Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)
| "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
||||
| Single by The Icicle Works | ||||
| from the album The Icicle Works | ||||
| B-side | "In the Cauldron of Love" | |||
| Genre | New Wave Alternative rock |
|||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
| Writer(s) | Ian McNabb | |||
| Producer | Hugh Jones | |||
| The Icicle Works singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009) |
"Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" was a hit single in 1984 written by Ian McNabb, produced by Hugh Jones and performed by The Icicle Works (of whom McNabb was a member). The song was also released as "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)", and it became a hit under this reversed title as well.
Contents |
[edit] UK releases
The recording was initially released as a single in Britain in June 1983 as "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" on the Situation Two label. This initial release hit #2 on the UK independent charts, and scraped the lower reaches of the overall UK national charts at #89.
After The Icicle Works' next UK single "Love Is a Wonderful Colour" hit #15 on the UK charts in late 1983 and early 1984, Beggars Banquet Records re-released "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" in March 1984 with a new cover and B-side. This re-release climbed to #52 in the UK.
[edit] U.S. release
In the U.S., Arista Records refused to release the record unless some changes were made. First, the track was remixed slightly in order to remove a brief spoken-word intro that was heard over the opening bars of music. (The woman performing this intro was identified only as "Mariella" on the original Situation Two single sleeve.) Then the song title was reversed, becoming "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)". This change was made so that the record's primary title would match the words sung repeatedly in the chorus, making it easier for radio listeners to track down the record in the stores.
Finally, Arista shortened the band's name to "Icicle Works", removing the initial "The". With these changes made, in the summer of 1984 "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" by Icicle Works reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #34 on Cashbox's singles chart.
[edit] Canadian release
Just to make things a little more confusing, the Canadian version of the single (credited to The Icicle Works) used the original UK mix with the spoken word intro, but the revised US title "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)". This was the most successful commercial release of the single, reaching #19 on the Canadian charts in the summer of 1984.
[edit] Covers and Use in Media
- Elvis Costello's song, "From a Whisper to a Scream," predates the use of the title in this song, having being recorded in 1980. He possibly got the phrase from an earlier appearance of same found in the song "Heavy Connection" on Van Morrison's 1977 album "A Period of Transition," and as this LP was co-produced and co-arranged by Mac Rebennack it seems likely that Morrison took the phrase from a 1971 song of that title by Rebennack cohort Allen Toussaint.
- The band Acumen Nation covered the song under the title "Whisper To A Scream" on the 1997 new wave cover compilation Newer Wave and again on their single for the song "Unkind".
- A cover of the song by Soho was used in the 1996 film Scream.
- The song was also covered in 2004 by Edmonton, Alberta-based band, Social Code, on A Year at the Movies.
- The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an 80s hit song, named an episode after this song. The episode faced the issue of self-mutilation.
- Used as the title for an episode of Grey's Anatomy, which also uses song titles for episode titles.
- The song appears in the videogame Saints Row: The Third.
