"Alive & Kicking" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Simple Minds | ||||
from the album Once Upon a Time | ||||
B-side | "Up on the Catwalk (Live Version)" | |||
Released | 30 September 1985 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | A&M, Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mick MacNeil | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Clearmountain, Jimmy Iovine | |||
Simple Minds singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Alive and Kicking" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Alive and Kicking" is a song released by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds as the lead single from their seventh album, Once Upon a Time . The song reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four in Canada;it peaked within the top five of several European countries including Italy,where the song reached number one.
Following on from the success of previous non-album single,"Don't You (Forget About Me)","Alive and Kicking" was released as a single,reaching number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Top Rock Tracks chart (now called the Mainstream Rock chart). The song also reached number 4 in Canada. In Europe,the song topped the charts in Italy for one week,reached number 2 in Belgium,Ireland,and the Netherlands,and peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1992,when re-released as a double A-side with "Love Song" to promote the band's compilation album Glittering Prize 81/92 ,it managed to reach a new peak of number 6. Elsewhere,"Alive and Kicking" reached number 5 in New Zealand,number 16 in South Africa,and just missed the top 20 in Australia,peaking at number 21.
The music video for "Alive and Kicking" was filmed near the town of Hunter,at North–South Lake in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. A portion of the video was filmed on the overlook at the site of the old Catskill Mountain House (previously demolished). It was directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński,who directed the video for "All the Things She Said",the third single from the same album. [2]
7-inch single
12-inch single
Second 12-inch single
Weekly charts"Alive and Kicking"
"Love Song" / "Alive and Kicking"
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [27] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [28] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
In 1992, "Alive & Kicking" provided the soundtrack for a famous promo, entitled "A whole new ball game" for BSkyB's launch of the FA Premier League. [31] [32]
"Alive and Kicking" | ||||
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Single by East Side Beat | ||||
from the album East Side Beat | ||||
Released | 7 December 1992 [33] | |||
Length | 4:05 | |||
Label | FFRR | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mick MacNeil | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Kelsey | |||
East Side Beat singles chronology | ||||
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In 1992, Italian dance music group East Side Beat covered "Alive and Kicking". There are five remixes in total. Two versions are found on the 7-inch single and an additional three are on the CD single.
Chart (1992–1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [34] | 19 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [35] | 20 |
UK Singles (OCC) [36] | 26 |
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