The Riddle (Nik Kershaw song) - Wikipedia

"The Riddle" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was released in 1984 as the lead single from the album of the same name. TheRiddle(NikKershawsong) FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch "TheRiddle"Coverofthe12"singleSinglebyNikKershawfromthealbumTheRiddleReleased5November1984Recorded1984GenrePoprocknewwaveLength3:525:08(extendedversion)LabelMCASongwriter(s)NikKershawProducer(s)PeterCollinsNikKershawsingleschronology "HumanRacing"(1984) "TheRiddle"(1984) "WideBoy"(1985) "TheRiddle"isasongbytheEnglishsinger-songwriterNikKershaw.Itwasreleasedin1984astheleadsinglefromthealbumofthesamename.Kershawdescribedthelyricalcontentasbeingnondescripttofillasa"guidevocal"fortheproduction.ItreachednumberthreeontheUKSinglesChartandpeakedwithinthetop10incountrieslikeIreland,Norway,Sweden,AustraliaandNewZealand.AnaccompanyingmusicvideowasmadeforthesongandfeaturesreferencestoLewisCarroll'sbookAliceinWonderland.Thesongwascoveredbymanyartists,includingbyGigiD'Agostino(1999)andJackHolidayandMikeCandys(2012). Contents 1Lyrics 2Musicvideo 3Tracklisting 4Credits 5Chartperformance 5.1Weeklycharts 5.2Year-endcharts 6GigiD'Agostinoversion 6.1Musicvideo 6.2Chartperformance 6.2.1Weeklycharts 6.2.2Year-endcharts 6.3Certifications 7JackHoliday&MikeCandysversion 7.1Chartperformance 8Othercoverversions 9Notes 10References Lyrics[edit] The"riddling"lyricscausedspeculationamonglistenersastotheirmeaning;Kershawstatesthatthereisinfactnointendedmeaningatall,thewordssimplybeinga"guidevocal"throwntogethertofitthemusic.Kershawhasstated:"Inshort,'TheRiddle'isnonsense,rubbish,bollocks,theconfusedramblingsofan80spopstar."[1] Musicvideo[edit] Themusicvideoto"TheRiddle"depictsKershawwalkingthroughahouseshapedlikeaquestionmark,makinghiswaythroughcertainobstaclesandlookingthroughdrawerswhilesinging.ThevideodepictsmanyreferencestoLewisCarroll'sbookAliceinWonderlandwithanappearanceofayounggirlexitingtheroomthroughasmalldoor,twoportlygentlemenwhoresembleTweedledumandTweedledeeandanobservationmadebyKershawtoThroughtheLookingGlass. AtthebeginningofthemusicvideoKershawisseentryingtogetthroughadoorwithascrewdriver.ThevideoendswiththecameramovingupawayfromKershawtorevealthatthequestionmarkislyinginanalleyway,atwhichpointamaninagreencostumeseenearlierinthevideocomesandpicksitup.ThegreenmanistheRiddler,avillainfromtheBatmancomics. Twoversionsofthevideoexist,withminordifferences.[citationneeded] Tracklisting[edit] 7"Single(WEANIK6)[2] A"TheRiddle"-3:52 B"Progress"(Live)-3:02 12"Single(WEANIKT6)[3] A"TheRiddle"(ExtendedRiddle)-5:08 B"Progress"(Live)-3:02 CassetteSingle(WEANIKC6)[4] A1"TheRiddle"-3:52 A2"Interview" A3"Progress"(Live)-3:02 B1"IWon'tLettheSunGoDownonMe"(ExtendedMix) B2"Wouldn'tItBeGood"(ExtendedMix) Credits[edit] "TheRiddle"[2] ProducedbyPeterCollins "Progress" RecordedLiveatHammersmithOdeon. MixedbySimonBoswell "TheRiddle(ExtendedRiddle)" ProducedbyPeterCollins Theextendedmixisnamed"SpecialExtendedMix"onthecover&"ExtendedRiddle"onthelabel. Chartperformance[edit] Weeklycharts[edit] Chart(1984–1985) Peakposition Australia(KentMusicReport)[5] 6 Belgium(Ultratop50Flanders)[6] 8 CanadaTopSingles(RPM)[7] 49 France(SNEP)[8] 18 Ireland(IRMA)[9] 3 Netherlands(DutchTop40)[10] 19 Netherlands(SingleTop100)[11] 19 NewZealand(RecordedMusicNZ)[12] 6 Norway(VG-lista)[13] 5 Poland(LP3)[14] 4 Sweden(Sverigetopplistan)[15] 5 Switzerland(SchweizerHitparade)[16] 