Gossip – Heavy Cross
2009 · Directed by Price James
399K Likes
Best comments
1.“It's one of those songs everybody knows, but nobody knows what it's called...”
More comments
- 2.“How many years I've been looking for this... thinking it was Adele.”
- 3.“OH MY GOD! HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, I FINALLY FOUND THIS SONG!”
The story
Gossip played Heavy Cross live for about two years before they ever recorded it. An early version shook the John Peel stage at Glastonbury in 2007, and in early 2009 Beth Ditto, Brace Paine and Hannah Blilie finally cut it with Rick Rubin at Shangri La Studios in Malibu. It became the first single from Music for Men. Listen to the intro and try not to think of Knight Rider. Wikipedia noticed too.
Price James directed the video for Black Dog Films, and it goes full glam. Promonews called it a glittering, mystical-tribal thing coming out of the darkness, with Ditto in quasi-Mayan styling and heavy bling, including a pinkie ring they nicknamed the Golden Doughnut. Stereogum pointed out the modern dancers borrowed from Basement Jaxx. The Advocate ranked it the second-best video of 2009 and said it looked straight out of a V magazine fashion spread.
Then Germany fell for it and never got up. Heavy Cross peaked at number two there and just stayed: 97 weeks on the singles chart, 27 of them in the top ten, without ever reaching number one. It went three times gold, finished 33rd for the whole 2000s decade, and was called the most successful internationally produced single of all time in Germany as of 2010. A Dior J'Adore ad brought it back again in 2011. Never number one. Never gone either.
