"Two Tribes" is the second single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in May 1984 (see 1984 in music). The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome.
The single was a phenomenal success in the UK, staying at the top of the singles chart for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group's previous single "Relax" climbed back up the charts to number two. It was the longest running number-one single in the UK between 1978 and 1991. It has sold 1.58 copies in the UK as of November 2012.
The single was unable to repeat this success in the United States, where it peaked at number 43.
The track has a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff coupled with orchestral arrangements and narrated excerpts from the United Kingdom Public Information Film series Protect and Survive peppered throughout the song and its various mixes.
The track was featured in The Comic Strip's movie The Supergrass and on its soundtrack, as well as in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the fictional radio station "Wave 103". Sky Sports used the song as the intro for Super League in the late 2000s and the X Factor frequently use the song for the contestants' introductions.
Read more about Two Tribes: Origins and Context, Original 1984 Mixes, B-sides, Videos, Chart Performance, Track Listing, Reissues
Famous quotes containing the word tribes:
“A stranger came one night to Yussouf’s tent,
Saying, “Behold one outcast and in dread,
Against whose life the bow of power is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head;
I come to thee for shelter and for food,
To Yussouf, called through all our tribes ‘he Good.’ “
“This tent is mine,” said Yussouf, “but no more
Than it is God’s; come in, and be at peace;”
—James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)