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Are You Old Enough?

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"Are You Old Enough?"
Single by Dragon
from the album O Zambezi
ReleasedAugust 1978
GenreRock
Length4:08
LabelPortrait Records
Songwriter(s)Paul Hewson
Producer(s)Peter Dawkins
Dragon singles chronology
"Konkaroo"
(1977)
"Are You Old Enough?"
(1978)
"Still in Love with You"
(1978)

"Are You Old Enough?" is a song by New Zealand rock band Dragon, released in August 1978 while the band were still based in Australia.[1] It was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album O Zambezi (1978). The song peaked at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report, becoming the group's first number-one single.

Reception

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Reviewed at the time of release, South Australian music magazine Roadrunner said the song was, "Their best yet. This band continues to make superb sounding singles (this will be No 1 for sure) and continue to be the most sexist band in the country. This one, about fucking young women and going to gaol for it is their most offensive yet."[2]

David Nichols described the song as, "essentially a paean to underage sex, perhaps even pedophilia. A glowing, irresistible pop tune, sung delectably by Marc Hunter with uncredited backing vocal from Renée Geyer, it is a virtually flawless pop record, its subversive nature being an essential element of this status."[3]

"When we'd go on the road Paul Hewson would bring a small bag with a few clothes and a chess set. He wrote most of "Are you old enough" on a nylon string guitar out on the water in a dinghy off Magnetic Island with a couple of girls who he wasn't too sure about". (As told to Paul Schluter by Todd Hunter, 2005, Cranbrook)

Track listing

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  1. Are You Old Enough? (Paul Hewson) - 4:08
  2. Company (Jenny Brown, Todd Hunter) - 3:54

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1978/79) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[4] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[5] 6

Year-end charts

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Chart (1978) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[6][7] 14

Personnel

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  • Bass guitar, vocals – Todd Hunter
  • Drums – Kerry Jacobson
  • Keyboards, vocals – Paul Hewson
  • Lead guitar, vocals – Robert Taylor
  • Lead vocals – Marc Hunter
  • Violin [Vitar] – Richard Lee

References

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  1. ^ "Dragon | NZ Music Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  2. ^ Mark Burford (September 1978). "Singles". Roadrunner. p. 18.
  3. ^ David Nichols (2016). Dig: Australian Rock and Pop Music, 1960-85. Verse Chorus Press. p. 364. ISBN 9781891241611.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 94. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Dragon – Are You Old Enough?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 430. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.