The Riddle (Nik Kershaw song)
Encyclopedia
"The Riddle" was a hit single for Nik Kershaw
in 1984/1985. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart
.
's decision to run a competition to work out the meaning - without either telling Nik or even bothering to ask him what the meaning was. Had they done so, they would have discovered that there is in fact no meaning at all - the lyrics were nothing but gibberish, a "guide vocal" thrown together to fit the music, or in Nik's own words:
"nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar". However, at the 2011 '80s Rewind Festival
Henley Kershaw announced the song as being about "love...loss...and bollocks" like that.
, a villain from the Batman
comics. Kershaw claimed the video was inspired by his love for post-modern artistic expressionism
.
song by Gigi D'Agostino
, which was released in D'Agostino's album, L'Amour Toujours
. The same lyrics are used as in Kershaw's song, but the order is changed and the tempo is faster.
style, similar in spirit to Nik Kershaw's music video. The music video, which was made by Andreas Hykade, features La Linea
styled animation, taking place entirely with white lines on a light green background. Also, he shortened and rearranged his cover for the song, so the music video is 3:42 while the audio track on the CD is 4:45.
released a cover under the name "Любити платити" (to love to pay) in 2002 with Nik Kershaw accompanying on keyboard. Other covers have been performed by Thunderstone
, Prezioso
and De Heideroosjes.
Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists...
in 1984/1985. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Lyrics
The "riddling" lyrics caused much puzzlement and speculation among listeners as to their meaning, which was further fuelled by record company MCAMCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
's decision to run a competition to work out the meaning - without either telling Nik or even bothering to ask him what the meaning was. Had they done so, they would have discovered that there is in fact no meaning at all - the lyrics were nothing but gibberish, a "guide vocal" thrown together to fit the music, or in Nik's own words:
"nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar". However, at the 2011 '80s Rewind Festival
Rewind Festival
The Rewind Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in , Remenham, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It was first held in August 2009....
Henley Kershaw announced the song as being about "love...loss...and bollocks" like that.
Music video
The music video to "The Riddle" depicts Kershaw walking through a house shaped like a question mark, making his way through certain obstacles and looking through drawers while singing. The video depicts many references to Lewis Caroll's book Alice in Wonderland with an appearance of young girl exiting the room through a small door, two portly gentlemen who resemble Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee and an observation made by Kershaw to Through the Looking Glass. At the beginning of the music video Nik is seen trying to get through a door with a screwdriver, it ends with the camera moving up away from Nik to reveal that the question mark is lying in the street, at which point a man in a green costume seen earlier in the video comes and picks it up. The green man is the RiddlerRiddler
The Riddler is a fictional character, a comic book character and supervillain published by DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #140 ....
, a villain from the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
comics. Kershaw claimed the video was inspired by his love for post-modern artistic expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 56 | 14 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 19 | 10 |
| French Singles Chart | 18 | 17 |
| German Singles Chart | 8 | 14 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 | 9 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 6 | 15 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 5 | 14 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 5 | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 15 | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 | 11 |
Association
The martial music used in the song, has been used as an Irish Republican motivational tune.Gigi D'Agostino version
"The Riddle" was covered as a danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
song by Gigi D'Agostino
Gigi D'Agostino
Luigino Celestino Di Agostino , better known by his stage name Gigi D'Agostino, is an Italian DJ, remixer and record producer...
, which was released in D'Agostino's album, L'Amour Toujours
L'Amour Toujours (album)
L'Amour Toujours is the third studio album by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino, released in 1999. Both single and two-disc versions were released.-Single-disc version:# Another Way - 6:03# L'Amour Toujours - 6:56# Elisir - 5:34...
. The same lyrics are used as in Kershaw's song, but the order is changed and the tempo is faster.
Music video
For this song, Gigi D'Agostino created a new music video, but kept it in a surrealistSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
style, similar in spirit to Nik Kershaw's music video. The music video, which was made by Andreas Hykade, features La Linea
La Linea (TV series)
La Linea is an Italian animated series created by the Italian cartoonist Osvaldo Cavandoli. The series consists of 90 episodes which are about 2–3 minutes long each which were produced originally broadcast in the Italian channel RAI between 1971 - 1986. Over the years the series aired in more than...
styled animation, taking place entirely with white lines on a light green background. Also, he shortened and rearranged his cover for the song, so the music video is 3:42 while the audio track on the CD is 4:45.
Other cover versions
Ukrainian band СкрябінSkryabin (band)
Skryabin is a pop/rock band from western Ukraine founded in 1989. Andriy "Kuzma" Kuzmenko is the band's long-haired lead singer.One of the group's 2005 songs, Lyudy Yak Korabli , spent a record 39 continuous weeks on FDR Radiocenter's Top 40, which began tracking Ukrainian radioplay in May 2002...
released a cover under the name "Любити платити" (to love to pay) in 2002 with Nik Kershaw accompanying on keyboard. Other covers have been performed by Thunderstone
Thunderstone (band)
Thunderstone is a Power metal band from Helsinki, Finland. The band was formed in 2000 by guitarist Nino Laurenne, and the line-up became full the following year. After the release of the band's self-titled debut album, Thunderstone, the band toured Europe supporting Stratovarius and Symphony X...
, Prezioso
Prezioso
Prezioso refers to Andrea Prezioso and Giorgio Prezioso, an Italodance duo with hit singles in countries including Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany. The brothers have released best-selling records as solo artists and as part of italo house ensembles. They are known today as part of the...
and De Heideroosjes.