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Ocean Deep

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"Ocean Deep"
Song
A-side"Ocean Deep"
B-side"Baby You're Dynamite (extended mix)"

"Ocean Deep" is a song (a ballad), written by Rod Trott and Jon Sweet and sung by British singer Cliff Richard. It first appeared on his 1983 album Silver which marked his 25th anniversary in music,[1] and the US variant of the album, Give a Little Bit More.

In May 1984 (and only in the UK), it became the fourth song to be lifted from the album as a single after starting out as the mere B-side of the third single "Baby You're Dynamite", released in March 1984.[2] Although having only minor chart success, the song quickly became a phenomenon among Richard's fans the world over, with fans voting the song as their favourite, 25 times out of 26 between 1984 and 2009 in the annual "Cliff Poll" of the fan's favourite songs (where the final poll was in 2009).[3] In the UK, it also has made its way into public polls conducted by radio stations of their favourite Cliff Richard songs.[4]

The song broke through to the wider public in South East Asia, becoming very popular in the Philippines where it became one of the bigger hits of the 1980s, and Hong Kong.[5][6]

Background

Richard discussed how he came to record the song with an interviewer from the Philippines, “Ocean Deep was an unusual one because it came through the post from two writers who I didn’t know; they were amateurs. When something comes in like that, privately, usually they’re not very good. So I didn’t listen to it for about three months. And then when I came home from a tour, I saw this tape and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll play it,’ and I exclaimed, ‘Oh, it’s fantastic!’ I love the song! I was so pleased that these two guys sent that to me. I’m very happy that "Ocean Deep" is very popular in Southeast Asia.”[6]

Single release

"Ocean Deep" first appeared on a single as the B-side of the UK release of "Baby You're Dynamite" in March 1984 (the third single from Richard's album Silver). During the single's 6 week run on UK Singles Chart (peaking at no 27), both fans and several disc-jockeys who played the B-side instead of the A-side, mounted enough pressure to eventually cause EMI Records to release "Ocean Deep" as the A-side.[2] A new picture cover was created for the single, but the release simply reused the same catalogue number and relegated an extended mix of "Baby You're Dynamite" to the B-side.[7] "Ocean Deep" entered the chart at number 72 in May, three weeks after "Baby You're Dynamite" had left the chart, but climbed no further in its three remaining weeks in the top 100.[8]

In the United States and Canada, it was released in early 1984 as the B-side of "Donna" (originally by Ritchie Valens) on EMI America. Both songs were taken from the 1983 album Give a Little Bit More (the US version of the Silver).[9]

Other albums

The song has subsequently been included in many compilation albums, including:

Covers

Track list

UK Original "Baby You're Dynamite" single release, March 1984

  1. Side-A – "Baby You're Dynamite" – 3:51
  2. Side-B – "Ocean Deep" – 5:19
UK "Ocean Deep" single release, May 1984
  1. Side-A – "Ocean Deep" – 5:19
  2. Side-B – "Baby You're Dynamite" (extended mix)
USA / Canada
  1. Side-A – "Donna" – 4:19
  2. Side-B – "Ocean Deep" - 5:19

References

  1. ^ "Silver (1983 album)". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  2. ^ a b Hooper, William (June–July 1988). "Baby You're Dynamite / Ocean Deep A-side flip (from: Cliff Richard Hit-Maker, Part 27 1984)". Dynamite International (118). Utrecht, Netherlands: The International Cliff Richard Movement: 4.
  3. ^ Hooper, William (October–November 2009). "37 Year Points Table 1973-2009". Dynamite International (246). Utrecht, Netherlands: The International Cliff Richard Movement: 4.
  4. ^ "Miss You Nights voted fan favourite at Radio 2". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  5. ^ de Jesus, Totel V. (5 March 2013). "Going deeper into Cliff Richard's ocean of songs". inquirer.net. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Lo, Ricky (17 February 2013). "Cliff Richard, The Young Once". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. ^ John Panteny. "The Cliff Richard Collector's Guide, UK Singles Picture Covers". cliffrichardsongs.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  8. ^ "Cliff Richard's UK positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  9. ^ "New Releases". Dynamite International (93). Utrecht, Netherlands: The International Cliff Richard Movement: 2. April–May 1984.
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