We’ll leave the TV and the radio behind is one of the more distinct and memorable lines in Joe Jackson’s 1982 hit single Steppin’ Out.
Steppin’ Out: Joe Jackson’s biggest hit but not a breakthrough
Joe Jackson broke onto the scene in 1979 with a top 20 hit, “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” But that wasn’t his biggest hit.
Steppin’ Out was a top 10 hit in both the United States and the UK. It featured a very 1980s synthesizer/drum machine groove with a more timeless piano layered over the top of it. Jackson was and is an accomplished piano player, and the song is really about taking an evening drive in New York City. The juxtaposition of different musical styles captures the cosmopolitan feel of New York City at night. And the lyrics are just ambiguous enough to give the vibe of a night out in the big city while leaving room for your own interpretation.
Somewhat fittingly, my most vivid memory of hearing the song was in St. Louis, and my parents were going to see a concert in Westport Plaza. From then on, I associated the song with being in the big city at night even though I didn’t really know what the song was about. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard the song. But I didn’t know anything about it. I asked my parents who sang it, and they didn’t know.
And maybe it’s just the stations that I listened to, but I don’t remember hearing the song again that decade after about 1983. I’m not even certain I heard it again during the 20th century.
Rediscovering Steppin’ Out, nearly two decades later
When I finally heard it again, it was the in-store muzak in some now-defunct discount store about a mile from where I live. How the mighty had fallen.
I didn’t recognize the song right away. But as soon as the piano kicked in, it was 1982 again. By the time I got to my car, the only lyric from the song I could remember were “We’ll leave the TV and the radio behind.”
When I got home, the Internet answered my question. I found a discussion forum where someone had the very same question as me. And the answer to who was leaving the TV and the radio behind in his lyrics? Joe Jackson. And the song title: Steppin’ Out.
He does say the words “Steppin’ Out” in the lyrics a lot. But hearing an Englishman dropping the g on “stepping” confused my American ears. I’m more used to hearing the English drop the “g” on “thing” to make it sound like “thin.”
Not just the TV and the radio: Leaving stardom behind in the 80s
Oddly enough, even though it was Joe Jackson’s biggest hit, it didn’t take long for everyone to forget it. The 80s retrospectives on CD, the ’80s weekends on alternative radio stations throughout the ensuing decades, and the countless retro nights at bars and nightclubs in the mid ’90s ignored Steppin’ Out. Instead they played earlier Joe Jackson songs like “Sunday Papers” and “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Maybe it’s just a better song for ambiance or listening on your own than for a party atmosphere.
Joe Jackson was a versatile musician and uncomfortable with the idea of being a pop star. Making a video for Steppin’ Out really bothered him. His reaction to getting popular, I remember reading at the time I rediscovered the song, was to get weird. So maybe that’s why the retrospectives tended to focus on some of his earlier songs instead of the song that could have been his breakout hit if he hadn’t decided to make things weird.
Maybe weird isn’t quite the right word. He could play any style he wanted. And he did, without caring if anyone was actually listening to that style at the time.
Even if everyone else forgot the song, Jackson’s take on the Englishman in New York theme is my favorite song of his. And it’s one of my favorite songs of the 1980s.
Later in the decade, Sting did his own take on the Englishman in New York theme, and even used that as his title. I don’t know or care if he took inspiration from Joe Jackson. I’m glad he explored the theme. New York is plenty big enough for more than one Englishman to write a song about it.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” is yet another Englishman’s view of NYC. In this case, Bernie Taupin’s. Of course, his musical partner Elton John sang it and came up with music.