Great Wall (song)

"Great Wall"
Original 1986 cover
Single by Boom Crash Opera
from the album Boom Crash Opera
Released1986
Recorded1986
GenreRock
Length3:46
4:59 (extended mix)
LabelWEA Records
Songwriter(s)Dale Ryder, Richard Pleasance, Greg O'Connor
Producer(s)Steve Brown
Boom Crash Opera singles chronology
"Great Wall"
(1986) 		"Hands Up in the Air"
(1986)

"Great Wall" is a song by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera.[1] It was the first single from their self-titled 1987 album,[2] and reached number five on the Australian music charts.[3][4] Great Wall's lyrics reference the New South Wales Hume Weir (Dam).

At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song won Best Debut single.[5][6]

Reception

Jane Gazzo said, "Featuring a 'hey hey' catch cry coupled with bombastic beats and a chugging bassline, it was a superb single to release as a debut."[7]

Track listing

7" single (7.258695)
  1. "Great Wall" (Dale Ryder) - 3:46
  2. "Caught Between Two Towns" (Peter Farnan) - 3:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8][9] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 39

Personnel

  • Drums – Peter Maslen
  • Engineer – Chris Corr
  • Guitar – Peter Farnan
  • Guitar, Bass – Richard Pleasance
  • Keyboards – Greg O'Connor
  • Mastered By – Paul Ibbotson
  • Vocals – Dale Ryder

References

  1. ^ Watt, Andrew (16 May 1986). "Crashing their way to success". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  2. ^ Stuart Coupe (4 October 1987). "Boom Crash Opera on the way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  3. ^ Winstead, Kathleen (19 November 1990). "New band injects energetic musical jolt into pop". Kingman Daily Miner. Western News & Info. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. ^ Australian Music Database
  5. ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  7. ^ Jane Gazzo (2024). I Hear Motion. Melbourne Books. p. 22. ISBN 9781922779267.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 42. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report. No. 650. December 1986. Retrieved 24 January 2023 – via Imgur.