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| artist = [[Spandau Ballet]]
| artist = [[Spandau Ballet]]
| album = [[Parade (Spandau Ballet album)|Parade]]
| album = [[Parade (Spandau Ballet album)|Parade]]
| B-side = "[[To Cut a Long Story Short]]" (Recorded Live)
| B-side = "[[To Cut a Long Story Short]]" (live)
| released = 1984
| released = August 1984
| recorded =
| recorded = Spring 1984
| studio =
| studio =
| genre = [[New wave music|New wave]]
| genre = [[New wave music|New wave]]
| length = {{unbulleted list|5:11 (single/video version)|5:37 (album version) |7:13 (long version)|5:02 (glide mix)}}
| length = 5:37
| label = [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]
| label = {{hlist|[[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]|Reformation}}
| writer = [[Gary Kemp]]
| writer = [[Gary Kemp]]
| producer = {{hlist|[[Jolley & Swain|Tony Swain]]|[[Jolley & Swain|Steve Jolley]]|Spandau Ballet}}
| producer =
⚫
* Spandau Ballet
⚫
* [[Jolley & Swain|Steve Jolley]]
⚫
* [[Jolley & Swain|Tony Swain]]
| prev_title = [[Only When You Leave]]
| prev_title = [[Only When You Leave]]
| prev_year = 1984
| prev_year = 1984
Line 24: Line 21:
| next_year = 1984
| next_year = 1984
}}
}}
"'''I'll Fly for You'''" is a song by English [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Spandau Ballet]], released as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''[[Parade (Spandau Ballet album)|Parade]]'' (1984). It became the band's ninth top-10 entry in their native United Kingdom, reaching number 9 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. The song also reached number 6 in Italy, number 10 in Ireland, number 28 in the Netherlands, number 35 in New Zealand and number 38 in Australia.
"'''I'll Fly for You'''" is a song by English [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Spandau Ballet]], released as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''[[Parade (Spandau Ballet album)|Parade]]'' (1984). It became the band's ninth top-10 entry in their native United Kingdom, reaching number 9 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. It also performed well in several other countries. Critics were divided, with some finding fault with the lyrics and others calling it their best single in quite some time. The music video was shot in and around [[New Orleans]] and incorporated a [[Mardi Gras in New Orleans|Mardi Gras]] parade into its storyline.

==Release and commercial performance==
Recorded in spring 1984,<ref name = "Parade">{{cite AV media notes|title= Parade |others= [[Spandau Ballet]] |date= 1984 |type= record sleeve |publisher= [[Chrysalis Records]] |id= CDL 1473 |location= London}}</ref> "I'll Fly for You" was released in the UK in August of that year<ref>{{cite magazine |title=News |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=11 August 1984 | author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |page=6|url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/48168777627/in/album-72157709356095557/|access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref>{{efn|''Record Mirror'' reported that the release date would be 13 August 1984.}}<ref>{{cite magazine | author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bitz |magazine=[[Smash Hits]] |issue=148 | date=2–15 August 1984 |page=12|url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/51383756405/in/album-72157719700579062/|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref>{{efn|''Smash Hits'' reported that the release date would be 16 August 1984.}} and peaked at number 9 [[UK Singles Chart|there]].<ref name = UK/> It also reached number 6 in Italy,<ref name = ITA/> number 10 in Ireland,<ref name = IRE/> number 28 in the Netherlands,<ref name = NED/> number 35 in New Zealand<ref name = NZ/> and number 38 in Australia.<ref name = AUS/>

==Critical reception==
The song received mixed reviews upon its release. Betty Page of ''[[Record Mirror]]'' complained, "And how's this for spectacularly uninspired lyrics: 'And when you sing to me/the shoo-bee-doo's you sing so well'."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Bland Spands > Spandau Ballet > Parade |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=30 June 1984 |last=Page |first=Betty |page=20|url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/48080065318/in/album-72157709125646242/|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref> Robert Hodgens of ''[[Smash Hits]]'' qualified his praise: "Their best single in ages. A good feel, good mood and good melody—though I find the title line inappropriate and awkward. (And that goes for the sax too!)" <ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hodgens |first=Robert |title= Spandau Ballet: I'll Fly for You |magazine=[[Smash Hits]] |issue=150 | date=30 August – 12 September 1984 |page=19|url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/51387480157/in/album-72157719701780429/|access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> ''[[Rip It Up (magazine)|Rip It Up]]'''s Mark Phillips wrote, "Lush and cleverly constructed, this song is a winner."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Phillips |first=Mark |date=1 October 1984 |title=Singles Bar > Spandau Ballet: I'll Fly for You 12" |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/rip-it-up/1984/10/01/28|magazine=[[Rip It Up (magazine)|Rip It Up]] |page=27 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>

