"Bright Eyes" | ||||
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Single by Art Garfunkel | ||||
from the album Fate for Breakfast | ||||
B-side | "Kehaar's Theme" | |||
Released | 19 January 1979[1] | |||
Length | 4:00 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Batt | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Batt | |||
Art Garfunkel singles chronology | ||||
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"Bright Eyes" is a song written by British songwriter Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was written for the soundtrack of the 1978 British animated adventure drama film Watership Down . Rearranged as a pop song from its original form in the film, the track appears on British and European versions of Garfunkel's 1979 Fate for Breakfast and on the US versions of his 1981 album Scissors Cut . "Bright Eyes" topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and became Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979, selling over a million copies. Richard Adams, author of the original novel, is reported to have hated the song. [2] A cover of the song, performed by Stephen Gately, was later used explicitly in the Watership Down television series as its theme song. [3]
The song was written, produced and arranged by Mike Batt for Watership Down , with original director John Hubley requesting a song about death. [4] It plays when the rabbit Hazel, the lead character in the film, almost dies after being wounded by a farmer's gun and Fiver, his little brother is led to him by the Black Rabbit of Inlé. [5]
Batt described recording the song as "one of the most difficult sessions" of his career as he wrote the lyrics with his father in mind who was terminally ill with cancer at the time.
The pop single arrangement of the song was very successful in the United Kingdom, staying at number one in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks in 1979, [6] selling over one million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single of the year. [7] [8] In the United States, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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In 2023, the song featured heavily in the fifth episode of season six of the popular Netflix anthology series, Black Mirror, titled "Demon 79", which is set in 1979, the year of the song's release. The song serves as the episode's opening and closing theme. [28] [29]
Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, which was released on June 14, 1972, two years after Simon & Garfunkel had parted ways.
Michael Philip Batt is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
"Rasputin" is a song by German-based pop and Eurodisco group Boney M. It was released on 28 August 1978 as the second single from their third studio album Nightflight to Venus (1978). Written by the group's creator Frank Farian, along with George Reyam and Fred Jay, it is a song about Grigori Rasputin, a friend and advisor of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family during the early 20th century. The song describes Rasputin as a playboy, mystical healer, and political manipulator.
"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel from his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), released in September 1983 as the album's second single. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl". The 12" EP has the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side.
"One Day in Your Life" is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson for his 1975 album, Forever, Michael. Music written by Sam Brown III and lyrics by Renée Armand, it was later released on March 20, 1981 as a single from the compilation album One Day in Your Life due to the commercial interest that generated from the sales of Jackson's hit 1979 album Off the Wall, despite the fact that Jackson had released that album on Epic Records instead of Motown.
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"Pop Muzik" is a 1979 song by M, a project by English musician Robin Scott, from the debut album New York • London • Paris • Munich. The single, first released in the UK in early 1979, was bolstered by a music video that was well received by critics. The clip showed Scott as a DJ singing into a microphone from behind an exaggerated turntable setup, at times flanked by two female models who sang and danced in a robotic manner. The video also featured Brigit Novik, Scott's partner at the time, who provided the backup vocals for the track.
"Say You, Say Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie for the film White Nights. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Black Singles chart in December 1985. It also became Richie's ninth number-one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The track is not available on the film's soundtrack album, as Motown did not want Richie's first single following the massive success of his 1983 album Can't Slow Down to appear on another label. It was included by Motown on Richie's 1986 release Dancing on the Ceiling.
"Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" is a song recorded by Meco, taken from the album Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 1, 1977, holding on to the spot for two weeks and peaked at no. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining in the charts for nine weeks. The single was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, having sold a million units.
"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by the British band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries and Japan, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, also reaching number one in Belgium and Ireland, as well as reaching number two in France and Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. In the UK, it became the 13th best-selling single of 1983.
"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 song by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara, released as the first single from their debut album Baccara. Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja, and produced by Soja, the song was a hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the United Kingdom, spending a single week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1977.
"Nikita" is a song by English musician Elton John from his 19th studio album, Ice on Fire (1985). It was released as the album's lead single on 4 October 1985, charting at number three on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven in the United States, and reaching the top 10 worldwide, topping the charts of eight countries. The song features George Michael on backing vocals and Nik Kershaw on guitar.
"Cecilia" is a song by American musical duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in April 1970 as the third single from the duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Written by Paul Simon, the song's origins lie in a late-night party, in which the duo and friends began banging on a piano bench. They recorded the sound with a tape recorder, employing reverb and matching the rhythm created by the machine. Simon later wrote the song's guitar line and lyrics on the subject of an untrustworthy lover.
"I Won't Let You Down" is a song by British band Ph.D., released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album (1981). It entered the Australian charts in October 1981 and reached number five; it entered the UK Singles Chart in April 1982 at number 34, peaked at number three the following month. It went on to become the 23rd best-selling single of 1982 in the UK.
"I Don't Wanna Dance" is a 1982 single by Eddy Grant. It went to number one on the UK Singles Chart and held there for three weeks in November 1982. It was later released in the United States, but only reached No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1983. It was later reissued as the B-side of Grant's "Electric Avenue".
Fate for Breakfast is the fourth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel, released in March 1979 on Columbia Records.
"Born to Be Alive" is a song written by French singer Patrick Hernandez. It became a worldwide hit and reached number one on the US Billboard National Disco Action chart in early 1979. The song achieved gold status in the United States, Brazil, Germany and Italy, platinum in Australia and Canada, and silver in the United Kingdom.
"Weekend" is a song by Dutch band Earth and Fire. It was released by Earth and Fire as a single in November 1979 and reached the number one spot in the singles charts in the Netherlands, Switzerland, West Germany, Denmark and Portugal. It was written by keyboard player Gerard Koerts for the album Reality Fills Fantasy.
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