Is Hall and Oates' "Out of touch" the worst song ever recorded?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Just watching a Now! 1984 best of on telly.

But hang on, Stevie Wonder's barged into the reckoning with "I just called to say I love you".

Bloody hell how did we all get through 1984?

[Ray de Galles]

No

[Stumpy Pepys]

No

Seconded.

That would be something like Where Do You Go to My Lovely by Peter Sarstedt. To which Taylor Parkes administered a very entertaining and thorough kicking on Chart Music.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Also Out of Touch only got to 48 in the UK charts.

[treibeis]

"You're The Voice" and "St Elmo's Fire" are worse. Although not the worst.

[Benjm]

Big Bam Boom, Out Of Touch's parent album, was something of a let down after H2O.

Not as big a let down as the one of their many greatest hits compilations that I bought in a hurry once which turned out not to have She's Gone on it. I wondered if it was a contractual thing but previous round ups had managed to include both their Atlantic and RCA output.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Renee and Renate or whatever they were called. That's awful.

[G-Man]

What an absurd question. "Out Of Touch" is a good pop song, with a catchy chorus. It's not even in the Top 10,000 of worst songs ever. And it's certainly not Hall & Oates' worst song.

[3 Colours Red]

Bloody hell how did we all get through 1984?

By not really paying much attention to what was in the charts because I was two.

And surely Agadoo is the worst record of that year?

And I'd maintain that any year with songs like When Doves Cry, Two Tribes, Jump, It's My Life, Smalltown Boy, I Feel For You, You Spin Me Round and South Central Rain can't have been all bad.

[Gerontophile]

What the fuck is South Central Rain?

[Gerontophile]

Also, do not fuck with Hall or Oates.

[The_Purple_Cow]

Daryl Hall bought me a beer on Leidseplein once, so there will be no dissing of Hall and Oates here. Plus Out Of Touch is a perfectly nice tune. If you want the worst song ever recorded I will point you in the direction of The Red Hot Chillie Peppers.

[Etienne]

South Central Rain is on Reckoning by R.E.M

[Jah Womble]

You Spin Me Round didn’t really impact until the following year anyway. (See also: ‘1983’s Relax by FGTH’.)

As for the opening premise, obviously not when you’ve the delights of Anita Dobson’s Anyone Can Fall in Love or No Doubt’s version of It's My Life to contend with. Or indeed anything by The Darkness.

As for Hall & Oates’s worst moment, God alone knows - probably Adult Education.

[Mr Delicieux]

I was going to say Rebecca Black and the disgrace that is 'Friday', but I think this just edges it out.
Apparently made as a bet between two record executives.
Damn them both.

[Jah Womble]

Bloody hell how did we all get through 1984?

’For the record’ - some good hit (and not-so-hit) tunes from 1984:

Upside Down - Jesus and Mary Chain
Wood Beez - Scritti Politti
How Soon is Now? - The Smiths
The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes - Very Things
When Doves Cry - Prince
Tupelo - Nick Cave
White Lines - Grandmaster & Melle Mel
Free Nelson Mandela - Special AKA
Green Fields of France - The Men They Couldn't Hang
I’m Falling - The Bluebells
The Spanglemaker - Cocteau Twins
My Suitor - Berntholer
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
The Ghost in You - Psychedelic Furs
It's My Life - Talk Talk
Red Guitar - David Sylvian
Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol
Come Back - Wah!

Plus loads more.

[Jah Womble]

(Doubled.)

[Cal Alamein]

A couple of singles I bought that year and still enjoy immensely:

*Killed by Death - Motorhead
*Thanks for the Night - The Damned (B-side was Nasty, done brilliantly well on the Young Ones) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2H_7LY5LqM

[Hot Pepsi]

"You're The Voice" and "St Elmo's Fire" are worse. Although not the worst.

You're just a prisoner and you're tryin' to break free.

[Sits]

Assuming these terrible records can be from any time and not just 1984, in the chemist the other day I was horrified to hear Sunset Grill by Don Henley. So dull it made me angry. What exactly does this song add to humanity?

On reflection I suppose it's an achievement of sorts to come out of a band like The Eagles* and actually dial up the blandness.

*The Fucking Eagles Man, to give them their full name.

[Etienne]

That Vanilla song might actually be the worst song ever recorded. I now hate Mr Delicieux for having brought it to my attention, though I suppose I can't claim to to have received due warning.

[Kevin S]

Back in the days of Cascada, LMC, Ultrabeat and similar popular dance music combos, Out of Touch was a pretty big hit for Uniting Nations. Preferable to the original in my view, which provided a catchy enough tune.

[Gerontophile]

I will point you in the direction of The Red Hot Chillie Peppers.

You're going to have to naarrow that down a bit.

Also, fucking hell TPC. It's nice to "see" you here.

[Capybara]

Daryl Hall bought me a beer on Leidseplein once, so there will be no dissing of Hall and Oates here. Plus Out Of Touch is a perfectly nice tune. If you want the worst song ever recorded I will point you in the direction of The Red Hot Chillie Peppers.

One of them (Hall or Oates, probably Hall from what you've said) is reportedly a big fan of Fuller's London Pride. It's not my favourite beer but having a taste for proper beer means he gets a thumbs up from me. I'd probably have agreed with Out of Touch being one of the worst records made if you'd asked me thirty years ago, but I've grown to like the Hall and Oates ouevre much more as I've got older.

[hobbes]

Daryl Hall bought me a beer on Leidseplein once, so there will be no dissing of Hall and Oates here. Plus Out Of Touch is a perfectly nice tune. If you want the worst song ever recorded I will point you in the direction of The Red Hot Chillie Peppers.

I was going to say "which one" but then I remembered that apart From Under the Bridge all of their records sound exactly alike.