Go West quickly had a publishing deal and possessed a portastudio, but lacked a band or recording company. Peter and Richard decided, with support from John Glover, their manager, to find a musical producer, and record just two of their songs. The tracks We Close Our Eyes and Call Me found Go West developing a record deal with Chrysalis Records. The songwriting duo specialised in radio friendly, white soul sounds.
The band's debut single, We Close Our Eyes, was released in 1985 and managed to achieve the number 5 position on the UK Singles charts, #5 on the US Dance Club Play chart and also managed to reach #41 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The video for the song became an early favorite on MTV. This helped them to be voted the "Best Newcomers" at the 1986, BRIT Awards.
The duo's self-titled album also featured 2 more Hot 100 entries; "Call Me" (1984 - #54) and "Eye To Eye" (1985 - #73). The album also featured "Don't Look Down", which would serve as the prequel to what would be the band's first Top 40 hit in the US. The album hit #8 in the UK Album charts and #60 on Billboard 200 Album chart.
In 1987, they released their follow-up, "Dancing On The Couch", which peaked at #19 on UK Album chart but only got as high as #172 in the US. Ironically, that album yielded Go West with their first US Top 40 hit, "Don't Look Down - The Sequel", squeaking into the Top 40 peaking at #39. That song was a continuation to "Don't Look Down" from their debut album. However, "Don't Look Down - The Sequel" was excluded from the UK versions of the CD, which instead included the track, "Let's Build A Boat", which coincidentally became the B-Side of the US release of "Don't Look Down - The Sequel".
Later in 1990, Go West scored a top 10 US hit with the song King of Wishful Thinking from the movie Pretty Woman. An instrumental version of the song's chorus is also alleged to be heard in the production logo for Gracie Films (seen at the end of The Simpsons).
Go West website: www.gowest.org.uk
Hangin' On for Dear Life
Go West Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of my friends family men
Pc and pta
And no one's coming out to play
They think i've got it made
And so i smile, and i pretend
Yeah i'm a lucky guy
But on the inside
I'm just hangin' on for dear life
Waiting for the wind to change
Running in circles
Trying to make a getaway
Hangin' on for dear life
Gettin' harder every day
Tryin' to get you off my mind
Ever since you went away
Maybe it's been too long
For me to say that i was wrong
But if it's not too late
I wanna set the record straight
Why try to hide the truth?
You know that i could never lie to you
You can see behind my smile
You can see inside
I'm just hangin' on baby
Waiting for the wind to change
Round and round
Got to make a getaway
Hangin' on
Gets harder every day
I can't get you off my mind
Ever since you went away
I got no one i can run to
No one to turn to i know
That's the price i gotta pay
Every minute every day
I got nothing to come home to
Living without you
I'm hangin' on for dear life
Hangin' on
You could always see behind my smile
You can see inside
The lyrics of "Hangin' On for Dear Life" by Go West tells the story of a man who appears to be fully content with his life to the people around him, but is actually struggling internally. All of his friends and family are settling down with their families, while he is left solo. He's been pretending that everything is alright, when in reality, he's just trying to make it through the day. Every day that passes only makes it harder for him to forget about someone, who he loved dearly, but is no longer with him. He is living a lonely life, without someone to turn to, and has no one to come home to. The lyrics symbolize the struggles of an individual suffering internally due to loneliness and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
My, my how things have changed
The singer's life is different now from how it used to be
All of my friends family men
The singer's friends are now all married with families
Pc and pta
The singer's friends are involved with organizations such as Parent-Teacher Association and personal computers
And no one's coming out to play
The artist's social life has become lackluster
They think i've got it made
The artist's acquaintances believe that he is happy and successful
And so i smile, and i pretend
The singer is putting on a facade to hide his true feelings
Yeah i'm a lucky guy
Others perceive the singer as fortunate
But on the inside
The artist is struggling internally
I'm just hangin' on for dear life
The artist is barely managing to cope
Waiting for the wind to change
The artist is hoping for an external force to help him, rather than taking action himself
Running in circles
The singer is lacking direction, despite being active
Trying to make a getaway
The artist is attempting to escape his problems
Gettin' harder every day
The singer is feeling increasingly overwhelmed
Tryin' to get you off my mind
The singer is struggling to move on from someone
Ever since you went away
The singer's troubles began after this person left
Maybe it's been too long
The artist is questioning whether it's too late to address his past mistakes
For me to say that i was wrong
The artist was responsible for a past disagreement, but has not yet apologized
But if it's not too late
The singer may still have a chance to right his wrong
I wanna set the record straight
The singer wants to clear up the past and tell the truth
Why try to hide the truth?
The artist believes that honesty is the best policy
You know that i could never lie to you
The artist has a relationship with the addressee built on trust
You can see behind my smile
The addressee can sense that the artist is not truly happy
I'm just hangin' on baby
The singer is still struggling to cope
Round and round
The artist is stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts and actions
Got to make a getaway
The singer still wants to run from his problems
Gets harder every day
The singer feels that things are becoming more difficult
I can't get you off my mind
The singer is still thinking about the person who left
I got no one i can run to
The artist has no one to confide in
No one to turn to i know
The artist has no friends or family to rely on
That's the price i gotta pay
The singer feels that he must suffer alone
Every minute every day
The singer's problems are persistent and ongoing
I got nothing to come home to
The artist's home life is unsatisfying
Living without you
The artist believes that his problems started when this person left
I'm hangin' on for dear life
The artist is just barely managing to survive
You could always see behind my smile
The addressee is perceptive and can tell that the singer is struggling internally
You can see inside
The addressee can understand the artist's true feelings
Contributed by Jackson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gerard McCartney
on The King Is Dead
When you finally realise that all your life, you've been driven by ego, and the humiliating freedom that realisation affords