Kayleigh: Difference between revisions
m Reverted edits by 50.48.57.208 (talk) to last revision by Quebec99 (HG) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
:''For the alternative spelling of the female given name Kayleigh, see [[Kaylee]]. For the |
:''For the alternative spelling of the female given name Kayleigh, see [[Kaylee]]. For the country dance, see [[Céilidh]]. |
||
{{Infobox single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> |
{{Infobox single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> |
||
Revision as of 19:34, 16 February 2013
- For the alternative spelling of the female given name Kayleigh, see Kaylee. For the country dance, see Céilidh.
| "Kayleigh" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Lady Nina" [1] |
"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.
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 Leigh, the song was more a composite of several different women with whom he had had relationships.[citation needed]
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] The album version features an extended guitar solo by Rothery, 27 seconds of which is edited for the single version.
On 24 October 2012, Marillion announced on Facebook that "Sad news via Fish - Kay - who inspired our song Kayleigh - has sadly died. RIP Kay."[5]
Legacy
The song's popularity in the summer of 1985 was responsible for a significant rise in popularity of the name Kayleigh. In late 2005, 96% of Kayleighs living in the United Kingdom were born after 1985. 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.
In 2012, it was announced that the Scottish Borders Council was to inscribe extracts from the song's lyrics into the pavement at the newly-developed Market Square in Galashiels. Council engineer David Johnstone said the authority felt it was appropriate to mark the links between Galashiels and the song: "The lyrics from the song Kayleigh included reference to the old textiles college. Some of the lyrics referred to 'dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls' and 'do you remember cherry blossom in the market square?' There was a feeling that these lyrics were really appropriate and because of the connection between the singer and Galashiels that it would be appropriate to engrave some of those lyrics into the paving and make more of a feature of it." Mr Johnstone also said the original cherry trees referred to in the song had been removed due to disease but they would be replaced.[6]
On 8th October 2012, Aberdeen based rappers Shy & DRS released "The Love is Gone", featuring lyrics and vocals from Sandi Thom. The song samples "Kayleigh". It reached no.7 in the iTunes Hip Hop Chart.
Chart performance
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 2 |
| Dutch GfK chart[7] | 12 |
| Dutch Top 40[8] | 16 |
| French Singles Chart | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart[9] | 4 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[10] | 8 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[11] | 19 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 74 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[3] | 14 |
See also
- Belsize Park (mentioned in the lyrics)
References
- ^ a b c "Marillion - Kayleigh at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Chart Stats - Marillion - Kayleigh". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Marillion > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Total Guitar July 2001
- ^ "Marillion". Retrieved 23 November 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Marillion hit Kayleigh to be set in Galashiels pavement". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Marillion - Kayleigh (Dutch)". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 - 10 Augustus 1985/Week 32 (Dutch)". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Marillion - Kayleigh". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Marillion - Kayleigh - hitparade.ch (German)". Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)