Kayleigh

Last updated

"Kayleigh"
M kayleigh.jpg
Single by Marillion
from the album Misplaced Childhood
B-side "Lady Nina"
Released7 May 1985 (1985-05-07) [1]
Studio Hansa Tonstudio (Berlin, Germany)
Genre Neo progressive rock [2]
Length
  • 3:33 (7-inch version)
  • 4:04 (album version)
Label EMI
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Chris Kimsey
Marillion singles chronology
"Assassing"
(1984)		"Kayleigh"
(1985)		"Lavender"
(1985)
Audio sample
"Kayleigh"

"Kayleigh" is a song by British neo-prog band Marillion. It was released as the first single from the concept album Misplaced Childhood . It is the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number two and stayed on the UK Singles Chart for a total of 14 weeks. It also became the band's most successful single worldwide, reaching the top 10 in Ireland, Norway, and West Germany. In the United States, it gave the band their sole appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching number 74 in October 1985.

Contents

The song popularised the name Kayleigh in the UK. It was later performed by the band's lead singer, Fish, at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium, with Midge Ure on guitar and Phil Collins on drums.

Composition

"Kayleigh" has been characterised as a "tremulous torch song". [3] Fish, the band's lead singer and lyricist, said that writing the lyrics was "his way of apologizing to some of the women he had dated in the past." Although he had at one point dated a woman whose forenames were Kay Lee, the song was more a composite of several women with whom he had had relationships. Fish was quoted:

I was very confused at the time, you know, I had a lot of long term relationships, a lot of 'deep and meaningful' relationships that basically I'd wrecked because I was obsessed with the career and where I wanted to go. I was very, very selfish and I just wanted to be the famous singer but I was starting to become aware of the sacrifices that I was making, and I think that Kay was one of those sacrifices that went along the road. 'Kayleigh' was not just about one person; it was about three or four different people. The 'stilettos in the snow', that was something that happened in Galashiels, when I can remember going down one night and we were both really drunk, and, you know, dancin' under a street light, and 'dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls' was part of the Cambridge thing. [4]

According to a 2014 article in Classic Rock: [5]

"I'd wanted to write a song about a girlfriend I'd split up with, whose name was Kay," Fish explains. "Which of course we couldn't do. So we added her middle name, Lee, and it became Kayleigh instead."

In the sleeve notes for 1998's remastered edition of *Misplaced Childhood*, Fish states that "Kayleigh" catalogued his "total inability to enter into and maintain any relationship". The lyrics seem to cast him as the mistreater rather than the mistreated.

"Because I was in denial I might have swapped things around," he acknowledges. "But it wasn't just about Kay, it was inspired by three or four different people in my life."

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. [6] The album version contained 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." [7]

Release

"Kayleigh" entered the UK Singles Chart on 18 May 1985 and climbed to the number-two position. It was kept from the number-one spot by a version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" by the charity supergroup the Crowd in June 1985, which was released following the Bradford City stadium fire.

As with all Marillion albums and singles of the Fish period, the cover art was designed by Mark Wilkinson from an idea by Fish. The B-side on the international version, "Lady Nina", would go on to be used as a single promoting the 1986 US-only mini album Brief Encounter . "Lady Nina" is the only Marillion song from the Fish era to use a drum machine. The US version of the single uses "Heart of Lothian" instead, another track from Misplaced Childhood that would eventually be released as the third and final single from the album. A CD replica of the single was also part of a collectors box-set released in July 2000 which contained Marillion's first 12 singles and was re-issued as a 3-CD set in 2009 (see The Singles '82–'88 ).

Music video

The promotional video for the single was shot in West Berlin, where the Misplaced Childhood album was recorded. 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, appeared in the video.