==Music video==
Spandau Ballet traveled to New Orleans to shoot the video for "I'll Fly for You", on which they continued their work with "[[Only When You Leave]]" director Simon Milne. Kemp told ''[[Number One (magazine)|Number One]]'' magazine, "We didn't want it to look like a travelogue and just spend lots of money for the sake of it. We had a specific idea what we wanted to do involving the conflict between a desire for freedom and escape and the slavery and rough justice of the [[Deep South]]."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Dynasty (the three minute version) |magazine=[[Number One (magazine)|Number One]] |issue=65 |date=8 September 1984 |last=Rapport |first=Steve |page=21|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/48742804537/in/album-72157710866911152/|access-date=27 January 2023}}</ref> In the video Hadley's lover (played by local New Orleans model Peggy Geibel)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Dynasty (the three minute version) |magazine=[[Number One (magazine)|Number One]] |issue=65 |date=8 September 1984 |last=Rapport |first=Steve |page=24|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/48742295823/in/album-72157710866911152/|access-date=27 January 2023}}</ref> escapes from police custody during a Mardi Gras parade after a jury finds her guilty of the crime she committed. The end of the video shows the lovers speeding down a highway in a convertible, and the last few moments reveal their actual destination.

The [[BBC]] disapproved of a scene in which Geibel and [[Martin Kemp]] were "rolling naked in the mud" and wanted it removed.<ref>{{cite magazine | author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mutterings |magazine=[[Smash Hits]] |issue=150 | date=30 August – 12 September 1984 |page=35|url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/51388502063/in/album-72157719701780429/|access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> Clothing is visible in the footage that was included.

In his autobiography ''To Cut a Long Story Short'', Hadley wrote, "[[John Keeble|John]], [[Steve Norman|Steve]] and I appeared in a fictitious courtroom scene—the first time we faced a judge together. Martin was there too. Only Gary was missing. Actually, for all it was made up, it was a lot more plausible than our genuine court appearance a few years later."<ref>{{Harvnb|Hadley|2004|p=149}}</ref>{{efn|Hadley, Keeble and Norman sued Gary Kemp in a dispute over royalties in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/263725.stm |title=Spandau Ballet in court over royalties |publisher=BBC News |date=27 January 1999 |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref>}}


==Track listings==
==Track listings==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*'''7-inch single'''
*'''7-inch single'''
:A. "I'll Fly for You" – 5:11
:A. "I'll Fly for You" – 5:11
:B1. "[[To Cut a Long Story Short]]" (Recorded Live) – 5:02
:B1. "[[To Cut a Long Story Short]]" (live) – 5:02


{{col-2}}
*'''12-inch single'''
*'''12-inch single'''
:A. "I'll Fly for You" – 5:34
:A. "I'll Fly for You" – 5:34
:B1. "To Cut a Long Story Short" (Recorded Live) – 5:02
:B1. "To Cut a Long Story Short" (live) – 5:02
:B2. "I'll Fly for You" (Glide Mix) – 7:13
:B2. "I'll Fly for You" (glide mix) – 7:13
{{col-end}}

==Personnel==
Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''[[Parade (Spandau Ballet album)|Parade]]'', except as noted:<ref name = Parade/>

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
⚫
'''Spandau Ballet'''
* [[Tony Hadley]] – [[lead vocals]]
* [[Gary Kemp]] – [[guitar]] and backing vocals
* [[Martin Kemp]] – [[electric bass|bass]]
* [[Steve Norman]] – [[saxophone]] and [[Percussion instrument|percussion]]
* [[John Keeble]] – [[drums]]

'''Additional musician'''
* Jess Bailey – keyboards
{{col-2}}
'''Production'''
⚫
* [[Jolley & Swain|Tony Swain]] – producer, engineer
⚫
* [[Jolley & Swain|Steve Jolley]] – producer
* [[Spandau Ballet]] – producers
* Richard Lengyel – engineering assistance
* Pete Hillier – equipment
* Nick Sibley – equipment
* David Band – illustration
* Mixed at Musicland Studios (Munich)
{{col-end}}


==Charts==
==Charts==
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! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |publisher=Australian Chart Book |year=1993 |page=286 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
! scope="row"| Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name = "AUS">{{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |publisher=Australian Chart Book |year=1993 |page=286 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| 38
| 38
|-
|-
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| 26
| 26
|-
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|10|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
{{single chart|Ireland2|10|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022|refname="IRE"}}
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |title=Classifiche |work=[[Musica e dischi]] |language=it |access-date=24 June 2022}} ''Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "I'll Fly for You" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".''</ref>
! scope="row"| Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref name = "ITA">{{cite web |url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |title=Classifiche |work=[[Musica e dischi]] |language=it |access-date=24 June 2022}} ''Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "I'll Fly for You" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".''</ref>
| 6
| 6
|-
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|42|artist=Spandau Ballet|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
{{single chart|Dutch40|42|artist=Spandau Ballet|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
|-
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|28|artist=Spandau Ballet|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
{{single chart|Dutch100|28|artist=Spandau Ballet|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022|refname="NED"}}
|-
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|35|artist=Spandau Ballet|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
{{single chart|New Zealand|35|artist=Spandau Ballet|song=I'll Fly for You|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022|refname="NZ"}}
|-
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|9|artist=Spandau Ballet|artistid=18710|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|9|artist=Spandau Ballet|artistid=18710|rowheader=true|access-date=24 June 2022|refname="UK"}}
|}
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jolley & Swain]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jolley & Swain]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gary Kemp]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gary Kemp]]


