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"Our Lips Are Sealed"
Single by the Go-Go's
from the album Beauty and the Beat
B-side	"Surfing and Spying"
Released	June 12, 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Power pop new wave
Length	2:44
Label	I.R.S.
Songwriter(s)	Jane Wiedlin Terry Hall
Producer(s)	Richard Gottehrer Rob Freeman
The Go-Go's singles chronology
"Our Lips Are Sealed" (1981) "We Got the Beat" (1982)

"Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.

It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album Beauty and the Beat (1981) and was their debut American single in June 1981. The single eventually reached the top 5 in Australia and Canada, and the top 20 in the United States. Although originally written and performed with three verses, an abbreviated version of the song appears on Beauty and the Beat. Although most of the song's lead vocals are performed by usual lead singer Belinda Carlisle, co-writer Wiedlin sings the bridge.

In 1983, Hall's band, Fun Boy Three, released their version of "Our Lips Are Sealed". Issued as a single, the track became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and remains the best known version of the song in that country. The recording by the Go-Go's, while a bigger hit elsewhere, only made No. 47 in the UK.

In 2000, Rolling Stone named "Our Lips Are Sealed" one of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time. In 2021, it was listed at No. 477 on "Top 500 Songs of All Time". The band performed the song, along with "Vacation" and "We Got the Beat", during the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Origins

The Go-Go's supported the Specials on the latter's 1980 'Seaside' tour of England. According to Jane Wiedlin, she and Terry Hall had a brief affair despite the fact he was in a relationship with another woman at the time. After Wiedlin returned to the United States, Hall mailed her some lyrics, and this led to their co-writing the song. The Go-Go's version is significantly more upbeat than Fun Boy Three's, which Wiedlin describes as "great" but also "gloomier".

Music video

The official music video for the song features sequences of the band members in carefree tableaux (riding around LA in a 1960 Buick convertible, stopping at a lingerie shop, and splashing around in a fountain) interspersed with footage of the band playing at a club.

Jane Wiedlin says the band was initially unenthusiastic when Miles Copeland, president of their label, I.R.S. Records, told them they would be doing the video. "We were totally bratty", she recalls. The video was financed with unused funds from the Police's video budget.

The group wanted an older-style convertible, and found a red 1960 Buick LeSabre at Rent-a-Wreck. After riding around Beverly Hills, at some point, they stop at the famous Trashy Lingerie store located at La Cienega Blvd. The girls go into the shop, but Jane Wiedlin remains in the car to sing the bridge of the song (although Carlisle can be seen in the driver's seat trying to hide). The day of shooting was very hot so it was the band's idea to end the video by jumping into the fountain on the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica. Wiedlin later said "I thought, at any minute the cops are gonna come. This is gonna be so cool."

Wiedlin looks back on the video experience fondly. "I have horrible '80s poodle hair in it", she recalled in a 2011 history of MTV. "But there's a simplicity and innocence to the video that appeals to me." In the sequence where Belinda can be seen trying to hide into the car at the lingerie shop, she later admitted this was deliberate, as she thought the whole idea of this music video was ridiculous and unlikely to catch on.

The music video received heavy airplay on MTV.

Chart performance

The original version peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and 15 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. On the dance chart, the song peaked at number 10. A song of unusual longevity as a hit, it remained on the Billboard charts until March 1982, long after its peak, ultimately charting for 30 weeks.

Fun Boy Three version

"Our Lips Are Sealed"
Single by Fun Boy Three
from the album Waiting
Released	29 April 1983
Genre	New wave
Length	3:36
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Jane Wiedlin, Terry Hall
Producer(s)	David Byrne
Fun Boy Three singles chronology
"Tunnel of Love" (1980) "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1983) "The Farm Yard Connection" (1983)

The following year, co-writer Terry Hall re-recorded the song with his own band, Fun Boy Three. It was included on their second album Waiting and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, and was the last single to chart in the UK before their split later in 1983. Backing vocals were provided by Mo-dettes drummer June Miles-Kingston, who also played drums on the single and the Waiting LP.

