A Flock of Seagulls I Ran Cover

1982 single by A Flock of Seagulls

"I Ran (So Far Away)"

Unmarried past A Flock of Seagulls

from the anthology A Flock of Seagulls

B-side

"Choice Me Upwardly"

Released

1982

Genre

Length

5:07 (anthology version)
3:58 (video version)
3:43 (radio edit)

Label

Jive

Songwriter(s)

Mike Score
Ali Score
Frank Maudsley
Paul Reynolds

Producer(s)

Mike Howlett

A Flock of Seagulls singles chronology

"Telecommunication"
(1981)

"I Ran (So Far Away)"
(1982)

"Space Age Love Song"
(1982)

Music video

"I Ran" on YouTube

A 25-second sample of "I Ran (Then Far Away)" demonstrating the guitar echo event and the alien abduction lyrics.

Problems playing this file? See media aid.

"I Ran (And then Far Away)",^[i] besides released as "I Ran", is a song past English language new moving ridge band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 equally their tertiary unmarried and it was the second single from their cocky-titled debut anthology. It topped the nautical chart in Commonwealth of australia, and reached number seven in New Zealand and number nine in the United States, although it failed to make the top 40 in the ring'southward home country (United kingdom). However, the song was certified silver by the BPI.

In an article for Rolling Stone titled, Anglomania: The Second British Invasion , Parke Puterbaugh wrote of the affect of the vocal's music video on its U.s. chart success, "Fronted by a singer-synth player with a haircut stranger than annihilation yous'd be likely to encounter in a calendar month of poodle shows, A Flock of Seagulls struck gilt on the first endeavour."^[2]

Recording and composition [ edit ]

Lead vocaliser Mike Score says that there were two chief sources of inspiration for "I Ran (So Far Away)". The members of A Flock of Seagulls would regularly visit Eric's Club in Liverpool, where i of the bands had a song called "I Ran". Score noted that because A Flock of Seagulls would rehearse correct after returning from Eric's, the song title and chorus may have gotten stuck in his head. Another idea came from a poster at a Zoo Records office. The ring had gone at that place with the intent of securing a recording contract, and they wanted to apply the poster, which featured a homo and a adult female running abroad from a flying saucer, as the comprehend for their first album, A Flock of Seagulls (1982). This depiction likewise helped spark the vocal'southward unusual infinite-like lyrics.^[3]

"I Ran (Then Far Away)" was recorded at Battery Studios in London with producer Mike Howlett.^[4] It is a new wave ^[5] ^[vi] and synth-popular song,^[7] with a run time of five minutes and seven seconds.^[4] According to the sheet music, the song moves at a quick tempo of 145 beats per minute. With a chord progression of A-G-A-G in the verses and F-Yard-A in the choruses, the song is written in the key of A small-scale.^[viii] During the song's introduction and musical interludes, curt guitar riffs are played, which make use of echo.^[iii] Guitarist Paul Reynolds had joined the ring subsequently the music was already written, then the brusk guitar riffs were added for Reynolds to play.^[3] Lyrically, "I Ran (And so Far Away)" is most a man who sees an attractive woman and attempts to run abroad from his feelings. Earlier this happens, the man sees an aurora in the sky, and he and the adult female are abducted past aliens.^[9]

Track list [ edit ]

7" Jive VS 102 (US) – 1982^[10]

No.	Title	Length
i.	"I Ran (So Far Away)"	iii:56
2.	"Selection Me Up"	3:06

12" Jive T14 (U.k.) – 1982^[10]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Ran (And so Far Away)"	5:02
2.	"Messages"	2:50
3.	"Selection Me Up"	3:07

CD August Mean solar day 40 (United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland) – 2018^[eleven]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Ran (So Far Away) [Orchestral Version]"	6:22
two.	"I Ran (So Far Abroad) [Principal Version]"	five:03
3.	"I Ran (And then Far Away) [Long And Expanded Remix]"	7:32
4.	"I Ran (So Far Away) [Orchestral Extended Remix Instrumental]"	7:52
5.	"I Ran (So Far Away) [BRS Vocal Remix]"	7:26
6.	"I Ran (So Far Abroad) [Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca Hypno Vocal Mix]"	6:04
seven.	"I Ran (So Far Away) [Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca Presto Instrumental Mix]"	6:08
8.	"I Ran (Then Far Abroad) [Long And Expanded Remix Instrumental]"	vii:32
9.	"I Ran (So Far Away) [Main Version Instrumental]"	5:01
x.	"I Ran (So Far Abroad) [Situation Dubside Remix]"	half dozen:00

Single release and legacy [ edit ]

The single was promoted past a distinctive music video directed by Tony van den Ende in which the ring members performed in a room covered in aluminium foil and mirrors. The cameras used to film the video are clearly visible in many of the background reflections, their stands also covered in foil. The video is an homage to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp'south (No Pussyfooting) album cover, which was besides portrayed by the Strokes in the video for their single, "The End Has No End," two decades later on. The video received heavy rotation on MTV in the summertime of 1982,^[1] and helped the single to become a hitting.

