this song has a profound effect on me. it's hard to describe. i've listened to all of the big post punk bands from this era, but this song is the purest and most poetic expression of that aesthetic i've ever encountered. it has a mystical, hypnotic quality. it's sort of melancholy but also energetic and powerful. it evokes a very nuanced emotional state. what's interesting is that so many random people think it is one of the best songs ever written. even 35 years later people come here and say they just discovered this band and second skin is one of the greatest songs they've heard in their lives. imagine having people say that about your art decades later, when in your own era you were relatively obscure outside of manchester. i hope they know how powerful their music is, and how long it has endured.

This band is the best kept secret of the eighties

One of the greatest songs of all time. Literally.

Can listen to this on an endless loop forever; hits hard after my wife’s passing. Describes everything that has transpired in me since…

My word! I was actually at this gig. 'Second Skin' is perhaps my favourite song ever. It's upbeat but sad, hypnotic and immersive. Just wonderful!

Probly one of the greatest songs ever written

Criminally underrated band. Why they're never mentioned in the same breath as the other great Manc bands is beyond me.

Postpunk's hidden gem... The Chameleons! Does the fact that they never really got discovered make their name ironic?

I was at this gig. And yes, I also think it's one of the greatest songs ever. Never get bored of this one.

I was there and remember it all so clearly. Literally the stuff dreams are made of. That's me at 3.13 in on the shoulders of giants (i.e. my mate Stu. thanks for the memories Mark and Co. Beautiful song, happy times

I dedicate this melody to you, you know who you are, RIP beautiful boy x

This is immense.

Saw them on the same stage as Echo and the Bunnymen, The Sisters of Mercy, Spear of Destiny and The Redskins in York in 1984. The Chameleons were the best band of the day.

Still listening 35 years later ! Amazing !

This song makes me want to cry. So beautiful.

I want this played at my funeral...

Script of the bridge should be universally heralded as one of the top 50 albums ever made! A staggering band...

Script of the bridge 1983 An album EVERYONE should hear before they die. 12 songs of melancholic cold post - punk from the eighties. From the punk/rock angry blast of melodic noise that is Don't Fall upto the haunting and sad melancholic slow gothic tone of View from a hill. The entire lp is art, a masterpiece and easily their best lp and one of the best albums EVER made. Chris was here in the summer of 2023

When I found this on VHS many many years ago, it was like finding the Holy Grail.

When life gets too hard or something really sad happens , nothing reliefs my soul like listening to this band

What a great drummer he was...

I was there and in Islington 2023. Times change, life moves on but the connection is always there and will be until the end of my days. Sublime.

One the most under rated bands of all time

What a brilliant live version of this incredible song!

The Chameleons were THE best band to come out of Manchester- as much as I love Joy Division, The Smiths, Stone Roses…….if I had a choice in the matter, I'd see Chameleons over any of them. I don't think they wrote a bad song in their entire career.

John's drumming is special for me, huge influence

Still as fresh today as it was back in the day.

1985 or 2015, this band is wonderful.

There is a real depth and gravitas to this music. This really does make you feel like you are floating on air

I met my wife through MySpace due to a mutual love for The Chameleons - she's Mexican and I couldn't believe she knew who they were, as nobody in Northern Ireland did!

This is one of the best songs I've heard in my life. I don't know why but it makes me want to cry each time I hear it. Long life to The Chameleons!

I have the vinyl sleeve of Script of the bridge (1983) signed by two founders, Mark Burgess and Reginald Smithies. Incredible song influenced by The Shadows and The Beatles. I have chatted to Mark lots and he told me quite a bit.. Dave Fielding was influenced by The Shadows, you can clearly hear the sound in his guitar playing etc. Their influence can be heard in bands today from.. Interpol, Editors, The Killers. - C 12 - 08 - 23

They tapped into something really powerful with this song. There's something really special about it. Theres only a handful of songs ive heard in my life that evoke a feeling like this, and its songs ive never gotten tired of and will always feel like theyre being beamed right into my brain.

One of my fave Chameleons songs...

One of the most beautiful songs and the lyrics are spiritual.

... It definitely is THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN. I'm serious, it's the song of my life.

I'm deeply connected with this sound....since more than thirty years...a lifelong thing that often brings me to tears...still in love!!

