Pat Benatar Removes "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" from Tour Repertoire; Fans Aghast

While we are at it cancel Diane Keaton

Bullshit. She just hates performing that particular song (which is the equivalent of ONJ’s “Physical” so I don’t blame her).

“Hmm, how can I secure some free publicity from an idiotic “news” outlet…..?”

Britney needs to dump Hit Me Baby One More Time, which I think is worse in making light of domestic violence as it is sung from the perspective of the teenager she was at the time, rather than Pat's defiant woman.

What other hit songs will need to be retired in light of their "problematic" lyrics?

Katy Perry's "Ur So Gay"

The Crystals' "He Hit Me and it Felt Like a Kiss"

Gary Glitter's "Young Girl"

R5 is an idiot. She chose not to sing it, that's her choice. Are you saying singers should be forced to sing songs they don't want to sing?

I am sure all the deplorable NRA nuts are all changing their positions now that Pat Benatar has taken her stand!

[quote]Are you saying singers should be forced to sing songs they don't want to sing?

Yup. Especially if it made them a shitload of money.

Her call. Now the rest of the world can shut up.

She’s hated that song for years and this isn’t the first time she’s removed it from her concerts. I’m actually more surprised she was including it again recently. Guess the retro audiences demanded it

What’s the point in going to her concerts without that song?

I agree with it being her call. If someone else told her to stop, I’d say that’s ridiculous.

But her song, her decision.

R6, she can do whatever the fuck she wants, but fans who pay overpriced tickets are also free to complain - or stay home. As r11 stated, that song is largely what draws people to her shows.

Cutting it from her set, as r7 points out, doesn’t actually mean anything or have any discernible effect. If gun violence is what she wants to address, she could do benefit shows for the many organizations advocating for gun control or to support the victims of gun violence.

I agree: her song, her choice. But the fact that the lyric is a metaphor, makes the reason a bit flimsy.

I saw her years ago, and she hated the song back then, but what she said at that concert was "I'm skipping some of these lyrics, because they really bug me." What she skipped then was the "before I put another notch in my lipstick case, you better make sure you put me in my place."

The lipstick case lyric is pretty embarrassing. Can’t blame her for ditching it.

There was no cassingle for "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in 1981.

[quote]that song is largely what draws people to her shows.

Pat Benatar has numerous hits that draw people to her shows.

R17 Good catch. The first cassingle released in the U.S. was June 1982 - Go-Go's "Vacation"

Heartbreaker

Hell Is For Children

You Better Run

Treat Me Right

Fire And Ice

Promises In The Dark

Shadows Of The Night

We Belong

Invincible

Sex As A Weapon

Pat has plenty of huge hits that her fans enjoy hearing in concert.

Oh, and...

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss the smell of a brand new cassette. Kids today don’t know.

R17 it was 1980.

It’s her trademark song.

r22 r23

R24

R24

R23 "Love is a Battlefield" was a bigger song, as was "We Belong."

I always thought We Live For Love was better than Hit Me.

I stupidly left "We Live For Love" off of my Pat's Hit List at r20!

Real fans would rather hear songs like "My Clone Sleeps Alone," "I'm Gonna Follow You," and "Precious Time" over "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."

Who remembers it?

R30 I remember the song, but not that movie

I heard Heartbreaker on the radio today and was impressed with how good her voice was back then. She could really sing.

I would still give the edge to Ann Wilson as a rock singer, because she had an impressive high belt, while Pat went into her head voice on high notes.

You also left off Don't Walk Away, r29...but I'll forgive you.

R32 We Live for Love highlights her beautiful voice as well

Just replace the words "best shot" with "cum shot". Problem solved, and it would be funny as hell too.

"You're a real tough cookie With a long history Of breaking little hearts like the one in me That's okay, lets see how you do it Put up your dukes, let's get down to it Hit me with your cum shot Why don't you hit me with your cum shot Hit me with your cum shot Fire away You come on with the come on You don't fight fair That's okay, see if I care! Knock me down, it's all in vain I get right back up on my feet again! Hit me with your cum shot Why don't you hit me with your cum shot Hit me with your cum shot Fire away You're a real tough cookie with a long history Of breaking little hearts like the one in me Before I put another notch in my lipstick case You better make sure you put me in my place! Hit me with your cum shot... C'mon! Hit me with your cum shot... Hit me with your cum shot Fire away! Hit me with your cum shot Why don't you hit me with your cum shot Hit me with your cum shot Fire away"

Hit me is her signature song regardless of what the DL posters say. Some people are extremely ignorant.

I once asked her to play her beautiful music for me and so she farted in my face!