15 UKSingles(OCC)[17] 3 WestGermany(OfficialGermanCharts)[18] 8 Year-endcharts[edit] Chart(1985) Position Australia(KentMusicReport)[19] 85 WestGermany(OfficialGermanCharts)[20] 72 GigiD'Agostinoversion[edit] "TheRiddle2000"SinglebyGigiD'AgostinofromthealbumL'AmourToujoursB-side"Remix"ReleasedDecember1999Recorded1999GenreItalodanceLength4:45,3:42LabelZYX,EMISongwriter(s)NikKershawProducer(s)GigiD'AgostinoGigiD'Agostinosingleschronology "AnotherWay"(1999) "TheRiddle2000"(1999) "LaPassion"(2000) "TheRiddle"wascoveredasadancesongbyItalianDJGigiD'AgostinowithuncreditedvocalsbyBritishsingerAdamAustin.ThisversionwasreleasedonD'Agostino'salbum,L'AmourToujours.ThesamelyricsareusedasinKershaw'ssong,buttheorderischangedandthetempoisfaster. Musicvideo[edit] Themusicvideo,whichwasmadebyAndreasHykade,featuresLaLineastyledanimationlikethe"BlaBlaBla"musicvideo(bothofwhichfeaturethesamehumanoidcharacter),takingplaceentirelywithwhitelinesonalightgreenbackgroundandfeaturestheaforementionedcharacterfightingadragononamountainousterrain.Thelengthofthevideois3:25[21]butthetrackonL'AmourToujourslasts4:45. Chartperformance[edit] Weeklycharts[edit] Chart(2000–2002) Peakposition Austria(Ö3AustriaTop40)[22] 14 Belgium(Ultratop50Flanders)[23] 4 Belgium(UltratipWallonia)[24] 11 Canada(NielsenSoundScan)[25] 8 CanadaDance/Urban(RPM)[26] 12[a] France(SNEP)[27] 7 Germany(OfficialGermanCharts)[28] 4 Hungary(Mahasz)[29] 5 Italy(FIMI)[30] 21 Netherlands(DutchTop40)[31] 4 Netherlands(SingleTop100)[32] 4 Switzerland(SchweizerHitparade)[33] 8 Year-endcharts[edit] Chart(2000) Position Austria(Ö3AustriaTop40)[34] 26 Germany(OfficialGermanCharts)[35] 23 Switzerland(SchweizerHitparade)[36] 67 Chart(2002) Position Belgium(UltratopFlanders)[37] 47 Netherlands(DutchTop40)[38] 61 Netherlands(SingleTop100)[39] 52 Certifications[edit] Region Certification Certifiedunits/sales Germany(BVMI)[40] Gold 250,000^ ^Shipmentsfiguresbasedoncertificationalone. JackHoliday&MikeCandysversion[edit] "TheRiddleAnthem"SinglebyJackHolidayandMikeCandysReleased19November2012GenreElectronicmusicLength3:13Songwriter(s)NikKershawProducer(s)MikeCandysJackHolidayJackHolidayandMikeCandyssingleschronology "Sunshine(FlySoHigh)"(2012) "TheRiddleAnthem"(2012) "BringBacktheLove"(2013) "TheRiddle"wascoveredasadancesongbySwissDJsMikeCandysandJackHoliday.ItwastitledTheRiddleAnthemandwasreleasedinNovember2012. Chartperformance[edit] Chart(2012–2013) Peakposition Austria(Ö3AustriaTop40)[41] 29 Belgium(UltratipWallonia)[42] 31 France(SNEP)[43] 43 Germany(OfficialGermanCharts)[44] 44 Switzerland(SchweizerHitparade)[45] 26 Othercoverversions[edit] Thissectionneedsadditionalcitationsforverification.Pleasehelpimprovethisarticlebyaddingcitationstoreliablesources.Unsourcedmaterialmaybechallengedandremoved.Findsources: "TheRiddle" NikKershawsong – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June2020)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) In1999Lightforcereleasedaninstrumentaldancecoverofthesongtitled"TakeYourTime(The-Riddle'99)". In2009,theItaliangroupPrezioso&Marvin(actuallybrothersDJGiorgioPreziosoandAndreaPreziosoandvocalistAlessandroMoschiniknownasMarvin)releaseditasasinglefromasimilarlytitledTheRiddleEP.ThesingleonBangRecordalsofeaturedvocalsbyMarvin(realnameAlessandroMoschini)andwascreditedasPrezioso&Marvin.Anofficialmusicvideowasalsoreleased.