They had such a unique sound. And their lyrics were awesome.

at 3:16 you can see a guy in the audience on someones shoulders swaying above the crowd with his arms out, at 3:19 you can see Mark have a chuckle (no doubt because of this ). Awesome live recording. Feel like your there, and always for me, always will be.

Im eighteen again ! and Yes ! THIS IS THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF . God Bless You Mark

cant stop playing this in the morning while getting rweady for work then if I can get it played in the office :) only just discovered it days ago. between this and The Sound - Winning...man...I missed out on some epic moments but I'm feeling it :)

I first discovered post-punk music in 1987 when I heard this song on the radio. Little did I know that I would not ever hear a better song than that one in the 35 years that followed...

Great sound brilliant song!

MOST UNDERRATED BAND EVER...... JUST BRILIANT

Just incredible. My mate was always going to see these lads in the 80s and I just didn't get it at the time. Quite possibly my biggest musical regret!

That’s was the 80’s for me right there 👍

RIP John Lever :'(

Never gets old these guys were the shit

I discovered this band and second skin song accidentally some years ago, since then I feel it has an hypnotic rhythm that makes you wanting to listen and listen over and over again. Sometimes I detect as if it were two songs in one. The Chameleons and unique and totally underrated band.

Such an under-rated band, and simply one of the best bands ever in my opinion!

The days when good live music meant so much…So happy that I’ve experienced those days…And I still love this song and band very much….They are just as underrated as “The Sound”….

Qué banda hermosa, la puta madre!!!!!! No entiendo cómo no tuvo el reconocimiento que realmente merecieron. Mánchester, ciudad de bandas legendarias, sin lugar a duda.

These guys got me through high school. And College. And my 30s and 40s.

I still have the original copy of this on VHS. One of the most under rated bands of all time. Just amazing!!

In 2016 there will be 10 years passed after I have discovered this band, and it still gives me shivers. This is the stuff dreams are made of.

I was a guitarist in a California gothic rock band and a huge goth music fan during this time period. My fave bands were Sisters, Red Lorry, March Violets, etc but the Chameleons are really the ONLY band of all of them I can still listen to regularly now in my mid 50s and enjoy it as much as I did in 1985. Timeless music. The guitarists were a huge influence on me personally as they mesmerized with their guitar lines that wove together like the threads of a persian carpet.....Up The Down Escalator is probably my all time favorite of theirs but they truly didn't compose a bad song. The only song I didn't particularly like as much as the rest was the cover of John I'm Only Dancing....The Chameleons and The Mission are the only two "goth" bands I can still listen to these days and do with regularity. The others, especially with bands like Sisters or FOTN just seem outright silly to me now....the Chams did it right...

dave fielding id one of the most underrrated guitarists of all time

One of the most beautiful instrumental pieces I know of, love what they do with their guitars. The guy at 3:10 knows lol

2020 what a $hitshow ....bring back the 80's !

What a great band they were. Such melodies. I was lucky to see them many times but my best memory was hitch hiking to Manchester from Surrey to see them at the Hacienda in 1982. It will live with me forever.

Ante este tipo de banda e interpretaciones solo se puede contemplar cada detalle y sonido minusisamente.. totalmente avasallante.

I missed seeing them then & often wish I could go back. The audience looks stunned by their brilliance. 😍

C'est juste magnifique....

This is incredible.

What a criminally underrated band. Especially in America. Can't believe this band never got huge here or even semi-famous. That's fucked up.

I went to see Chameleons Vox last night (3/6/18) for 35th anniversary of Script of the Bridge,the performance of Second Skin was as good as it is here and Mark's enthusiasm and voice hasn't changed. Sadly he didn't give any Ribena out this time :( I wasn't alive in 1985 but I might as well have been!

Lyrics: One cold damp evening The world stood still I watched as I held my breath A silhouette I thought I knew Came through, someone spoke to me Whispered in my ear This fantasy's for you Fantasy's are in this year My whole life flashed, before my eyes I thought, what they say is true I've shed my skin, and my disguise And cold on the naked eye Emerged from my cocoon And a half-remembered tune played softly in my head He said He turns smiling And says I realize a miracle, is due I dedicate this melody, to you I realize a miracle, is due I dedicate this melody, to you But is this the stuff dreams are made of? If this is the stuff dreams are made of No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air I realize a miracle, is due I dedicate this melody, to you But is this the stuff dreams are made of? If this is the stuff dreams are made of No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air Everywhere Oh, it feels like I'm everywhere Like when you fail to make the connection, you know vital it is Oh when something slips through your fingers you know precious it is Oh and you reach the point when you know It's only your second skin It's only your second skin (Something's banging on my door) like when you fail to make the connection, you know vital it is (Someone's banging on my door) oh when something slips through your fingers you know precious it is (Something's banging on my door) or reach the point when you know it's only your second skin (Someone's banging on my door, something's banging on my door)

Was privileged to be at this gig. Sublime.

