Song: Every Time You Go Away
Artist: Paul Young
Original artists: Hall & Oates
It could be said that Go Away was the one that got away as far as Daryl Hall and John
Oates are concerned. The song, written by Hall, was recorded by the duo in 1980 for
their Voices album. But they didn’t release it as a single.
This decision left the coast clear for UK artist Paul Young to record the track some five
years later and take it to the top of the charts in both the US and Canada and to No 4 in
the UK.
I think it’s fair to say that the US chart success was influenced by Young performing the
song as part of his contribution to Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985. It
reached No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 a fortnight later. The video for the song was
named British Video of the Year at the 1986 Brit Awards.
At the time of writing Hall & Oates are embroiled in a rather unsavoury dispute which I
am very sorry to witness. I am a fan. They are one of the few acts I have had the
privilege to see live on more than one occasion.
Oates wants to sell his share of the duo’s Whole Oats Enterprises to investment firm
Primary Wave Music. But Hall says: “I Can’t Go for That (no can do)”! He has taken
legal action in a bid to block any sale by Oates and has used provocative words such as
“betrayal” to describe their disagreement.
As a fan of the pair I hope their long-term friendship doesn’t get buried under the current
verbal bile and an amicable solution is found.