[46] In2013,theFrenchharpistCécileCorbelincludedthesongonherfourthstudioalbum,SongBookvol.4–RosesandgavethemelodyaCelticcoloration. Notes[edit] ^"TheRiddle"reachednumber12whenRPMceasedpublicationinNovember2000. References[edit] ^Kershaw,Nik."TheOfficialNikKershawFAQfile".TheOfficialNikKershawWebsite.Archivedfromtheoriginalon7February2003.Retrieved7April2017. ^abDiscogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddle7".sfnerror:notarget:CITEREFDiscogs:_Nik_Kershaw_-_The_Riddle_7"(help) ^Discogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddle12".sfnerror:notarget:CITEREFDiscogs:_Nik_Kershaw_-_The_Riddle_12"(help) ^Discogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddleCassetteSingle.sfnerror:notarget:CITEREFDiscogs:_Nik_Kershaw_-_The_Riddle_Cassette_Single(help) ^Kent,David(1993).AustralianChartBook1970–1992(illustrated ed.).StIves,N.S.W.:AustralianChartBook.p. 165.ISBN 0-646-11917-6.N.B.TheKentReportchartwaslicensedbyARIAfrommid-1983until12June1988. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle"(inDutch).Ultratop50. ^"Image :RPMWeekly".17July2013. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle"(inFrench).Lesclassementsingle. ^"TheIrishCharts–SearchResults–TheRiddle".IrishSinglesChart.Retrieved30September2020. ^"NederlandseTop40–week1,1985"(inDutch).DutchTop40. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle"(inDutch).SingleTop100. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle".Top40Singles. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle".VG-lista. ^"Notowanienr140"(inPolish).22December1984.Retrieved17January2021. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle".SinglesTop100. ^"NikKershaw–TheRiddle".SwissSinglesChart. ^"OfficialSinglesChartTop100".OfficialChartsCompany. ^"Offiziellecharts.de–NikKershaw–TheRiddle".GfKEntertainmentcharts.Retrieved28February2019. ^"KentMusicReportNo599–30December1985>NationalTop100Singlesfor1985".KentMusicReport.Retrieved30September2020–viaImgur.com. ^"Top100Single-Jahrescharts".GfKEntertainment(inGerman).offiziellecharts.de.Retrieved28July2021. ^"GigiD'Agostino:TheRiddle-YouTube".YouTube.Archivedfromtheoriginalon12December2021.Retrieved15February2019. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inGerman).Ö3AustriaTop40. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inDutch).Ultratop50. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inFrench).Ultratip. ^"GigiD'Agostino".Billboard.Retrieved6July2020. ^"TopRPMDance/Urban:Issue7096."RPM.LibraryandArchivesCanada.Retrieved16April2020. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inFrench).Lesclassementsingle. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inGerman).GfKEntertainmentcharts.Retrieved28February2019. ^"Music&Media:Hungary"(PDF).Music&Media.Retrieved1May2018. ^"HitParadeItalia-IndiceperInterprete:D". ^"NederlandseTop40–GigiD'Agostino"(inDutch).DutchTop40. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle"(inDutch).SingleTop100. ^"GigiD'Agostino–TheRiddle".SwissSinglesChart. ^"JahreshitparadeSingles2000".austriancharts.at.Retrieved24January2020. ^"Top100Single-Jahrescharts".GfKEntertainment(inGerman).offiziellecharts.de.Retrieved24January2020. ^"Swissyear-endchart".swisscharts.com.2000.Retrieved22November2017. ^"Jaaroverzichten2002".Ultratop.Retrieved24January2020. ^"Top100-Jaaroverzichtvan2002".DutchTop40.Retrieved24January2020. ^"Jaaroverzichten–Single2002"(inDutch).MegaCharts.Retrieved24January2020. ^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank(GigiD'Agostino; 'TheRiddle')"(inGerman).BundesverbandMusikindustrie. ^"JackHoliday&MikeCandys–TheRiddleAnthem"(inGerman).