{{1980s-pop-song-stub}}

Revision as of 22:28, 27 February 2023

"I'll Fly for You"
Single by Spandau Ballet
from the album Parade
B-side"To Cut a Long Story Short" (live)
ReleasedAugust 1984
RecordedSpring 1984
GenreNew wave
Length
  • 5:11 (single/video version)
  • 5:37 (album version)
  • 7:13 (long version)
  • 5:02 (glide mix)
Label
Songwriter(s)Gary Kemp
Producer(s)
Spandau Ballet singles chronology
"Only When You Leave"
(1984) 		"I'll Fly for You"
(1984) 		"Highly Strung"
(1984)

"I'll Fly for You" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Parade (1984). It became the band's ninth top-10 entry in their native United Kingdom, reaching number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. It also performed well in several other countries. Critics were divided, with some finding fault with the lyrics and others calling it their best single in quite some time. The music video was shot in and around New Orleans and incorporated a Mardi Gras parade into its storyline.

Release and commercial performance

Recorded in spring 1984,[1] "I'll Fly for You" was released in the UK in August of that year[2][a][3][b] and peaked at number 9 there.[4] It also reached number 6 in Italy,[5] number 10 in Ireland,[6] number 28 in the Netherlands,[7] number 35 in New Zealand[8] and number 38 in Australia.[9]

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews upon its release. Betty Page of Record Mirror complained, "And how's this for spectacularly uninspired lyrics: 'And when you sing to me/the shoo-bee-doo's you sing so well'."[10] Robert Hodgens of Smash Hits qualified his praise: "Their best single in ages. A good feel, good mood and good melody—though I find the title line inappropriate and awkward. (And that goes for the sax too!)" [11] Rip It Up's Mark Phillips wrote, "Lush and cleverly constructed, this song is a winner."[12]

Music video

Spandau Ballet traveled to New Orleans to shoot the video for "I'll Fly for You", on which they continued their work with "Only When You Leave" director Simon Milne. Kemp told Number One magazine, "We didn't want it to look like a travelogue and just spend lots of money for the sake of it. We had a specific idea what we wanted to do involving the conflict between a desire for freedom and escape and the slavery and rough justice of the Deep South."[13] In the video Hadley's lover (played by local New Orleans model Peggy Geibel)[14] escapes from police custody during a Mardi Gras parade after a jury finds her guilty of the crime she committed. The end of the video shows the lovers speeding down a highway in a convertible, and the last few moments reveal their actual destination.

The BBC disapproved of a scene in which Geibel and Martin Kemp were "rolling naked in the mud" and wanted it removed.[15] Clothing is visible in the footage that was included.

In his autobiography To Cut a Long Story Short, Hadley wrote, "John, Steve and I appeared in a fictitious courtroom scene—the first time we faced a judge together. Martin was there too. Only Gary was missing. Actually, for all it was made up, it was a lot more plausible than our genuine court appearance a few years later."[16][c]

Track listings

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for Parade, except as noted:[1]

Charts

Chart performance for "I'll Fly for You"
Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 38
Europe (European Top 100 Singles)[18] 26
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 10
Italy (Musica e dischi)[5] 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 42
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 28
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 35
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 9

Notes

  1. ^ Record Mirror reported that the release date would be 13 August 1984.
  2. ^ Smash Hits reported that the release date would be 16 August 1984.
  3. ^ Hadley, Keeble and Norman sued Gary Kemp in a dispute over royalties in 1999.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b Parade (record sleeve). Spandau Ballet. London: Chrysalis Records. 1984. CDL 1473.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "News". Record Mirror. 11 August 1984. p. 6. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Bitz". Smash Hits. No. 148. 2–15 August 1984. p. 12. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "I'll Fly for You" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  6. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I'll Fly for You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet – I'll Fly for You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet – I'll Fly for You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 286. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ Page, Betty (30 June 1984). "Bland Spands > Spandau Ballet > Parade". Record Mirror. p. 20. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  11. ^ Hodgens, Robert (30 August – 12 September 1984). "Spandau Ballet: I'll Fly for You". Smash Hits. No. 150. p. 19. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  12. ^ Phillips, Mark (1 October 1984). "Singles Bar > Spandau Ballet: I'll Fly for You 12"". Rip It Up. p. 27. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. ^ Rapport, Steve (8 September 1984). "Dynasty (the three minute version)". Number One. No. 65. p. 21. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. ^ Rapport, Steve (8 September 1984). "Dynasty (the three minute version)". Number One. No. 65. p. 24. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Mutterings". Smash Hits. No. 150. 30 August – 12 September 1984. p. 35. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  16. ^ Hadley 2004, p. 149
  17. ^ "Spandau Ballet in court over royalties". BBC News. 27 January 1999. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  18. ^ "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 1, no. 26. 24 September 1984. p. 11. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Spandau Ballet" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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