That Was Yesterday" was the second single taken from
the album
Agent Provocateur by the band
Foreigner. This song was available in four versions, as
a remixed single, a very popular extended remix, an
orchestral version, and the original mix. The song was
written by
Lou Gramm and
Mick Jones, and the B-side "Two Different Worlds" is
also of note for being the first solo-written Lou Gramm song
to appear on a single. The single reached number 12 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also reached #4 on the
Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #24 on the Adult
Contemporary chart.
It also reached the Top 40 in the UK (#28), the Netherlands
(#19), Switzerland (#29) and Germany (#31).
The extended remix added additional lyrics in its intro, and
these lyrics can be heard in the live version from the DVD
All Access Tonight - 25 - Live In Concert. The video
was filmed at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in
Birmingham, Alabama.
Allmusic critic Bret Adams called the song "a terrific
hit single," citing its "catchy
chorus" and "nifty
synthesizer lick
Their album,
Agent Provocateur, was released successfully in
December 1984, and gave them their first and only No. 1 hit
in 1985 (in
U.S.,
UK,
Australia,
Norway,
Sweden, etc.), "I
Want to Know What Love Is," written by
Mick Jones, a gospel-inspired ballad backed by the New
Jersey Mass Choir.[5][6][7]
The song was their biggest US hit. "That
Was Yesterday" was the next single from the album in
early 1985 and proved to be another sizable hit.
In
December 1987, Foreigner released
Inside Information, spawning hits such as "Say
You Will" and "I
Don't Want to Live Without You."