Legacy

The song's popularity in mid-1985 was responsible for a significant rise in popularity of the name Kayleigh. Its popularity and legacy was addressed by Harry Wallop, writing in The Daily Telegraph in 2011:

Some names just didn't exist a generation ago, but have taken off in popularity. The most famous of these is Kayleigh, which came into existence thanks to the neo-prog rock band Marillion, who had a number two hit with a single of this name in 1985. It was almost unheard of before the song. But since then it has taken hold, especially with parents who grew up with a love of long-haired bouffant power ballads. A few years ago, the name made it to the 30th most popular girl's name in Britain, and it remains popular: 267 children were named it last year. Curiously, though, it has spawned a bewildering sub-sect of names, nearly all of which are unrelentingly bizarre. There were 101 Demi-Leighs last year, seven Chelsea-Leighs and four called Lilleigh, which sounds like a sanitary product. [8]

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." Johnstone also said the original cherry trees referred to in the song had been removed due to disease but they would be replaced. [9]

In 2013, in a presentation on crowd funding for a TED conference in Bedford, Marillion keyboardist Mark Kelly identified the song's popularity as "part of the reason I've never had a proper job and I've been able to make a living from music for the past 32 years". [10]

In a 2021 interview about Weltschmerz, which Fish described as his final album, he noted that "I'm never going to be playing stadiums or arenas again. And I definitely don't want to be on the chicken-in-a-basket circuit singing fucking 'Kayleigh'." [11]

Track listings

International 7-inch version

A. "Kayleigh" – 3:33
B. "Lady Nina" – 3:41

US 7-inch version

A. "Kayleigh" – 3:33
B. "Heart of Lothian" – 3:47

12-inch versions

A1. "Kayleigh" (alternative mix) – 3:57
A2. "Kayleigh" (extended version) – 4:00
B1. "Lady Nina" (extended version) – 5:46

The Singles '82-88'

  1. "Kayleigh" – 3:33
  2. "Lady Nina" – 3:41
  3. "Kayleigh" (alternative mix) – 3:57
  4. "Kayleigh" (extended version) – 4:00
  5. "Lady Nina" (extended version) – 5:46

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [29] Silver250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marillion</span> British rock band

Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-prog band of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish (singer)</span> Scottish singer

Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-prog band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top Ten singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top Ten albums, including a number one with Misplaced Childhood. In his solo career, Fish explored contemporary pop and traditional folk, and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top 10 album.

<i>Clutching at Straws</i> 1987 studio album by Marillion

Clutching at Straws is the fourth studio album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released on June 22, 1987. It was the last album with lead singer Fish, who left the band in 1988, and is a concept album.

<i>Misplaced Childhood</i> 1985 studio album by Marillion

Misplaced Childhood is the third studio album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released in 1985. It is a concept album loosely based on the childhood of Marillion's lead singer, Fish, who was inspired by a brief incident that occurred while he was under the influence of LSD.

<i>Seasons End</i> 1989 studio album by Marillion

Seasons End is the fifth studio album by British neo-prog band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. It reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>The Best of Both Worlds</i> (Marillion album) 1997 greatest hits album by Marillion

Best of Both Worlds is a two-disc compilation album by British neo-prog band Marillion released in 1997 by EMI Records, who the band had been signed to from their debut in 1982 until being dropped in 1995. The title refers to Marillion's two distinct "eras" with lead singers Fish (1980—1988) and Steve Hogarth. By the time this compilation was released, both line-ups had recorded four studio albums each. The second best-of since the 14-track one-disc compilation A Singles Collection from 1992, this one additionally contains material from Brave (1994) and Afraid of Sunlight (1996). Two different covers were created for the compilation, one by Mark Wilkinson, who had worked for the band during the Fish years, and one by Bill Smith Studio, who took over after Fish's and Wilkinson's departure. The booklet was printed so that either of the covers could be displayed in the jewel case according to personal preference. The track list, comprising 29 songs, was put together by Lucy Jordache, then the manager responsible for the band in EMI, in close collaboration with the band's fans' mailing list, "Freaks". Jordache also motivated singers Fish and Hogarth to contribute liner notes—at a time when both camps were not yet on friendly terms again—by telling each of them the other had already agreed to do so.

