80's Hit Song Review: "Don Quichotte" by Magazine 60 (1986)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 56 (Originally released in their native France in 1984, wasn't released as a single in the States until 1985 when yet another year passed until it finally charted and peaked.)

Backstory: This French synth pop band from Lille was formed in 1981 by music producer, Jean-Luc Drion. They released their first album, 60's Slows, in 1981, which was actually a Stars on 45 style medley album. It wouldn't be until a year later until they released their first synth pop related music, including the single "Sir Walter Gimmick." Then, in 1984, they released this single which was released on numerous record labels all over the world. It peaked at No. 10 on the French Singles Chart. Then, in 1985, the single was released as the first ever record release on the incredibly short lived Los Angeles based record label, Baja Records, for an American audience. It was a modest hit, peaking at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was a much bigger success on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts, peaking all the way at No. 16. It was their only ever U.S. hit.  They released a few more singles and than disbanded in 1992.

The Review: Oh, do I absolutely LOVE this song! The mixture of mostly Spanish and occasional spoken word English parts with telephone sound effects, along with badass synths and a guitar breakdown in the middle makes this tune an 80's synthpop classic. For a first ever record label release, the results were pretty gosh darn impressive. Could have been a Top 40 or Top 30 hit if it was released on a much better known record label such as RCA or Warner Bros. Shame this was their only hit here in the States. They are incredibly fun, upbeat, and funky! Many remixes of the song exist, but the original is the very best! There's the single version that run for nearly 4 minutes, and two longer versions released as a twelve inch single with a nearly 7 minute long fully extended version on one side and a 5 minute version on the other side. Absolutely fun and brilliant.

Final rating:10/10

And as always, don't forget to comment down your opinion on this tune below.