Senses Working Overtime Explained

Senses Working Overtime
Cover:Senses Working Overtime (XTC single - cover art).jpg
Type:single
Artist:XTC
Album:English Settlement
Released:January 1982
Recorded:1981
Studio:The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England
Length:4:34 (single edit)
4:53 (album version)
Label:Virgin
Producer:Hugh Padgham, XTC
Prev Title:Respectable Street
Prev Year:1981
Next Title:Ball and Chain
Next Year:1982

"Senses Working Overtime" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1982 album English Settlement. He based the song on Manfred Mann's "5-4-3-2-1" (1964).[1] The album and single became the highest-charting records XTC would ever have in the UK, peaking at number five and number 10, respectively.[2] [3]

At the suggestion of its director, the song's music video was filmed at double-speed and then slowed down, to make the musicians appear "more graceful". Partridge recalled: "That one was done really quickly, in Shepperton Studios while we were rehearsing for the English Settlement tour. And so that's us rehearsing. ... [The half-speed idea has] been used a hell of a lot since then, but I think we were the first ones to do it."[4]

Track listing

  1. "Senses Working Overtime" (Andy Partridge)
  2. "Blame the Weather" (Colin Moulding)
  3. "Tissue Tigers (The Arguers)" (Partridge)

On the 12" release, "Egyptian Solution (Thebes in a Box) (Homo Safari #3)" (Partridge) was added to the A-side as track 2; the B-side comprised "Blame the Weather" and "Tissue Tigers" on both 7" and 12".

Personnel

XTC

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 15

Year-end charts

Mandy Moore version

Senses Working Overtime
Cover:MandyMoore-Sing09SensesWorkingOvertime.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Mandy Moore
Album:Coverage
Released:February 10, 2004
Length:4:08
Label:Epic
Producer:John Fields
Prev Title:Drop the Pilot
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:Extraordinary
Next Year:2007

"Senses Working Overtime" was the third single released from Moore's third studio album Coverage (2003) as its opening track. It was written by Andy Partridge and produced by John Fields.

The song was included on Moore’s first greatest hits album The Best of Mandy Moore (2004).

Other versions

Notes and References

  1. Book: Partridge. Andy. Bernhardt. Todd. Andy Partridge. Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC. 2016. Jawbone Press. 978-1-908279-78-1.
  2. Web site: Stephen Thomas. Erlewine. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. XTC . . 27 December 2017.
  3. Web site: Ingham. Chris. XTC - 'Til Death Do Us Part. Mojo. March 1999.
  4. Web site: Bernhardt. Todd. Andy discusses 'Senses Working Overtime'. Chalkhills. 11 December 2006.
  5. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 344.
  6. Web site: The Irish Charts - All there is to know > Search results for 'XTC' (from irishcharts.ie). Fireball Media, via Imgur.com. 1 January 2020.
  7. Web site: Kent Music Report No 445 – 3 January 1983 > National Top 100 Singles for 1982. Kent Music Report, via Imgur.com. 1 January 2020.