Ö3AustriaTop40. ^"JackHoliday&MikeCandys–TheRiddleAnthem"(inFrench).Ultratip. ^"JackHoliday&MikeCandys–TheRiddleAnthem"(inFrench).Lesclassementsingle. ^"JackHoliday&MikeCandys–TheRiddleAnthem"(inGerman).GfKEntertainmentcharts.Retrieved28February2019. ^"JackHoliday&MikeCandys–TheRiddleAnthem".SwissSinglesChart. ^YouTube:Prezioso&Marvin-TheRiddle(THEOfficialVideo) "Discogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddle7".www.discogs.com. "Discogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddle12".www.discogs.com. "Discogs:NikKershaw-TheRiddleCassetteSingle".www.discogs.com. vteNikKershawStudioalbums HumanRacing TheRiddle RadioMusicola TheWorks 15Minutes ToBeFrank You'veGottoLaugh Ei8ht Compilationsandlivealbums TheBestofNikKershaw TheEssential ThenAndNow NoFrills Singles "IWon'tLettheSunGoDownonMe" "Wouldn'tItBeGood" "DancingGirls" "HumanRacing" "TheRiddle" "WideBoy" "DonQuixote" "WhenaHeartBeats" "NobodyKnows" "RadioMusicola" "OneStepAhead" "Elisabeth'sEyes" "SomebodyLovesYou" Relatedarticles Discography SheriKershaw vteGigiD'AgostinoStudioalbums GigiD'Agostino L'AmourToujours L'AmourToujoursII LentoViolento...ealtrestorie LaMusicaChePesta SuonoLibero EPs GinLemon Tanzen TecnoFesVol.2 Underconstruction1:Silence Compilationalbums AJourneyintoSpace LeVoyageEstate IlGrandeViaggioDiGigiD'AgostinoVol.1 IlprogramminodiGigiD'agostino Laboratorio1 DiscoTanz SomeExperiments Singles "BlaBlaBla" "AnotherWay" "TheRiddle" "LaPassion" "Super(1,2,3)" "L'amourtoujours" "InMyMind" Authoritycontrol MusicBrainzreleasegroup 2 MusicBrainzwork Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Riddle_(Nik_Kershaw_song)&oldid=1072909990" Categories:1984songs1984singlesNikKershawsongsSongswrittenbyNikKershawMCARecordssinglesGigiD'Agostinosongs1999singlesZYXMusicsinglesSongrecordingsproducedbyPeterCollins(recordproducer)Hiddencategories:HarvandSfnno-targeterrorsCS1Polish-languagesources(pl)CS1German-languagesources(de)CS1Dutch-languagesources(nl)UseBritishEnglishfromSeptember2019UsedmydatesfromSeptember2019ArticleswithhAudiomicroformatsAllarticleswithunsourcedstatementsArticleswithunsourcedstatementsfromNovember2017SinglechartusagesforFlandersSinglechartusagesforFranceSinglechartusagesforIreland2SinglechartcalledwithoutartistSinglechartusagesforDutch40SinglechartcalledwithoutsongSinglechartusagesforDutch100SinglechartusagesforNewZealandSinglechartusagesforNorwaySinglechartusagesforSwedenSinglechartusagesforSwitzerlandSinglechartusagesforUKSinglechartusagesforWestGermanySinglechartusagesforAustriaSinglechartusagesforWalloniaTipSinglechartusagesforCanadadanceSinglechartusagesforGermanyCertificationTableEntryusagesforGermanyPagesusingcertificationTableEntrywithshipmentsfiguresPagesusingcertificationTableEntrywithshipmentsfootnoteSinglechartusagesforSwissArticlesneedingadditionalreferencesfromJune2020AllarticlesneedingadditionalreferencesArticleswithMusicBrainzreleasegroupidentifiersArticleswithMusicBrainzworkidentifiersArticleswithmultipleidentifiers Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English expanded collapsed Views ReadEditViewhistory More expanded collapsed Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages DeutschEspañolFrançaisHrvatskiItalianoNederlandsPolskiSlovenčina Editlinks