As Dave Thompson has pointed out, the song was "punningly political at a time when Iran itself was making headlines around the clock".^[12] The vocal and the band were an "irresistible" packet for American audiences, and by the summer of 1982, "America was clutching [ sic ] Flock of Seagulls to its eye".^[12] According to Maz Jobrani, the release of the vocal was a "disaster" for Iranian-American children similar himself. They were cruelly teased by other American children with the song's misheard chorus: "I-ran, I-ran so far away."^[13]

The ring toured the United States extensively to promote the single, supporting Squeeze on their 1982 bout. Every bit well as reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, "I Ran" peaked at number 3 on the Top Tracks nautical chart and number eight on the Hot Dance Lodge Play chart. Subsequently, the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200.^[14]

In the VH1 special 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, "I Ran" was listed at No. 55 on the inaugural,^[xv] ^{[ amend source needed ]} while on the VH1 special 100 Greatest One-Striking Wonders of the 80s, the song was listed at No. 2.^[xvi]

Although considered a 1980s new moving ridge classic, the vocal experienced something of a revival in 2002 as the signature theme for the video game Grand Theft Motorcar: Vice City , being played during the game'due south television commercials and during gameplay as i of the songs in the playlist for radio station Wave 103.^[17]

The song'south apparent references to Iran were highlighted over again in the fall of 2007, when the long-running American tv set show Saturday Dark Live ran a parody version of the song that expressly mocked current Iranian policies like Holocaust denial.^[18]

Charts and certifications [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

^ ^a ^b Demalon, Tom. "A Flock of Seagulls – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
^ Puterbaugh, Parke (x Nov 1983). "Anglomania: The Second British Invasion". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 11 May 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Behind the Vinyl – I Ran (And then Far Away) – Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls". CHBM-FM. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b A Flock of Seagulls (liner notes). A Flock of Seagulls. Jive Records. 1982. {{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Silberman, Jeff (13 May 2000). "Simply the Best: A Quarter Century of Arista". Billboard . Vol. 112, no. 20. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Sept. 18 > Flock of Seagulls". Orange Declension Magazine . September 2008. p. 226. ISSN 0279-0483.
^ Tucker, Ken (xi February 1983). "Invasion warning (Adam Ant's on his way)". Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved two Jan 2016.
^ "I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls – Digital Sail Music". Musicnotes. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^ Allen, Craig (21 Oct 2017). "Craig Allen's Fun Facts: 'I Ran (Then Far Away)' by A Flock of Seagulls". WKXW . Retrieved 25 Nov 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran" (in Dutch). Single Elevation 100. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ I Ran (So Far Away) (liner notes). A Flock of Seagulls. Zomba Music Publishers. 2018. ADAY040. {{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ ^a ^b Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock: 3rd Ear – The Essential Listening Companion. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 142. ISBN 9780879306076 .
^ Jobrani, Maz (2015). I'm Non a Terrorist, But I've Played I on TV: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man . New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 52. ISBN 9781476750002 .
^ "A Flock of Seagulls – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
^ Tompkins, Dave. "VH1 – 100 Greatest 80s Songs" . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
^ "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s: Read the List". VH1. 1 Apr 2009. Archived from the original on half-dozen August 2009.
^ Phares, Heather. "Grand Theft Motorcar: Vice City, Vol. 2: Wave 103 – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
^ Steinberg, Jacques (4 October 2007). "New Video Gives 'SNL' Another Hit on the Web". The New York Times . Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ "Hits of the Earth". Billboard . 7 August 1982. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Peak RPM Singles: Issue 6547." RPM . Library and Athenaeum Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
^ "A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
^ "A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran". Top forty Singles. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard . 23 October 1982. p. 80. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Trip the light fantastic/Disco Top eighty". Billboard . 3 July 1982. p. forty. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Rock Albums & Top Tracks". Billboard . 28 Baronial 1982. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Greenbacks BOX Summit 100 Singles – Week ending October 23, 1982". Greenbacks Box . Archived from the original on twenty September 2012.
^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Acme 100 End of Twelvemonth AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ "End of Year Charts 1982". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
^ "Top 100 Hits for 1982". The Longbored Surfer . Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ "The CASH BOX Year-Cease Charts: 1982". Cash Box . Archived from the original on 21 September 2012.
^ "Top Disco/Dance Singles/Albums". Billboard . Vol. 94, no. 51. 25 December 1982. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ "Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Written report. 28 February 1983. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Imgur.
^ "British single certifications – A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 18 October 2019. Select singles in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type I Ran in the "Search BPI Awards" field and so press Enter.