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"Victoria" is a song by the New Zealand rock band The Exponents from the band's 1982 album Prayers Be Answered. Released in June 1982 as the band's first single, it reached Number 6 on the New Zealand singles chart. The song was selected by a panel of New Zealand songwriters to have been the #8 top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.

Background

"Victoria" was inspired by Jordan Luck's landlady in Christchurch, with the name Victoria used as a pseudonym (her real name was Vicky). She successfully ran an escort agency but lived with an abusive man: Luck questioned her relationship with the line "What do you see in him?".

"Victoria was 23 and earned the whole apartment block. She was a hard worker. And yes, she read Alvin Toffler. But we'd wake up in the morning and she'd be bruised because her boyfriend was beating her up."

— Jordan Luck, New Zealand Herald

The band moved to Auckland before the release of the song. After the single became a success, Luck visited "Victoria" in Christchurch and was happy to find that she not only loved the song but had also split up with her abusive boyfriend.

Music video

A video was funded by the New Zealand Broadcasting Association but, unusually for the time, included a story rather than just a studio performance. Shot in the band's hometown of Christchurch, it shows Luck as "Victoria"'s taxi driver and Al Park, a singer-songwriter sometimes credited as the father figure for the "Lyttelton Sound" and the first person to bring punk music to Christchurch. In 2019, Luck covered Park's "I Walked Away" for the covers collection Better Already - The Songs Of Al Park.

Alternative versions

The recording of "Victoria" on the Prayers Be Answered album differs from the original single. Another version was also included on the 1985 Amplifier album.

Charts

References

1. "Victoria: (Song)". Charts.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
2. Anderson, Vicki (27 May 2016). "Whatever happened to Victoria?". The Press. Christchurch. p. C5. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
3. "The National Anthems". New Zealand Herald. 2 November 2001. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
4. "Through the Eyes of Love". NZ on Screen. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
5. "Victoria". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
6. "Al Park". Music.Net.NZ.
   - "Al Park Releases 1979 Single/Video 'California'". NZ Music Commission. 18 March 2022.
7. Chris Cudby (27 May 2022). "Al Park Shares New Album 'Pony'". Under the Radar. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
8. "Jordan Luck Announces National Tour + Covers al Park's 'I Walked Away'". Under the Radar. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
9. "Dance Exponents – Victoria". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

External links

• Victoria Music Video (New Zealand On Screen)
• Victoria - the evolution of a great pop song, Radio New Zealand

• 1982 singles
• APRA Award winners
• The Exponents songs
• 1982 songs