Joe Jackson’s coming out of the closet as a Cole Porterphile kicks off with this emotionally charged number.
Kronomyth 5.01: Quein es mas macho?
The song Real Men was a brave choice for the advance single to Joe Jackson’s new album, Night and Day. Never one to shy away from bashing romantic stereotypes, “Real Men” was the first song from Jackson to tackle the topic of homosexuality head on. (Okay, probably not the best of all possible phrasings.) It feels very personal (Jackson has since admitted to being bisexual), although you could be forgiven for not paying attention to the lyrics since the music is so pretty.
The B side is Chinatown, which is probably my least favorite song on Night and Day. Both songs appear to be the same as the elpee versions; the longer track time on “Chinatown” may have something to do with the intro and fade, since “Chinatown” didn’t have a clean break on the elpee. Of interest, an EP was released in Europe featuring Spanish-language versions of “Cancer,” “Target” and “Another World.”
Original 7-inch single version
A1. Real Men (Joe Jackson) (4:03)
B1. Chinatown (Joe Jackson) (4:26)
Original EP version
A1. Real Men (4:05)
A2. El Cancer (6:06)
A3. El Blanco (3:52)
A4. Un Otro Mundo (4:00)
All songs written by Joe Jackson.
The Pictures
Photo by Gary Green.
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single and 7-inch picture disc single in June 1982 in the UK (A&M, AMS-8231) and Australia (A&M, K-8771) with picture sleeve. Also released as EP in 1982 in the Netherlands (A&M, AMS 12-9224).