R35 / R37 You're trying so hard, but... fail

R36 Bless your heart

Her concerts, her choice. Don't like it, don't go.

R39 you dumb fuck. Google the meaning of signature song. You dumb fucker. It doesn’t mean her only song it means her BEST KNOWN OR THE SONG SHE IS MOST ASSOCIATED WITH. CHART NUMBERS DOESNT MEAN A GODAMNED THING. ITS THE PUBLIC AND HER FANS THAT MAKE A SIGNATURE SONG.

Apparently she doesn't realize she's been singing about the sparring match of love all these fucking years.

Christ.

This seems so performative.

The dl is full of numb nuts

R41 You poor thing

Her best music video is the Literal Video of Love Is a Battlefield.

Motherfucking stupid posters. I suspect it’s the tori Anus and Garaflo troll who posts such ignorant and stupid posts.

R41 Her signature song is Love is a Battlefield

Says nobody but you’re uneducated ass

Find another music forgotten to post something ignorant about motherfucker

Love is a Battlefield is her trademark song really

I saw the ooh ooh song is her trademark song. I’m a dumb piece of shut too you know.

R49 / R50 "Find another music forgotten to post something ignorant about motherfucker"

What is your native language?

R51 have fun inside your garaflo ass you ugly shim.

Fucking dumb clump of shit.

R54 / R52 Witty

R50 Lol what was that?

R51

R46 Boobie shake, boobie shake, Tae Bo!

R52 I do like that song, but not really her signature song. I'd say Love is a Battlefield is more her trademark song. But, Ooh Ooh song was actually fun.

Benatar had/has the vocal chops. Not just passing. I think her voice was classically trained. Wonder which song she added to her repertoire?

Is Pat still using sex as a weapon?

[quote]"I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it."

With that logic, we shouldn’t even bother going to concerts since we can just “go home and listen” to the music.

I guess that’s one way to save money.

I love a lot of Pat songs, but We Live for Love is probably my favorite.

[quote] We Live for Love is probably my favorite.

Agreed, That was some of the best vocalization of the 80s era.

I wouldn't care a bit if she never again sang Hit Me. It's only her attitude in this story that irritates me.

I loved the "Sex as a Weapon" video when I was a kid

[quote] I loved the "Sex as a Weapon" video when I was a kid

As did I, but note MTV totally dropped her after this one. They required sex as a weapon from their performers and reality shows.

R66 I loved that song, and R67 great point

I never once associated guns with this song, but rather a guy slugging her. She’s virtue signaling for attention and it’s just stupid. Too bad, it was her best song.

[quote] I never once associated guns with this song, but rather a guy slugging her.

And my interpretation was "his best shot" was the guy's technique at seducing her.

Her husband is a total hot stud. Who was the bodybuilder in "Sex As A Weapon" video?

R71 Her husband is repulsive

"Love Is A Battlefield" is NOT her signature song. It's "Invinciible" from "The Legend Of Billie Jean", you unwashed fuckfaces.

She hates performing it, even more than HMWYBS, but she somehow still manages.

[quote]What’s the point in going to her concerts without that song?

I dunno, maybe to hear the other songs from multiple albums? Not everyone likes that song, anyway. I always skipped it.

Doesn't "Love is a Battlefield" inherently refer to a place where people use guns, too?

Better jettison that one as well, just to be safe.

^ very good point

Last time Benatar was relevant was when this song was first released. No one cares Pat.

She had a lot of good hits, even without Hit Me. I'd still go see her. I never liked that song anyway.

I saw her in concert a few years ago. Her voice isn’t what it used to be, but it was still fine. The show was all about her gross husband, though. He had many spotlight guitar solos where Pat would just sort of drift to the background. I suspect when she’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they will act like it’s him being inducted, too.

R79 100% they will. He is repulsive.

I saw her a few years ago and the ticket said Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. I thought Neil must be her opening act that I’d not heard of, but she was giving her husband co-equal billing. Neil must have a fragile ego.

Watch interviews from the last few years - they are all now "Pat and Neil" - not just Pat. He's creepy.

Maybe Neil beats her, like Ike beat Tina.

But Ike Turner was arguably one of the founders of rock and roll music. He was a legend in his own right. That doesn't excuse wife-beating, but it at least justified his position on that stage.

Who the hell is Neil Giraldo?

Neil Girardo has been with Pat since she first started, and has been an integral part of her band, in addition to being Pats loving and devoted husband. You know Pat, you know Neil, so let's cut the bullshit.

At one point Pat wanted Neil inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame with her, he's THAT important.

R84 No one knows him.

[quote]The show was all about her gross husband, though. He had many spotlight guitar solos where Pat would just sort of drift to the background. I suspect when she’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they will act like it’s him being inducted, too.

