Songfacts®:

• The lyrics were inspired by US president Ronald Reagan's belief that Christ would return after a nuclear war. The "two tribes" are America and the Soviet Union, who were engaged in the Cold War, putting the entire world under threat of annihilation.
• The song features British actor Patrick Allen reading extracts from a government civil defense leaflet. Allen is well known in Britain for his distinguished voice, which has narrated many television adverts and films for over 30 years.
• This was written by the band two years previous to release and was featured on a BBC Radio 1 John Peel session in October 1982.
• In the extended version, the announcer states, "You may pronounce us guilty a thousand times over, but the goddess of the eternal court of history will smile and tear to tatters the verdict of this court - for she acquits us." When Adolf Hitler was tried for his failed putsch in 1924, he said these words (rather a very close paraphrase of it) in his concluding speech: "Pronounce us guilty a thousand times over: the goddess of the eternal court of history will smile and tear to pieces the State Prosecutor's submission and the court's verdict for she acquits us." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Mark - Hamilton, Canada
• Former 10cc band members Lol Creme and Kevin Godley produced a memorable video featuring a no-holds-barred, hand-to-hand fight between Reagan and then Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko. Godley recalled to Q magazine: "It was a very intense shoot. We were trying to get the audience to behave in a manner that we wanted to by chanting, 'Kill! Kill! Kill!' A few of them seriously got into the spirit of it by jumping in the ring and beating each other up!"
• Trevor Horn produced this track. He spent weeks juggling with the sound and remixing it to perfection. He used a Synclavier synthesizer and Linn drum machine on the track.
• In the UK for two weeks, this was #1 while Frankie Goes To Hollywood's song "Relax" was #2. They became only the third act to achieve this feat, after The Beatles and John Lennon, who like Frankie Goes To Hollywood, came from Liverpool. Madonna broke the Liverpool streak the next year.
• In the UK, this sold close to 2 million copies, making it one of the biggest-selling singles of the '80s. This was partly due to Horn's tendency to put out as many as seven different mixes of the singles.
• This song had little impact in America, but that wasn't for lack of trying. "Relax" fared poorly when it was issued in the States, topping out at #67 in May 1984. Frankie Goes To Hollywood came to America in October to support the "Two Tribes" release, and performed it when they were musical guests on Saturday Night Live on November 10. They toured America through December, but "Two Tribes" went no higher than #43. When "Relax" was re-released in 1985, it did better, going to #10.