Today we’re listening to “Slipping Away” by Dave Edmunds.
For a while, a meme making its way around social media was asking people things like “tell me how old you are, without telling me how old you are.”
Another way to do this is to mention MTV. One’s immediate response is always a tell. People of a certain age reflexively launch into a screed about how they remember when MTV used to actually play music. For some bands, that was the jumping-off point to stardom. For others, it sparked the end of their careers.
For kids like me, it was an on-ramp to new musical worlds. A way to see musicians I never would’ve otherwise in a novel format. When the VJ’s would announce upcoming clips, they had me- especially once I know it would be a song I liked, like this one.
Edmunds was part of the band Rockpile, along with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremmer, and Terry Williams. They recorded one album under their own name — and had a small hit with “Girls Talk” — before splitting up. Lowe & Edmunds each then took band material and released it under their own names.
After striking back out on his own, Edmunds teamed up with Electric Light Orchestra’s Jeff Lynne to produce 1983’s Information. Lynne wrote “Slipping Away,” and his signature style is evident from the first note. The song would peak at #39 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and be Edmunds’ second (and last) Top 40 hit.
It feels like walking down a long, dark road.
You never talk to me the way you did before.
You ride through the city with your head held high.
And all I can do is watch you go by.
Bar Trivia: Rumor has it that George Harrison asked Edmunds to introduce him to Lynne, giving birth to the Traveling Wilburys.
It’s true that in the network’s early days, songs like Edmunds’ “Slipping Away” were in constant rotation. But did video really kill the radio star?
Not in Edmunds' case; he continued working/touring until as late as 2017.
Dave Edmunds-”Slipping Away”
1983| Information
As always, I’d love to hear what you think of the track. Good, bad, or ugly- let me know in the comments!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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P.P.S. This first appeared on Medium
I Hear You Knocking was the only Dave Edmunds song I remember, but this one has a good “get you up and going” beat.