Songfacts®:

• Edmunds returned to the American Top 40 for the first time since 1970 ("I Hear You Knocking") with this song about a man whose woman is losing interest in him. It was written and produced by Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra, who also produced the album's title track.
  
  Edmunds had produced his own material to this point, and decided to try something different by using an outside producer. His first choice was Phil Collins, but Collins didn't have the time. "Then I thought of Jeff Lynne, because he was Mr. Techno back then and he used to make great-sounding records," Edmunds said in his 2015 Songfacts interview. "Although now I listen to them and they sound a bit dated. I'm a bit puzzled why I was so enamored with Jeff, but he is very creative in the studio. He can go in with nothing and right on the spot make a record. I was taken with that."
• This being 1983, synthesizers were coming into vogue, especially in Edmunds' native UK. For Jeff Lynne, this was a natural progression, but for Edmunds, it was out of step with his sound - he specialized in rock guitar and simplified productions (he had recently produced the Stray Cats first album). So when "Slipping Away" emerged, featuring a prominent synth played by Lynne, many of Edmunds' fans were nonplussed.
  
  Edmunds did more work with Lynne on his next album, Riff Raff, but soon returned to his rock roots.
• The music video, featuring auto racing footage mixed with scenes of Edmunds performing the song, did well on MTV, giving Edmunds exposure to a young American audience. The video was directed by Peter Sinclair, who also did the Culture Club video for "Karma Chameleon."
  
  Edmunds left videos to the discretion of the record company and director. "I never had any interest in making videos to express the music, I was just going along with the trend," he told us.