In 2003, on an episode of VH1's True Spin, Doroschuk responded to two common interpretations of the song. Thus, the song is a protest and a call for freedom of expression. Clubgoers doing the newer pogo dance were perceived as posing a danger to disco dancers on the dance floor, and so club bouncers would tell pogoers to stop or be kicked out of the club. Unlike disco dancing, which is done with partners, new wave dancing is done individually and involves holding the torso rigid while thrashing about pogoing involves jumping up and down (the more deliberately violent evolution of pogoing is slamdancing).

The writer/lead singer Ivan Doroschuk has explained that 'The Safety Dance' is a protest against bouncers prohibiting dancers from pogoing to 1980s new wave music in clubs when disco was declining and new wave was coming in. The track is included on their 2022 EP Again (Part 1). In 2021, the band released a recording of a new version the song, reimagined as a mid-tempo ballad, under the title 'No Friends of Mine'. The song has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. The song was also a massive success in South Africa, reaching No. 'The Safety Dance' found similar success in other parts of the world, entering the UK charts in August and peaking at number 6 in early November, and entering the New Zealand charts in November, eventually peaking at number 2 in early 1984. It also reached number 1 on Cash Box, as well as number 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. When it finally did, the record became a bigger hit than it had been in Canada, spending four weeks at its peak position of number 3 in September and October 1983, and staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for 24 weeks. In the meantime, 'The Safety Dance' was released in the US on March 16, but did not enter the US charts for a few months.

The song entered the Canadian top 50 in February 1983, peaking at number 11 on May 14. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a club for pogo dancing. ' The Safety Dance' is a song by Canadian new wave/ synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth.

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