The Safety Dance

"The Safety Dance"
Single by Men Without Hats
from the album Rhythm of Youth
B-side
  • "Security" (UK)
  • "Living in China" (US)
Released1982
Genre
Length
  • 2:47 (single/video/original album version)
  • 4:36 ("Extended Dance Mix"/US album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Ivan Doroschuk
Producer(s)Marc Durand
Men Without Hats singles chronology
"I Like"
(1982) 		"The Safety Dance"
(1982) 		"I Got the Message"
(1983)
Music video
"The Safety Dance" on YouTube

"The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been ejected from a club for pogo dancing.[4]

The song entered the Canadian top 50 in February 1983, peaking at number 11 on May 14. In the meantime, "The Safety Dance" was released in the US on March 16, but did not enter the US charts for a few months. When it finally did, the record became a bigger hit than it had been in Canada, spending four weeks at its peak position of number 3 in September and October 1983, and staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for 24 weeks.[5] It also reached number 1 on Cash Box, as well as number 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. "The Safety Dance" found similar success in other parts of the world, entering the UK charts in August and peaking at number 6 in early November, and entering the New Zealand charts in November, eventually peaking at number 2 in early 1984. The song was also a massive success in South Africa, reaching No. 1 on the Springbok charts. The song has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.[6]

In 2021, the band released a recording of a new version of the song, reimagined as a mid-tempo ballad, under the title "No Friends of Mine".[7] The track is included on their 2022 EP Again (Part 1).[8]

  1. ^ Politis, John (1983). "Men Without Hats – Rhythm of Youth". Voice of Youth Advocates: VOYA. Vol. 6. Scarecrow Press. p. 356. The single by Men Without Hats, "The Safety Dance," may be the best new wave dance song since The B-52's "Rock Lobster."
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "80's New Wave: New Wave Dance - Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via AllMusic.
  3. ^ Platts, Robin. "Men Without Hats – Greatest Hats". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Sperounes, Sandra (May 12, 2011). "Good dance tunes don't die". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Publications.
  6. ^ Dunlevy, T'Cha (September 1, 2020). "Men Without Hats' Safety Dance, Pop Goes the World enter hall of fame". The Sudbury Star.
  7. ^ Rowley, Glenn (August 25, 2021). "Men Without Hats Reinvent 'Safety Dance' with New Single 'No Friends of Mine'". Consequence. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "Men Without Hats". Sonic Envy. Retrieved May 7, 2022.