That Was Then but This Is Now explained

That Was Then but This Is Now
Cover:ABC That Was Then.jpg
Type:single
Artist:ABC
Album:Beauty Stab
B-Side:Vertigo
Released:28 October 1983[1]
Recorded:1983
Genre:Pop rock
Length:3:33
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:All of My Heart
Prev Year:1982
Next Title:S.O.S.
Next Year:1984

"That Was Then but This Is Now" is a song by English pop band ABC. It was released in October 1983 as the lead single from their second studio album, Beauty Stab. It was the band's third entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 89.

Music video

The music video shows them playing on a stage behind a huge Risk-style world map gameboard; scenes of the band playing, accompanied by various flags, are interspersed with scenes of a helicopter taking off and then exploding.

Critical reception

Upon its release in October 1983, it was "Single Of The Forthnight" in Smash Hits. "[A]part from the lousy chorus, I think it's one of the most exciting things they've done", Peter Martin wrote, "Fast and furious, the song still manages to retain a feeling of stylish grandeur that is the hallmark of ABC's work".[2]

The song features the heavily criticised lyric, "Can't complain, mustn't grumble, help yourself to another piece of apple crumble." Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera censured the line, feeling that it embodied all that was wrong with 1980s pop music. It has frequently appeared in "worst lyrics" poll results, and was voted the worst line ever in a 2007 BBC 6 Music survey. Critic and Saint Etienne co-founder Bob Stanley allowed, "It had perhaps been meant as a joke - it was followed by a cheesy sax break."[3]

Track listing

  1. "That Was Then but This Is Now" – 3:33
  2. "Vertigo" – 1:53

Chart performance

ChartPosition
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 63
Canada Top Singles (RPM)26
UK Singles Chart[5] 18
US Billboard Hot 10089

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Music Week. 48.
  2. Singles . Martin . Peter . Smash Hits . 27 October 1983 . 17 .
  3. Web site: How to lose 3 million fans in one easy step. Stanley. Bob. Bob Stanley (musician). 7 March 2008. The Guardian. 12 September 2021.
  4. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian)

    . David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 10.

  5. Book: Roberts, David. 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 11.