I’m Talking deliver killer new remixes of ‘Holy Word’

Australian band I’m Talking have delivered a stack of new remixes of their song Holy Word including one from Dr Packer.

The Perth raised DJ gives a extra disco sheen to the tune, and there’s new mixes from Filthy Lucre and YolaDisco too.

First released in 1985, Holy Word is the band’s last top-10 single and features co-lead vocalist Zan Abeyratne on lead vocals. Maybe because the song doesn’t feature singer Kate Ceberano on vocals it has not been remembered as much as other I’m Talking songs, but it’s definitely a’ lost classic’.

Back in the mid 1980’s I’m Talking had a huge success with singles including Trust Me, Lead the Way, Do You Wanna Be  and their cover of the Rose Royce song Love Don’t Live Here Anymore. Vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne also appeared on records by other Melbourne bands including The Models and Kids in the Kitchen.

Ceberano wasn’t available when the band was working on the demo of the track so they asked Abeyratne to record the lead vocal.

“It was awesome for me to get to sing that song,” Abeyratne said in an interview with the Herald Sun. “It was a special song for me. It came out and we got whisked off overseas so I didn’t get to fully experience it all.”

Ceberano has said that not getting to sing the lead vocals on the track will always be a ‘thorn in her side’.  In her autobiography I’m Taking: My Life, my Words, My Music Ceberano wrote about her frustration at the time.

“As soon as I heard it I knew it was going to be big.” Ceberano said in her 2014 book.

“Even today it galls me how many people come up to me and say Holy Word is their favourite I’m Talking song. Some of them think I sang it. Ironically, it is also one of my favourite I’m Talking songs and I wish I had!”

A young Magda Szubanski is apparently among the dancers appearing in the video which was filmed in Melbourne nightclub Chasers. 

The band’s success was short lived, they broke up just a few years later and the members all moved on to different projects, with Ceberano launching a very successful solo career.

In 2019 they reformed and supported Bryan Ferry on his Australian tour. The band also released a live album that was recorded in the 1980s. The band recently played a show for fans in Melbourne and haven’t ruled out making some new music in the future.

OIP Staff