Velcro Fly

Album: Afterburner (1985)
Charted: 54 35
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Songfacts®:

  • In the blues tradition, this song seems to be about a dance called the "Velcro Fly," but it might have a more suggestive meaning, seeing as a Velcro fly would allow easy access to the lovemaking apparatus. Why Velcro? Billy Gibbons explained in a 1985 interview with Spin magazine: "I love Velcro, I think it's the greatest stuff. I think it was invented in 1936 by a Swiss doctor who was curious why the nettles were sticking to his pants after walking through a field. We were going to have Velcro guitars and invite objects, hopefully not radical objects, to land on them. Maybe that's not such a great idea."
  • Like Jello and Xerox, Velcro is a brand name that has been genericized. Songwriters usually shy away from putting product names in titles, as it could lead to legal issues, but there's no doubt that this song bumped up sales of the fasteners.
  • The sound of the Velcro in the song is real. Rather than using a synthesizer to mimic the sound, they just ripped some Velcro apart.
  • The video was choreographed by Paula Abdul, who made an enormous mark on pop culture as a singer, a judge on American Idol, and the choreographer behind the "African Anteater Dance" in the movie Can't Buy Me Love.

Comments: 4

  • Dan Gillespy from Courtenay BcA electronic sounding ZZ Top song.
  • Travler from West-by-godThis is actually a "Groovy Tune" !!!
  • Dane from Green Cove Springs Fla., FlThis song was mentioned in Stephen King's book,The Waste Lands:Dark Tower III.The characters keep hearin' God drums but turn out to be Frank Beard's drums.
  • Zabadak from London, EnglandAlthough, like most songs by this band, this one has a guitar solo, it is a bass guitar solo!
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