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Cover of Quick Step & Side Kick by Thompson Twins
Cover: Quick Step & Side Kick

Song · Thompson Twins

“Lies” by Thompson Twins

From the album Quick Step & Side Kick (1983)

“Lies” by Thompson Twins appears on 25 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1983 and 2014. It was first released in 1983 on the album Quick Step & Side Kick. Its best result is #50 on the 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #108 alternative song of 1983, #1,627 alternative song of all time and #250 of the '80s.

25countdowns
8stations
#50best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1983–2014years charted

Watch

Thompson Twins - Lies (Official Video) (4K Remaster)

Video from YouTube (Thompson Twins). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Lies" was the Thompson Twins' opening shot from their third album, Quick Step & Side Kick (Side Kicks in America), and it's new wave you can dance to without apologizing. Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway wrote it together, Alex Sadkin produced it and Phil Thornalley engineered, and the result is a rubbery, twitchy groove with a hook that sounds suspicious of every word it hears.

Britain barely noticed, leaving it at 67, but America did: it climbed to 30 on the Hot 100 in the spring of 1983, and that January, paired with the B-side "Beach Culture", it had already ruled the American dance chart for a fortnight, the band's second chart-topper there after "In the Name of Love".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1983 60 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 107
1983 91 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 97 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 438 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 479 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 50 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 184 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 466 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 465 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1992 253 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 350 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 163 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1995 459 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 287 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1998 169 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 860 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
2002 1006 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 352 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2007 1735 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1708 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1729 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1766 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1839 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1903 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1974 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013

Charting alongside it in 1983

Best songs of 1983 →
  1. 1New Year's DayU2
  2. 2Let's DanceDavid Bowie
  3. 3The LovecatsThe Cure
  4. 4Every Breath You TakeThe Police
  5. 5Rebel YellBilly Idol
  6. 6In a Big CountryBig Country

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