Live It Up (Mental As Anything song)

"Live It Up" is a single by Australian rock band Mental As Anything, first released in 1985 in Australia and then in Europe and the U.S. in 1986/87. Written by Greedy Smith, the song was not originally expected to be a hit. After the song's appearance in the film Crocodile Dundee, however, the track became a worldwide success, reaching the top 10 across Europe.

"Live It Up"
Single by Mental As Anything
from the album Fundamental
B-side"Good Friday"
Released20 May 1985[1]
Recorded1984
Length3:50
Label
Songwriter(s)Greedy Smith
Producer(s)Richard Gottehrer
Mental As Anything singles chronology
"You're So Strong"
(1985)		 "Live It Up"
(1985)		 "Date with Destiny"
(1985)

At the 1985 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song won Best Single.[2]

Background

"Live It Up" was written by Mental As Anything keyboardist and singer Greedy Smith.[3] Smith did not initially think the song would be a hit when he wrote it, but became more confident as the song was completed; he explained, "You know when I felt that was going to be a hit? When we finished mixing it. It took about half an hour to write in my head. But then two years to get it right. We had no idea of how big it would be."[4]

After the song's success, Smith did not seek to directly replicate its style. He later said, "it's not about duplicating the song, you have to duplicate all the conditions around it. Which is an art in itself. It's not really that possible. It's a bit like cricket. You can't understand how a team can win or lose, but it's just the vibe of it as Michael Caton would say."[4]

Release and reception

"Live It Up" appears on the band's 1985 album, Fundamental. It was then released as a single in 1985 in Australia. The single was later released in 1986 and 1987 in Europe after it featured in the hit film Crocodile Dundee. "Live It Up" is the band's most successful and most popular song, reaching the Top 20 in various countries. The song peaked at number two in Australia and Ireland, number three in the UK,[5] number four in Norway, number six in Germany and New Zealand, number 15 in Austria and number 20 in Sweden.

Greedy Smith later recounted the single's success. He recalled:

And I remember when 'Live It Up' went to number three in the UK… that was a special moment. It had been a hit in Australia but nobody was interested over there and in Europe. Then, when Crocodile Dundee came out, our record company over there said 'Let's put the poster on the single pack. After that, it was a huge hit. So we were very grateful to have a bit of a go around there.[6]

"Live It Up" has been placed in the collection of the Australian National Film and Sound Archive, with the song being described as "wistful and yet danceable".[7] The song was also used in the 2018 horror film, The Strangers: Prey at Night. In 2020 the song has become an unofficial anthem of Glasgow based soccer team Rangers FC to mock their city rivals Celtic FC and in December 2020 Rangers fans began a campaign to get the song to number 1 in the UK charts for Christmas.[8]

Live performances

"Live It Up" remains a mainstay of Mental As Anything's live setlist. Greedy Smith explained, "We mainly concentrate on the songs that people know off the radio: 'If You Leave Me', 'Too Many Times', 'Live It Up', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Rock and Roll Music'."[9]

Track listing
UK single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up"Greedy Smith3:36
2."Good Friday"Martin Plaza4:27

Track listing
12" version
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live It Up" (Extended Remix)"Greedy Smith6:06
2."Three Steps To Your Place"Reg Mombassa3:00
3."Good Friday"Martin Plaza4:27

Charts

References
  1. "Kent Music Report No 567 – 20 May 1985 > Singles: New Releases". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 6 December 2019 – via Imgur.com.
  2. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  3. "Mental As Anything – Live It Up". TV80s. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. Collins, Matt. "PODCAST: Iconic Aussie musician is 'the worst show-off'". South Burnett Times. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. "Mental As Anything | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  6. Hamey, Sharyn. "ROCK CLUB 40: INTERVIEW – GREEDY SMITH – MENTAL AS ANYTHING". mentalasanything.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  7. Australia, National Film and Sound Archive of (11 September 2018). "'Live it Up' - Mental As Anything". www.nfsa.gov.au. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  8. Cashmere, Paul (7 December 2020). "Mental As Anything 'Live It Up' Just Went To No 1 On The UK's iTunes Chart". Noise11.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  9. Niehaus, Jon. "MENTAL AS ANYTHING – GREEDY TALKS". NQ Music Press. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  10. "Australian Top 50 ARIA Chart – Week Ending 7th July, 1985". ARIA. Retrieved 6 December 2019 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Mental As Anything – Live It Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Mental As Anything – Live It Up" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  13. "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4 no. 17. 2 May 1987. p. 15. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mental As Anything". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mental As Anything – Live It Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  16. "Charts.nz – Mental As Anything – Live It Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Mental As Anything – Live It Up". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Mental As Anything – Live It Up". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mental As Anything – Live It Up". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  22. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 437. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. "End of Year Charts 1985". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  24. "Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles". Record Mirror. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 23 January 1988. p. 36.
  25. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1987" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
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