"Slow Dancing" possesses a 4/4 dance beat with a heavy reliance on computer sounds, particularly the 8 bitFairlight CMI. Buckingham said in a 2018 interview with Stereogum that "Slow Dancing" explores the idea of striving for human connection through romantic aspirations.[3] Early in the song's development, Buckingham had the idea of concluding "Slow Dancing" with a classical-inspired 3/4 waltz, and this concept was ultimately kept in the final version of the song.[4]
Critical reception
Several months before "Slow Dancing" was released as a single, the Los Angeles Times earmarked the song as Go Insane's "best shot at the charts".[5]Rolling Stone commented that "Slow Dancing's "whipcrack backbeat kicks "Slow Dancing" out of the living room and onto the dance floor where it belongs."[6]
Music video
Similar to "Go Insane", the video for "Slow Dancing" was shot in England and the video's special effects were done by David Yardley.[7] Buckingham thought that the filming for "Slow Dancing" was more elaborate than music video for "Trouble", particularly in regards to the number of shots, rhythm of the editing, and the use of effects.[3] The video for "Slow Dancing" was released to MTV on November 17, 1984.[2] In 1985, "Slow Dancing" was nominated for three awards at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards: Most Experimental Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Editing in a Video, although it did not win any of these categories.[8]
