Watching the Wildlife

"Watching the Wildlife"
File:Watching The Wildlife.jpg
Single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
B-side	"The Waves"
Released	23 February 1987 (1987-02-23)
Recorded	Amsterdam, 1986
Genre	Dance, new wave
Length	3:50
Label	ZTT - ZTAS 26
Producer(s)	Stephen Lipson
Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles chronology
Warriors of the Wasteland (1986) Watching the Wildlife (1987)

"Watching the Wildlife" is the seventh and last single by British pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Released in early 1987, it is taken from the album Liverpool.

Of the singles culled from Liverpool, "Watching the Wildlife" is the most poppy and similar in sound to the band's early era material. However, the single only reached Number 28 in the UK singles chart and #23 in Germany. It is also the only one of the three Liverpool singles not to have a CD single release at that time (a cd single identical to the first 12 inch was released in 2002).

The 7" packaging made reference to animals, with a panda and dolphin on the sleeve. The cassette single made more references to sex. To wit, the instrumental mix was dubbed "The Condom Mix" on the cassette single. The promotional condom that was to be distributed with each single would have stopped the single sales counting towards the UK charts as the official chart provider had introduced new rules to this effect.

The single also featured a brand new track, "The Waves" on the b-side.

Track listing

(All discographical information pertains to UK releases only)

7"

ZTT / ZTAS 26

"animal fur/animal smell"

1. "Watching the Wildlife" – 3:50
2. "The Waves" – 3:02

12"

ZTT / 12 ZTAS 26

1. "Watching the Wildlife" (hotter) – 9:02
2. "Wildlife Bit 1" [unlisted] - :38
3. "Wildlife Bit 2" [unlisted] - :37
4. "Watching the Wildlife" (voiceless) – 3:49
5. "The Waves" – 3:02

"Watching the Wildlife" (voiceless) was rereleased in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 2, Track 13.

12"

ZTT / 12 ZTAX 26

1. "Watching the Wildlife" (movement 2) – 7:12
2. "Wildlife Bit 3" – 6:24
3. "Wildlife Bit 4" – 4:20
4. "The Waves" – 3:02

• "Movement 2" is a mainly instrumental mix, featuring a unique orchestration of the song by arranger David Bedford.
• "Wildlife Bit 3" is an extended mix by engineer Robert Kraushaar.
• "Wildlife Bit 4" is an instrumental mix without drums, guitar or bass, showcasing the orchestral arrangement.

12"

ZTT / 12 ZTE 26

Beobachtungen im Wilden Leben mix

"Beobachtungen im Wilden Leben" (roughly translated as "Observations in the wild life")

1. "Beobachtungen im Wilden Leben" (Die Letzten Tage der Menschheit Mix) (use a condom) – 10:16
2. "Wildlife Bit 1" [unlisted] - :38
3. "Wildlife Bit 2" [unlisted] - :37
4. "Watching the Wildlife" (voiceless) – 3:49
5. "The Waves" – 3:02

• "Die letzten tage der menschheit mix" ('The last days of mankind mix') was deceptively listed as mixed by Klaus Schulze, which got ZTT into trouble with Schulze. It was actually mixed by Paul Morley, and features samples from an AIDS phoneline.

MC

ZTT / CTIS 26

1. "Watching the Wildlife" (Bit 4) [aka "Orchestral Wildlife"] – 4:26
2. "Watching the Wildlife" (Hotter) ["Hotter Wildlife"] – 9:09
3. "The Waves" – 3:02
4. "Wildlife Bit 1" ["One Bit"] - :38
5. "Wildlife Bit 2" ["Two Bit"] - :37
6. "Watching the Wildlife" (Bit 3) [aka "The Condom Mix"] – 6:26

• Although the tracks were listed on the sleeve with unique titles ("Orchestral Wildlife", "The Condom Mix" etc.), they are in fact the same tracks that appeared on the first two 12" singles.
• This cassette single was included on the 2011 deluxe reissue of the album Liverpool, with a reordered tracklisting (being Bit 3, Bit 4, The Waves, Hotter, Bit 1, Bit 2).

Chart performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position	Total weeks
Dutch Singles Chart	47	5
German Singles Chart	23	9
Irish Singles Chart	24	2
UK Singles Chart	28	8

External links

• ZTT Records
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics