Kayleigh
- For the alternative spelling of the female given name Kayleigh, see Kaylee. For the homophonic country dance, see Céilidh.
| "Kayleigh" | ||||
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| Single by Marillion | ||||
| from the album Misplaced Childhood | ||||
| B-side | "Lady Nina" [1] | |||
| Released | 7 May 1985 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl [1] | |||
| Recorded | Hansa Ton Studios, Berlin, March — May 1985 | |||
| Genre | Neo-progressive rock Soft rock |
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| Length | 3:33 (7" version) [1] | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Writer(s) | music: Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas lyrics: Fish |
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| Producer | Chris Kimsey | |||
| Marillion singles chronology | ||||
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"Kayleigh" was a number two UK hit for British neo-progressive rock band Marillion in 1985.[2] It remains the group's most successful single in terms of chart position. The single was kept from the UK Number 1 spot by charity single "You'll Never Walk Alone" by supergroup The Crowd in the summer of 1985. It also made the top 10 in Ireland, Norway and France. "Kayleigh" is the band's sole appearance on the USA's Billboard Hot 100, hitting #74 in 1986.[3]
The song received a great deal of media exposure in the UK. 41 Independent Local Radio stations in Britain had the track A-rated on their playlists and it became the most played single on BBC Radio 1. The band also made appearances on television shows such as Wogan and Top of the Pops. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the fictional in-game station "Vice City FM" and in the movie Late Night Shopping.
The promotional video for the single was shot in Berlin, where the Misplaced Childhood album was recorded, and featured Tamara Nowy, a German woman who subsequently married lead singer Fish, and Robert Mead, the boy portrayed on the sleeve of the album and the single. The song was performed by Fish at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium, with Midge Ure on guitar and Phil Collins on drums.
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[edit] Composition
Fish has said that his writing the song was 'his way of apologizing to some of the women he had dated in the past.' Although the lead singer and lyricist of the band, Fish, had at one point dated a woman whose forenames were Kay Lee, the song was more a composite of several different women with whom he had had relationships.
The guitar hook line through the verse came about, according to Steve Rothery, from him demonstrating to his then girlfriend what effects a chorus and a delay pedal could add to a guitar's sound. Rothery recorded the song on a chorused Stratocaster guitar, using the pick and his second and third fingers to play it.[4]
[edit] Rise in popularity of the name Kayleigh
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007) |
In late 2005, 96% of Kayleighs living in the United Kingdom were born after 1985. It seems likely that the song had inspired the rise in popularity of the name, and studies of girls' first names show that it was not in the top 100 most popular names in Scotland before 1975. By 1997, however, twelve years after the song's release, the name was the 30th most popular girls' name in the country. By 2001, Kayleigh had become the 75th most popular girls' name in England and Wales.
[edit] Quotations
Regarding "Kayleigh", Fish has had the following to say [1]:
- "I've got used to signing autographs for 13-year-old Kayleighs."
- "'Kayleigh' was a way of saying sorry. I had a lot of relationships that basically I'd wrecked because I was obsessed with the career and where I wanted to go. I was very, very selfish and I just wanted to be the famous singer but I was starting to become aware of the sacrifices that I was making, and I think that Kay was one of those sacrifices. 'Kayleigh' was not just about one person; it was about three or four different people. The 'stilettos in the snow' was something that happened in Galashiels, when I can remember we were both really drunk and, you know, dancing under a street light, and 'dawn escapes from moonwashed college halls' was part of the Cambridge thing."
- "There came a lot of pressure upon us. They wanted Kayleigh part II. Because Misplaced Childhood was a big album. And Clutching at Straws had not sold quite as many as Misplaced. And everybody wanted us to break America. I just feel a bit uncomfortable when I am under pressure like that."
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 2 |
| Dutch GfK chart[5] | 12 |
| Dutch Top 40[6] | 16 |
| French Singles Chart | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 4 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[8] | 8 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[9] | 19 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 74 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[3] | 14 |
[edit] See also
- Belsize Park (mentioned in the lyrics)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Marillion - Kayleigh at Discogs". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Marillion-Kayleigh/master/16150. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ a b "Chart Stats - Marillion - Kayleigh". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=12487. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Marillion > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4845. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ Total Guitar July 2001
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Marillion - Kayleigh (Dutch)". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Marillion&titel=Kayleigh&cat=s. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 - 10 Augustus 1985/Week 32 (Dutch)". http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=32&jaar=1985. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Marillion - Kayleigh". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Marillion&titel=Kayleigh&cat=s. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "Marillion - Kayleigh - hitparade.ch (German)". http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Marillion&titel=Kayleigh&cat=s. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
[edit] External links
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