The Riddle (Nik Kershaw song)
| "The Riddle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of The Riddle 12" Single | ||||
| Single by Nik Kershaw | ||||
| from the album The Riddle | ||||
| Released | 5 November 1984 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", Cassette Single | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, Pop rock, new wave | |||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Nik Kershaw | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Collins | |||
| Nik Kershaw singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Riddle" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was released in 1984 as the lead single from the album of the same name. Kershaw described the lyrical content as being nondescript to fill as a "guide vocal" for the production. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top 10 in countries like Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. An accompanying music video was made for the song and features references to Lewis Caroll's book Alice in Wonderland. The song was covered by many artists, most notably by Gigi D'Agostino (2000) and Jack Holiday and Mike Candys (2012).
Lyrics
The "riddling" lyrics caused much puzzlement and speculation among listeners as to their meaning; Kershaw claims that there is in fact no meaning at all, simply being a "guide vocal" thrown together to fit the music. Kershaw has stated: "In short, 'The Riddle' is nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar."[1]
Music video
The music video to "The Riddle" depicts Kershaw walking through a house shaped like a question mark, making his way through certain obstacles and looking through drawers while singing. The video depicts many references to Lewis Caroll's book Alice in Wonderland with an appearance of young girl exiting the room through a small door, two portly gentlemen who resemble Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee and an observation made by Kershaw to Through the Looking Glass.
At the beginning of the music video Kershaw is seen trying to get through a door with a screwdriver. The video ends with the camera moving up away from Kershaw to reveal that the question mark is lying in the street, at which point a man in a green costume seen earlier in the video comes and picks it up. The green man is the Riddler, a villain from the Batman comics. Kershaw claimed the video was inspired by his love for post-modern artistic expressionism.
Track listing
7" Single (WEA NIK 6)[2]
A "The Riddle" - 3:52
B "Progress" (Live) - 3:02
12" Single (WEA NIKT 6)[3]
A "The Riddle" (Extended Riddle) - 5:08
B "Progress" (Live) - 3:02
Cassette Single (WEA NIKC 6)[4]
A1 "The Riddle" - 3:52
A2 "Interview"
A3 "Progress" (Live) - 3:02
B1 "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Extended Mix)
B2 "Wouldn't It Be Good" (Extended Mix)
Credits
"The Riddle"[2]
Produced by Peter Collins
"Progress"
Recorded Live at Hammersmith Odeon.
Mixed by Simon Boswell
"The Riddle (Extended Riddle)"
Produced by Peter Collins
The extended mix is named "Special Extended Mix" on the cover & "Extended Riddle" on the label.
Chart performance
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 6 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 8 |
| Canada (RPM)[7] | 49 |
| France (SNEP)[8] | 18 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[9] | 8 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] | 19 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 6 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[13] | 5 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] | 5 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] | 15 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] | 3 |
Gigi D'Agostino version
| "The Riddle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Gigi D'Agostino | ||||
| from the album L'Amour Toujours | ||||
| B-side | "Remix" | |||
| Released | December 1999 | |||
| Format | CD single, CD maxi, 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Electronic dance | |||
| Length | 4:45, 3:42 | |||
| Label | ZYX, EMI Music | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Nik Kershaw | |||
| Producer(s) | Gigi D'Agostino | |||
| Gigi D'Agostino singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Riddle" was covered as a dance song by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino with uncredited vocals by Armenian singer and house producer Andrew Sarkeesian, who would also work with D'Agostino on La Passion. This version was released on D'Agostino's album, L'Amour Toujours. The same lyrics are used as in Kershaw's song, but the order is changed and the tempo is faster.
Music video
The music video, which was made by Andreas Hykade, features La Linea styled animation like the "Bla Bla Bla" music video (both of which feature the same humanoid character), taking place entirely with white lines on a light green background and features the aforementioned character fighting a dragon on a mountainous terrain. The length of the video is 3:25[17] but the track on L'Amour Toujours lasts 4:45.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
| Chart (2000-2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] | 14 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[20] | 11 |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) | 8 |
| France (SNEP)[21] | 7 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[22] | 4 |
| Italy (FIMI)[23] | 21 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] | 4 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 8 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 67 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[27] | Gold | 250,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
Jack Holiday & Mike Candys version
| "The Riddle Anthem" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Jack Holiday and Mike Candys | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2012 | |||
| Format | CD single, CD maxi, 7" single | |||
| Genre | Electronic music | |||
| Length | 3:13 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Nik Kershaw | |||
| Producer(s) |
Mike Candys Jack Holiday | |||
| Jack Holiday and Mike Candys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Riddle" was covered as a dance song by Swiss DJs Mike Candys and Jack Holiday. It was titled The Riddle Anthem and was released in November 2012.
Chart performance
| Chart (2012-2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[28] | 29 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[29] | 31 |
| France (SNEP)[30] | 43 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[31] | 44 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] | 26 |
Other cover versions
In 1999 Lightforce released an instrumental dace cover of the song titled “Take Your Time (The-Riddle ‘99)”
In 2009, the Italian group Prezioso & Marvin (actually brothers DJ Giorgio Prezioso and Andrea Prezioso and vocalist Alessandro Moschini known as Marvin) released it as a single from a similarly titled The Riddle EP. The single on Bang Record also featured vocals by Marvin (real name Alessandro Moschini) and was credited as Prezioso & Marvin. An official music video was also released.[33]
In 2013, the French harpist Cécile Corbel included a cover of the song on her fourth studio album, SongBook vol.4 - Roses. The melody is given a more Celtic coloration.
In 2017, Nils van Zandt released a cover of the song, which peaked at number twelve[34] and number eighteen[35] on the Flemish and Walloon versions of the Dance Bubbling Under chart, respectively, a genre-specific division of the Belgian Ultratop chart.
References
- ↑ Kershaw, Nik. "The Official Nik Kershaw FAQ file". The Official Nik Kershaw Website. Archived from the original on 7 February 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- 1 2 Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle 7".
- ↑ Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle 12".
- ↑ Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle Cassette Single.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 165. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA from mid 1983 until 19 June 1988.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0527&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0527.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0527
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Nik Kershaw Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.nz – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle". VG-lista.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Nik Kershaw – The Riddle". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Gigi D' Agostino: The Riddle - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Gigi D'Agostino – The Riddle" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gigi D'Agostino – The Riddle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gigi D'Agostino – The Riddle" (in French). Ultratip.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Gigi D'Agostino – The Riddle" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Gigi D'Agostino Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/ad.htm
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Gigi D'Agostino" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Gigi D'Agostino – The Riddle". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Swiss year-end chart". swisscharts.com. 2000. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gigi D'Agostino; 'The Riddle')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jack Holiday & Mike Candys – The Riddle Anthem" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jack Holiday & Mike Candys – The Riddle Anthem" (in French). Ultratip.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jack Holiday & Mike Candys – The Riddle Anthem" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jack Holiday & Mike Candys – The Riddle Anthem". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jack Holiday & Mike Candys – The Riddle Anthem". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ YouTube: Prezioso & Marvin - The Riddle (THE Official Video)
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Nils van Zandt – The Riddle". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Nils van Zandt – The Riddle". Ultratop (in French). Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- "Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle 7". www.discogs.com.
- "Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle 12". www.discogs.com.
- "Discogs: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle Cassette Single". www.discogs.com.