Pocas bandas sonaban como ellos en directo. Espectacular!! Y no cabe añadir nada más sobre el disco. Jodida maravilla script of the bridge

What a song!! The Chameleons is a grandious band, now and forever!!!

Ahead of their time, sublime & unique ……painfully humble….thanks guys…..a forever fan……

One of the greatest of all time. Although over looked and underrated.

beloved.. i was 15 years old 1982 ..A FRIEND of my brother send from london 3 lps..U2 UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY THEATRE OF HATE DOYOU BELIEVE IN THE WESTWORLD AND SCRIPT OF THE BRIDGE CHAMELEONS..... now 53 still touching me inside...RESPECT

The audience is barely moving, as if they're frozen and *mesmerized* by this brilliance! I would give up a year in the future to be able to go back and be at this concert. Thank you 23D for sending it!

RIP John Lever,,, rest in peace buddy

They were absolutely amazing. A very solid sound and the voice of Burgess gets me every single time.

in memoriam John Lever ... :(

Best indie band ever. We are ALL Chameleons

The Chameleons truly great artists who sonically and lyrically hit the heights. You must firstly find the truth , the truth within yourself ,and then you must believe in that truth ,and then you must be prepared to hold on tight to that truth, as everything in existence will try to make you loose your grip completely on that truth . Blessings to all brothers and sisters, you know who you are.

saludos a esta gran banda de manchester estas canciones con himnos soy su seguidor abrazo de gooolllll... desde san felipe lima peru

Wish I could have been there and seen them live. Would have been incredible.

Was meant to be seeing them perform in Glasgow tonight! Live in 2020. Covid 19 stopped that happening. What a bummer. I've rediscovered Script of the Bridge several times over the past 30 odd years. A brilliant band. Great to see some live footage of them on YT. Some great comments also:)

Que gran grupo, cuando más se escucha, más gusta...una pena que ya no hay grupos así...

this version is so perfect

En directo y en eStudio consiguen emocionarte...En Marquee en 84 Al inicio de espectaculo fue 😍...Una de Las mejores banda's de Los 80

Interpol owes this band millions of dollars. I’m serious. The Chameleons live sound is better than any post punk band of the 80s or now. How these guys have never reached the same status as Joy Division or the Cure is absolutely beyond my comprehension.

What a gift this video is. Thank you!

if i could see ONE band live,past or present, it would be The Chameleons. Brilliant band.

Original and incredibly enjoyable to listen to. Not just to go back to the good ol days,but to experience an escape from the present. Thanks for this upload.

Still one of my fav´s wow just amazing

most underrated band ever this song is top 10 of post-punk btw.

I realize a miracle is due...

I always thought Mark had the most fantastic voice.!One of the best bands out of Manchester without a doubt

I got to see them play in NY back in the day. They were KILLER! Thanks for posting this video.

Unspeakably amazing. Currently reading Mark's book and this fits beautifully.

Fantastic, great ang good 80's song!!! It's like you fail to make the connection You know how vital it is Or when something slips through your fingers You know how precious it is Well you reach the point where you know It's only your second skin

Hervorragend ! Was für eine wundervolle Zeit -damals !! Natürlich abonniert !!

I was at this gig! If I remember rightly it was free and in the afternoon. Camden Palace,. What a superb band The Chameleons were. Saw them 6 or 7 times back then.

Its an absolutely unique band! One of my favourites. Its very strange for me that they are so unknown.

Bought this on VHS tape in about 1990 (phrased it like that for the 'Murican market - we called it "video" in Bolton back then) and still have it now somewhere. And by "somewhere" I mean in my Dad's spare bedroom in a box of my stuff that is awaiting collection. Steady on, Dad....I might come home yet.......