Tower of Strength

Album: Children (1988)
Charted: 12
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A band composition, "Tower of Strength" was released as the second single from The Mission's Children album, which was produced by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. In our 2013 interview with frontman Wayne Hussey, he proclaimed this his favorite Mission song. "I think it's a celebration of our relationship with our audience," he said. "It's big. It's pompous. It's grandiose. It's melodramatic. It's everything the band were at the time and it's a song, even now when we play it live, there's still a great communal to and fro between us and the audience. So it has that about it. I still get a kick out of performing it."
  • In August 2013, Gary Numan hosted a one-hour music program on BBC Radio 6. Of this track he said that as a songwriter it is a song that he wished he'd written because of the way it is constructed. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • Some UK NHS workers adopted the song as an anthem during the coronavirus pandemic. Reacting to this, Wayne Hussey enlisted various musicians to cover the song for a project dubbed "ReMission International." Among the artists joining Hussey on the track, retitled "TOS2020," are Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, The Cure's Lol Tolhurst, The Smiths' Andy Rourke, Midge Ure, Budgie of Siouxsie and The Banshees, and Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins.

    Also involved is Gary Numan, which is interesting in the light of the previous Songfact.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."