Synopsis

Daryl Hall and John Oates perform in a surreal, oversized pop-art world built around the imagery of their album *Big Bam Boom*. The duo appears inside a gigantic drum kit, surrounded by enormous lettering, exaggerated stage props, and deliberately cartoonish visual effects. John Oates attacks an equally enormous bass drum pedal while Hall sings and dances in increasingly bizarre surroundings. The playful production culminates with the pair escaping from the drum set, turning the song's polished 1980s pop sound into a knowingly extravagant visual spectacle.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video opens with part of "Dance on Your Knees," the instrumental introduction to *Big Bam Boom*, before moving into a special edit of "Out of Touch." The arrangement combines elements of the album version and the 12-inch remix.

• The giant drum kit became the video's defining visual gag. John Oates uses an oversized bass drum pedal, while both musicians are made to appear trapped inside the instrument before escaping near the end.

• The words "Big Bam Boom" are incorporated into the set as giant graphic elements, with Hall and Oates dancing inside the two letter O's.

• Daryl Hall later recalled that one of his costumes made him look like a Dalmatian. The animal-print outfit has become one of the clip's most recognizable examples of the duo's intentionally excessive 1980s styling.

• Released in 1984, "Out of Touch" became Hall & Oates' sixth and final US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single. It was the lead single from *Big Bam Boom*, their twelfth studio album.

• The video's exaggerated scale and surreal staging reflected the period's growing emphasis on MTV-ready visual identity, while also matching the album's title and its heavily programmed, dance-rock production.