2x7" single (Chrysalis FUNB 1 + FBFRE 1)

12" single (Chrysalis 4V9-42689)

12" UK single (Chrysalis FUNBX 1)

Hilary and Haylie Duff version

"Our Lips Are Sealed"
Single by Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff
from the album A Cinderella Story
Released	June 5, 2004
Recorded	2004
Genre	Pop rock
Length	2:40
Label	Hollywood
Songwriter(s)	Jane Wiedlin Terry Hall
Producer(s)	Charlie Midnight Spider
Hilary Duff singles chronology
"Little Voice" (2004) "Our Lips Are Sealed" (2004) "Fly" (2004)
A Cinderella Story singles chronology
"Our Lips Are Sealed" (2004) "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" (2008)

Sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff covered the song for the soundtrack of the 2004 film A Cinderella Story, in which Hilary starred. The cover, which was released on June 5, 2004, was produced by Charlie Midnight and Spider. The Duff sisters said in an interview that they had wanted to record together, and Hilary chose "Our Lips Are Sealed" because the "secretive" theme of the song relates to the film A Cinderella Story. As of July 27, 2014, the song had sold 161,000 copies in the United States. It was released in Australia on August 30, 2004. It was released on June 3 and received medium airplay on MuchMusic in Canada and MTV in the U.S. Though the video was popular on the MTV video chart show Total Request Live, the single failed to chart on the US Hot 100. In Australia it reached number eight.

The single's music video was directed by Chris Applebaum and filmed in Toronto, Canada, in May 2004. Similar to the video for the Go-Go's single, it depicts the Duff sisters driving around town in a car and goofing about, and is interspersed with footage from A Cinderella Story. A second version of the video, which had new scenes and is not interspersed with scenes from A Cinderella Story, was included on the Dignity deluxe edition DVD. The song was included on Duff's compilation album, Most Wanted (2005) and the Japanese and Australian editions of Hilary Duff's second compilation album Best of Hilary Duff.

Track listing

1. "Our Lips Are Sealed" – 2:40
2. "Our Lips Are Sealed" (music video) – 2:50
3. A Cinderella Story movie trailer – 1:44

Charts

Release history

References

1. Cateforis, Theo (2011). Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s. University of Michigan Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-472-03470-3.
2. See video "Totally Go-Go's" recorded live on December 4, 1981, at Palos Verdes High School
3. "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
4. Zaleski, Annie (October 30, 2021). "The Go-Go's Break Out Hits, 'Rock Star' Poses for Long Overdue Rock Hall Induction". Rolling Stone.
5. "Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go's: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
6. ^ Marks, Craig; Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York, NY: Dutton. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-525-95230-5.
7. I Want My MTV, 104.
8. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 111.
9. Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 by Joel Whitburn
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Image: RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
12. "Go Go's – Our Lips Are Sealed". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Go Go's – Our Lips Are Sealed". Singles Top 100.
14. "Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Report. 28 February 1983. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Imgur.
15. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1982". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
16. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
17. "Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
18. ^ Moss, Corey. "Hilary And Haylie Give The Go-Go's A Double-Duff Treatment". MTV News. May 20, 2004.
19. "Ask Billboard: How Has Enrique Iglesias' 'Bailando' Become Such A Big Hit?". Billboard. July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
20. "Hilary Duff & Haylie Duff – Our Lips Are Sealed". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
21. "Music: Billboard Picks" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. June 5, 2004. p. 32. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
22. "The ARIA Report: Issue 757" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-22.

External links

• "The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed (Official Music Video)" on YouTube
• "Our Lips Are Sealed" on YouTube

• 1981 songs
• 1981 debut singles
• 1983 singles
• 2004 singles
• The Go-Go's songs
• Fun Boy Three songs
• Haylie Duff songs
• Hilary Duff songs
• Hollywood Records singles
• I.R.S. Records singles
• Chrysalis Records singles
• Music videos directed by Chris Applebaum
• Song recordings produced by John Shanks
• Songs written by Jane Wiedlin
• Songs written by Terry Hall (singer)
• Vocal duets