<i>BSides Themselves</i> 1988 compilation album by Marillion

B'Sides Themselves is a compilation of single B-sides by the British neo-prog band Marillion, which was released on CD only in January 1988. This was the first time that those B-sides were made available in the then still relatively new Compact Disc format. However, vinyl LP and cassette versions were issued in June 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">He Knows You Know</span> 1983 single by Marillion

"He Knows You Know" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was their second single, with "Charting the Single" as the B-side. It was released from their first album, Script for a Jester's Tear, and peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's theme is drug abuse, and alludes particularly to intravenous drug use. In concert, lead vocalist Fish would often introduce it as "The Drug Song" and state that it was inspired by drug use while he was working at the Job/Benefits centre in Aylesbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden Party (Marillion song)</span> 1983 single by Marillion

"Garden Party (The Great Cucumber Massacre)" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was the second single released from their debut album Script for a Jester's Tear. It reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart in 1983, the band's biggest singles chart success prior to 1985. The song is a parody of social elitism and snobbery. The B-side is a live version of "Margaret" (recorded at Edinburgh Playhouse, 7 April 1983). The 12" single includes a live version of "Charting The Single" (recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, 18 April 1983).

<i>Bouillabaisse</i> (album) 2005 greatest hits album by Fish

Bouillabaisse is a compilation double album by Fish released in 2005. It is the third "best-of" collection after Yin and Yang (1995) and Kettle of Fish (1998), however, it covers Fish's entire solo career up to the previous year's studio album Field of Crows. The songs are divided into two sets: Disc 1, entitled "Balladeer", and disc 2, entitled "Rocketeer". It also features the single edits Marillion's three biggest hits, "Kayleigh", "Lavender" (1985) and "Incommunicado" (1987). It also features an edited version of "Goldfish and Clowns" from Sunsets on Empire (1997) which has never been released due to the planned single being ultimately cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavender (Marillion song)</span> 1985 single by Marillion

"Lavender" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was released as the second single from their 1985 UK number one concept album Misplaced Childhood. The follow-up to the UK number two hit "Kayleigh", the song was their second Top Five UK hit, entering the chart on 7 September 1985, reaching number five and staying on the chart for nine weeks. None of the group's subsequent songs have reached the Top Five and "Lavender" remains their second highest-charting song. As with all Marillion albums and singles between 1982 and 1988, the cover art was created by Mark Wilkinson.

<i>Brief Encounter</i> (album) 1986 EP by Marillion

Brief Encounter is a compilation EP by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It contains two studio and three live tracks that EMI's American label Capitol Records released there in 1986, coinciding with the band's tour of the U.S. and Canada that year. The band was Rush's support act on the Power Windows tour and also played headline gigs at smaller theatres. The "mini album" contained five tracks: the band's European breakthrough single "Kayleigh" ; its b-side "Lady Nina"; "Freaks", released in Europe as the b-side of the follow-up single "Lavender"; and live recordings of the first two albums' title tracks, Fugazi (1984) and Script for a Jester's Tear (1984).

<i>Live from Loreley</i> 2009 live album by Marillion

Live from Loreley is a live album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, recorded at a concert at the Freilichtbühne Loreley Loreley, St. Goarshausen, Germany on 18 July 1987. The recording, made during the first leg of the 1987 Clutching at Straws tour, documents the band at the peak of their commercial success in the 1980s when they had original frontman Fish on vocals. The show was attended by an audience of 20,000; support acts were Magnum, The Cult (cancelled), and It Bites. It comprises songs from the four studio albums they released up to that point, i.e. Script for a Jester's Tear (1983), Fugazi (1984), Misplaced Childhood (1985), and Clutching at Straws (1987). The non-album debut single "Market Square Heroes" is also included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Nina</span> 1986 single by Marillion

Lady Nina is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. First released in 1985 on the B-side to the #2 UK hit single "Kayleigh", it was the only single from the EP Brief Encounter released in the United States by Capitol Records in April 1986. A music video was also shot to promote it. While the EP climbed to #67 on the Billboard 200 album charts, "Lady Nina" did not make the Billboard Hot 100, but did reach #30 on the Mainstream Rock charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart of Lothian</span> 1985 single by Marillion

