Expert: Bong Santos - 6/1/2009

Question
We can't find the name of a song from the 80's that had a small red headed girl in the video that was walking down train tracks and stopping to strike things. She was wearing leather if we recall correctly and the song was mostly instrumental "rock" the only lyrics we can think of was HEY then the girl would hit the train tracks with a hammer or some one would use a grinding wheel to shoot sparks

Answer
Dear Paxton,

That would be CLOSE (To The Edit) by ART OF NOISE, an avant-garde synthpop group formed in 1983 by producer Trevor Horn, music journalist Paul Morley, and session musicians/studio hands Anne Dudley, J.J. Jeczalik, and Gary Langan. The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for innovative use of electronics and computers in pop music and particularly for innovative use of sampling.

CLOSE was included in their 1984 album WHO'S AFRAID OF THE ART OF NOISE? It takes its title from Close to the Edge by Yes, and also samples "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by the same group.

The video of the song you remember is one of three promotional videos recorded for the single. Some countries banned it for its violent content (a girl whacking & destroying musical instruments).

Maraming salamat po!!

BONG M. SANTOS
Manila, Philippines