Fact #156369
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Martin Page (co-writer) : I wrote it for my band (Q-feel). I wrote it for me. I write my best songs when I’m writing without thinking about the artist, but thinking about what I would want to perform, what I would feel proud of.
Bernie (Taupin, co-writer) and I feel it’s every city. We didn’t write it about San Francisco, California, USA. In the middle of the demo, when the radio DJ comes in, I had a police call that I picked up off the radio which I used. Our demo was a little darker … it was a Bladerunner situation where you’re in a city where rock’n’roll is being stopped by a corporation.
There’d been a lot of interest in that song. I believe The Motels half cut it and decided it wasn’t quite right for them.
Dennis Lambert (co-writer) : We all agreed we loved that tune. We said, ‘This song just lacks the punch of having a real chorus.’ We felt, if we could find that special chorus or write it, it would be terrific.
Peter (Wolf) and I sat down and restructured it and wrote a chorus to the tune that I think made it a very viable, very commercial hit-orientated tune.
Martin Page : Starship brightened it up with the radio programmer talking about sunny days in San Francisco, California, USA.
Grace Slick (vocalist, Starship) : None of us had ever met Bernie or Martin, but it sure sounded like they’d written the song with us in mind. We laughed when we first heard it, because so many of the lines hit home.
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Bernie (Taupin, co-writer) and I feel it’s every city. We didn’t write it about San Francisco, California, USA. In the middle of the demo, when the radio DJ comes in, I had a police call that I picked up off the radio which I used. Our demo was a little darker … it was a Bladerunner situation where you’re in a city where rock’n’roll is being stopped by a corporation.
There’d been a lot of interest in that song. I believe The Motels half cut it and decided it wasn’t quite right for them.
Dennis Lambert (co-writer) : We all agreed we loved that tune. We said, ‘This song just lacks the punch of having a real chorus.’ We felt, if we could find that special chorus or write it, it would be terrific.
Peter (Wolf) and I sat down and restructured it and wrote a chorus to the tune that I think made it a very viable, very commercial hit-orientated tune.
Martin Page : Starship brightened it up with the radio programmer talking about sunny days in San Francisco, California, USA.
Grace Slick (vocalist, Starship) : None of us had ever met Bernie or Martin, but it sure sounded like they’d written the song with us in mind. We laughed when we first heard it, because so many of the lines hit home.