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Cover of Little Creatures by Talking Heads
Cover: Little Creatures

Song · Talking Heads

“Stay Up Late” by Talking Heads

From the album Little Creatures (1985)

“Stay Up Late” by Talking Heads appears on 38 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1985 and 2023. It was first released in 1985 on the album Little Creatures. Its best result is #14 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #18 alternative song of 1985, #584 alternative song of all time and #227 of the '80s.

38countdowns
9stations
#14best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1985–2023years charted

Watch

Talking Heads - Stay Up Late (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (Talking Heads). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Stay Up Late" comes from Little Creatures, Talking Heads' 1985 album, and it's a bouncy, sunny little tune with a grin on its face. David Byrne wrote it and sings lead, with Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth chiming in behind him, and all four members share the arranging credit.

Byrne's guitar and Harrison's guitar and keyboards bob along over Weymouth's springy bass and Chris Frantz's easygoing drums, and guest Steve Scales sprinkles congas, bongos and tambourine all over it. The band produced it themselves, and Eric Thorngren recorded and mixed it.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1985 29 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 107
1985 14 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 182 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1989 160 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 185 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 272 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 243 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1994 253 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 331 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 364 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 157 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 372 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 301 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 403 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 642 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 455 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 642 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 453 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 425 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 951 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 427 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 1419 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 458 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2006 442 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 748 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 714 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 736 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 752 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 781 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 784 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 783 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 744 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 668 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Also listed as: Stay Up late.

Charting alongside it in 1985

Best songs of 1985 →
  1. 1Alive and KickingSimple Minds
  2. 2The Perfect KissNew Order
  3. 3In Between DaysThe Cure
  4. 4Take On Mea-ha
  5. 5Road to NowhereTalking Heads
  6. 6Shake the DiseaseDepeche Mode

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