When John Oates revisited Electric Lady Studios — the legendary recording mecca in Greenwich Village, Manhattan where Hall & Oates made many of their ‘80s classics — he got back in touch with one particular hit.
That would be “Maneater,” the longest-running of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame duo’s six No. 1 singles.
Released in October 1982 as the first single from Hall & Oates’ double-platinum “H2O” album, the song was inspired by a woman who Oates encountered back in those wild Village days — decades before his and Daryl Hall’s shocking band split last fall.
“A couple streets over, there was a restaurant called Marylou’s, and it was a late-night hang,” Oates, 76, exclusively told The Post outside of Electric Lady Studios, where the twosome recorded 1981’s “Private Eyes” and 1984’s “Big Bam Boom” in addition to 1982’s “H2O.”
“And I was in there one night with a group of friends sitting at a table, and this gal came in, and she was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous,” he recalled.
“And her great beauty was in stark contrast to her filthy vocabulary. And she opened her mouth, told the dirtiest joke I’d ever heard, and something hit me and I said, ‘Man, she would chew you up and spit you out.’”
“And then as I walked home, which was only a couple blocks away, I started thinking about that: ‘Oh, she’s a maneater. Uh-oh, OK, I got this,’” he went on. “And then I started working on the thing, and I had a chorus, which I did as a reggae song initially. And then Daryl and I reworked it … to something that sounded like a hit.”
But “Maneater” was also a metaphor for Manhattan in the ‘’80s.
“If you live in New York City, you know this is the kind of place that will chew you up and spit you out,” said Oates. “There’s a certain edge here.”
And despite his split with Hall, 77 — spurred after his partner got a restraining order to block Oates from selling his share in the duo’s Whole Oats Enterprises to music publishing company Primary Wave — he is still singing his rock-and-soulmate’s praises.
“Daryl’s voice was the one that was on all the hits … And you know, listen, Daryl’s one of the greatest singers of all time,” said Oates.
“And so when you’re with one of the greatest singers of all time, of course you’re not going to be the frontman. And it’s actually OK, because I don’t think I really felt comfortable doing that anyway.”
Oates has now gone solo, and released his new album “Reunion” this month.
“The irony behind the title has nothing to do with what was going on with Daryl and I in terms of not working together,” Oates explained. “It really was inspired by my 100-year-old dad [Al]. We thought we were going to lose him a few months ago … and he told me he was ready to move on. And he said he was going to reunite with Mom, who had passed away years before. And when he said that, it really struck home to me because, you know, I’m getting older and … the horizon’s a little closer now.”
He added: “I’m going back to my earliest musical DNA. I’m remembering and kind of relishing the fact that I was a guy who played a certain style of music before I met Daryl Hall.”
For more, watch Oates’ exclusive interview with the Post above.
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