"Heart of Lothian" is a song by British neo-prog band Marillion. It is the fifth track on the 1985 concept album Misplaced Childhood. The song was released as the third single from Misplaced Childhood on 18 November 1985 in the UK, the Netherlands, West Germany, Canada, South Africa and Australia. "Heart of Lothian" became the third Top 30 UK single from Misplaced Childhood, peaking at number 29. The song also peaked at number 51 on the German singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welcome to the Garden Party</span> 1986 single by Marillion

"Welcome to the ‚Garden Party‘" is a 1986 single by British neo-prog band Marillion released exclusively in West Germany to accompany a series of concerts the band played at festivals in that country as second bill to Queen, following their commercial breakthrough with the album Misplaced Childhood and the hit singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender" the year before. The single was released on 7" and 12" vinyl; neither version contained any new or previously unreleased material. The 7" and 12" versions contained completely different recordings from each other. The A-side, "Garden Party", originally the second single from the band's debut album, Script for a Jester's Tear, had reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart in 1983, but—like all Marillion singles before "Kayleigh"—had failed to chart in Germany. However, the single received little airplay and failed to enter the German top 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Mice</span> 1987 single by Marillion

Sugar Mice is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was the second single from their fourth studio album Clutching at Straws. Released on 13 July 1987, it peaked at number 22 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's eighth top-thirty hit in a row. Outside the UK, it was released in France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, West Germany and in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooks in You</span> 1989 single by Marillion

"Hooks in You" is the first single from British rock band Marillion's fifth album Seasons End, released in 1989. It was the first single to feature lead singer Steve Hogarth, who joined the band the same year, replacing Fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freaks (Marillion song)</span> 1988 single by Marillion

"Freaks" is a song by British neo-prog band Marillion. First released in 1985 on the B-side to the number five UK hit single "Lavender", in November 1988 it was released in a live version on a double A-side single together with the band's 1985 number two hit, "Kayleigh". The single was intended to promote the forthcoming double-live album The Thieving Magpie, which documents the band's history with singer Fish, who had left the band in October 1988; as such, this was Marillion's last single to feature Fish on vocals and cover art by Mark Wilkinson, who would go on to collaborate with Fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)</span> 1991 single by Marillion

"Cover My Eyes " is the lead single from the 1991 album Holidays in Eden by British neo-prog band Marillion. A straightforward pop song, it peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart, but reached number 14 in the Netherlands, becoming the band's biggest hit there since "Kayleigh" (1985). The band performed on Top of the Pops on 6 June 1991, despite the song at the time being outside the top 40.

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Robin (4 May 1985). "News". Record Mirror . p. 9.
  2. ↑ Popoff, Martin (5 January 2024). "The Top 20 unlikely Progressive Rock hits, ranked". Goldmine . Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Stayingin". The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  4. ↑ The Funny Farm Interview – July '95, Dick Brothers Record Company
  5. ↑ "The Story Behind The Song: Kayleigh by Marillion". Loudersound.com. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Total Guitar July 2001
  7. ↑ "Marillion". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Wallop, Harry (23 November 2011). "Baby names: how do you decide?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Marillion hit Kayleigh to be set in Galashiels pavement". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "marillion.com | The Official Website". Marillion.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Wall, Mick (8 January 2021). "Fish bids farewell: the pain of the world and the album he was born to make". Classic Rock Magazine . Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 192. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  13. ↑ "Marillion – Kayleigh" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0570." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "European Top 100 Singles". Eurotipsheet . Vol. 2, no. 27. 8 July 1985. p. 12.
  16. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Kayleigh". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Marillion".
  18. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 32, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  19. ↑ "Marillion – Kayleigh" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "Marillion – Kayleigh". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "Marillion – Kayleigh". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "Marillion: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  23. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard . 26 October 1985. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  24. ↑ "Mainstream Rock Airplay" . Billboard . 14 September 1985. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Marillion – Kayleigh" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  26. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  27. ↑ "Top 100 Singles". Music Week . 18 January 1986. p. 10.
  28. ↑ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  29. ↑ "British single certifications – Marillion – Kayleigh". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.