You clearly don't know about Neil Girardo and how important he is to Pat's success. That's called love and respect! She knows his place in the pantheon of her success and wants him to get his flowers as well.

[quote]No one knows him.

Because you don't know Pat Benatar. You're on here spouting BULLSHIT.

Don't come for Pat and Neil, because the shit ain't gonna fly.

Rock and roll royalty. You put respect on their names!

R86 Get help. Are you Neil's daughter or something? You seem overly enraged by people who don't know you.

Pat and Neil are rock and roll royalty.

Who the fuck doesn't know who Neil is?

98% of fans don't know or care who Neil is.

R89 see R90

She's become such a bitch over the years. Always complaining about something. The record company did this, the record company did that, although the record company let her and Neil release their pet project of a blues album which flopped. Then dissing the film The Legend of Billie Jean despite the fact that it gave her a big hit in Invincible and the film was popular on video and cable.

I like Neil but her constant propping of him up is kind of irritating, as is her propping up of her whorish looking daughters.

R92 very true

I don't know why she hates Billie Jean so much. There's far worse movies from that decade. It became a huge cult classic and is considered a feminist movie. Her song completely fit the theme which was female empowerment.

The lyrics are cringeworthy now. She made a wise decision.

Exactly r94. And it's an insult to the filmmakers and cast. I personally love the movie. It has some typical '80s cheese but it's a movie that is fondly remembered by those who grew up in the '80s.

I have never liked HMWYBS it's the worst of top songs.

If Neil is such an integral part of her success, then why do all the albums, concert tours, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballots just say "Pat Benatar?"

What a load of shit. He's the support act, at best. He's lower than Rita Wilson.

Neil is talented but she tries way too hard to push it as if they're famous as a duo. Please.

She's also probably pissed that her biggest songs were not written by Neil or herself. We Live For Love, Hell is for Children and Promises in the Dark are the most well-known songs written by either Neil or Pat or both.

Fine. She should return her version of Wuthering Heights to the setlist.

It's a tough sing, but I bet she can still hit that high note.

I've always preferred her version to Kate Bush's.

She was always a singles artist with albums full of filler.

Pat still sounds great!

R102 Great arrangement, and I really like her raspy deep voice.

R92 I never realized she dissed the song or movie

As long as she does All Fired Up and We Belong, I’m good.

Oh and Love Is A Battlefield.

I like her harden My Heart and Gloria song

She can sing, "Hit me with your wet cock".

It's what we used to sing in high school

Why is she dressed like a Juggalo in OP’s pic?

R108

Her daughters are indeed gross.

R107 is drunk again.

R112 I think it was just desperate for attention

She’s lucky anyone even listens to her old shit anymore let alone go to a concert. Churlish of her to be so dismissive of her fans’ preferences.

R114 "Churlish of her to be so dismissive of her fans’ preferences."

All that because she's skipping one song that she never really liked in the first place?

She usually held up her mic to have the audience sing a good portion of that song anyway. I don’t go to concerts to sing or hear others in the audience sing your fucking song for you, Pat,

R116 You seem overly angry about this

R115 Since she didn’t like it, why did she sing it in the first place? She made loads of money out of it.

Who the fuck cares if she hates it, that it offends her delicate sensibilities? Her fans like it so she should suck it up and sing the damn thing, and go crying to the bank.

She’s quite the prima donna, that old has been.

R118 See R117

Love her!

It's honestly my least favorite song of hers. It just always seemed more cheesy than anything else.

Pat was good at projecting 'bad ass bitch' at a time when women were not often doing that in pop music. Songs like "You Better Run", "Heartbreaker", "I'm Gonna Follow You", and "Love is a Battlefield" did a much better job of conveying this attitude. HMWYBS feels defensive and overly precocious in its very twee dancey melody and rhythm...which ends up not at all conveying 'bad ass bitch' as much as it conveys 'prima donna with no teeth'.

R121 Good points

She can sing what the fuck she wants.

Agree, her music, her tour, she can sing whatever the fuck she wants.

I saw her last night at the iHeart music Festival in Vegas. She sounded good, pretty much the same. Lots of focus on the husband. But I have to say truly disappointing not to hear “hit me with your best shot.“ It’s just a bitchin song. That was dumb of her.

That songs sucks. She only has like 5 known songs and that’s one of them.

She looks like an ugly Nanette Fabray monkey and her tough tomboy thing is annoying in her 70s.

No, she looked good at last nights concert. Yes older but her hair is an acceptable silvery gray with a nice cut. She’s still slim. Looks better than Debbie Harry.

Love her! Hate the husband.