John Oates of Hall & Oates and Iva Davies of Australian band Icehouse struggled to write together until a chance moment on a beach near Sydney sparked "Electric Blue", which became Icehouse's biggest American hit when released in 1987. Oates, then on hiatus from Hall & Oates, had rung Davies at his New York hotel to propose a co-writing session, and after an unproductive start, the pair took a break at the beach that ultimately unlocked the song.

While Davies went windsurfing, Oates noticed a woman on the nude beach and, fixing on her eyes to avoid appearing rude, coined the phrase "Electric Blue" as a song title. The two returned indoors to sketch out the track, with Oates already hearing how his falsetto backing vocals would fit, though it remained unfinished when he left. Davies was uncertain of its quality, but Oates was confident enough to say he would record it with Hall & Oates if Icehouse passed; released in 1987, "Electric Blue" reached No. 7 in the US, surpassing the band's previous hit "Crazy", which had made the Top 15 that same year.