Are You Old Enough?
| "Are You Old Enough?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Dragon | ||||
| from the album O Zambezi | ||||
| Released | August 1978 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:08 | |||
| Label | Portrait Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Hewson | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Dawkins | |||
| Dragon singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Are You Old Enough?" is a song by New Zealand rock band Dragon, released in August 1978 while the band were still based in Australia.[1] It was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album O Zambezi (1978). The song peaked at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report, becoming the group's first number-one single.
Reception
[edit]Reviewed at the time of release, South Australian music magazine Roadrunner said the song was, "Their best yet. This band continues to make superb sounding singles (this will be No 1 for sure) and continue to be the most sexist band in the country. This one, about fucking young women and going to gaol for it is their most offensive yet."[2]
David Nichols described the song as, "essentially a paean to underage sex, perhaps even pedophilia. A glowing, irresistible pop tune, sung delectably by Marc Hunter with uncredited backing vocal from Renée Geyer, it is a virtually flawless pop record, its subversive nature being an essential element of this status."[3]
"When we'd go on the road Paul Hewson would bring a small bag with a few clothes and a chess set. He wrote most of "Are you old enough" on a nylon string guitar out on the water in a dinghy off Magnetic Island with a couple of girls who he wasn't too sure about". (As told to Paul Schluter by Todd Hunter, 2005, Cranbrook)
Track listing
[edit]- Are You Old Enough? (Paul Hewson) - 4:08
- Company (Jenny Brown, Todd Hunter) - 3:54
Charts
[edit]Weekly charts
[edit]| Chart (1978/79) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report[4] | 1 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[5] | 6 |
Year-end charts
[edit]| Chart (1978) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report[6][7] | 14 |
Personnel
[edit]- Bass guitar, vocals – Todd Hunter
- Drums – Kerry Jacobson
- Keyboards, vocals – Paul Hewson
- Lead guitar, vocals – Robert Taylor
- Lead vocals – Marc Hunter
- Violin [Vitar] – Richard Lee
References
[edit]- ^ "Dragon | NZ Music Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ Mark Burford (September 1978). "Singles". Roadrunner. p. 18.
- ^ David Nichols (2016). Dig: Australian Rock and Pop Music, 1960-85. Verse Chorus Press. p. 364. ISBN 9781891241611.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 94. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Dragon – Are You Old Enough?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 430. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
