Show, an angel takes Eric Forman into a glimpse of the future (the 80s), where he hears the song playing in the room. Eric asks "What the hell was that?!" to which the angel replies "Oh you'll find out."