| "Open Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Gary Barlow | ||||
| from the album Open Road | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 3 November 1997 | |||
| Length | 4:23 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Gary Barlow | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Gary Barlow singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Open Road" is a song by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, released as the fourth single from his debut solo album, Open Road (1997).
Following the release of "So Help Me Girl", Barlow announced that 'Open Road' would be the last single to be released from the album in Europe. However, following its release, 'Open Road' peaked at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart as well as becoming his third fourth consecutive top-two single in Lithuania and fourth song to chart in Ireland and Germany, respectively. After the single was released Barlow's record label began the process of preparing the recording of a second album. However, his next single, "Stronger", only reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart, and as such, 'Open Road' is viewed as his last successful single, until the release of 2010 single Shame and Barlow's third No. 1 single on the UK Singles Chart, "Sing" in 2012. Barlow himself regards Open Road as "the best song on the album". [1]
A reviewer from Music Week rated "Open Road" five out of five, adding, "The one shining light from his disappointing solo album is a comforting assurance that Barlow can still live up to the potential that Back For Good promised." [2] The magazine's Alan Jones noted the samples from Mr. Mister's 1985 hit "Kyrie", saying, "It's a ploy that works well, however, giving this mid-tempo plodder an instant familiarity. Gary contributes a fine vocal, and the whole thing gels very nicely, providing a potential pause in the downward spiral of his recent singles." [3]
The accompanying music video for "Open Road" begins with Barlow sitting in his car, watching as rain pours down outside. The scene then cuts to a shot of Barlow performing inside a social club, where dancers and backing vocalists are performing around him. After the first chorus, the video cuts to Barlow walking along a highway, through an underground train station and arriving at the club where he is performing. However, this time, the scene alternates, as he throws his jacket to the ground, moves into the centre of the stage and performs directly to camera. The video finishes with Barlow returning to his car, realising that the hope he has been searching for is inside of him, which is indicated by the image in his rearside mirror. [4] The music video uses the Rose & Foster mix.
|
|
| Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [11] | 34 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) [12] | 63 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [13] | 31 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [14] | 29 |
| Lithuania (M-1) [15] | 2 |
| Scotland (OCC) [16] | 10 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [17] | 7 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 3 November 1997 |
| [18] | |
| Japan | 21 November 1997 | CD | [19] |
"Let's Dance" is the first single from English boy band Five's third studio album, Kingsize (2001). The song was written by Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, Ash Howes, Martin Harrington, Abz Love, Jason "J" Brown, and Sean Conlon and produced by Stannard and Gallagher. Released on 13 August 2001, "Let's Dance" charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Five's third and final number-one single, and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The song also peaked at number two in the Irish Singles Chart and became a top-10 in hit in Australia, Flanders, Greece, and Romania.
"Beauty on the Fire" is the third and final single from Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia's second studio album, White Lilies Island (2001). The single charted at No. 26 in the United Kingdom, No. 27 in Italy, and No. 78 in Australia. The single re-entered the charts in 2008 after it was used in an episode of BBC One's Holby City.
"Wrong Impression" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. The song was written by Imbruglia and Gary Clark and was released as the second single from Imbruglia's second studio album, White Lilies Island (2001), on 11 January 2002. The single reached the top 10 on both the UK and New Zealand singles charts and found moderate success in Australia, the United States, and Europe.
"That Day" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released as the first single from her second album, White Lilies Island (2001). In Australia, the song reached number 10, while in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 11. The song also charted well in Italy, peaking at number 14, and in Sweden, where it reached number 34. RCA Records chose not to release "That Day" in the United States, where "Wrong Impression" served as the album's lead single instead.
"Forever Love" is the debut solo single released by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, taken from his debut solo album, Open Road (1997). Released on 8 July 1996, it debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart six days later, becoming Barlow's first of three number-one singles away from Take That. Worldwide, "Forever Love" also topped the charts in Lithuania, Spain and Taiwan, while reaching the top five in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland. The song was used as the official theme for the film The Leading Man (1996).
"Swear It Again" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. The ballad was released on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom as the first single from their debut album, Westlife (1999). The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, giving Westlife their first of 14 UK number-one singles. "Swear It Again" is Westlife's only single to have charted in the US, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ranking number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2000.
"If I Let You Go" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 August 1999 as the second single from their self-titled debut album (1999). It became the second number-one hit, spending 11 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. The song has received a gold sales certification in the UK for selling over 400,000 in combined sales of purchased and streaming-equivalent sales. It is the band's 10th-best-selling single in paid-for sales and combined sales in the UK as of January 2019.
"You and I" is a song by English singer Will Young. It was written by Ed Johnson, Henry Johnson and Mike Peden and recorded by Young for his on his debut studio album, From Now On (2002). Produced by Peden, the song was released as Young's fourth single and 2002's official Children in Need single on 18 November 2002 along with the track "Don't Let Me Down". It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number three in the Netherlands, and the top thirty in Ireland and Italy.
"Pray" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by band member Gary Barlow, the ballad was released on 5 July 1993 by RCA and BMG as the second single from the band's second studio album, Everything Changes (1993). It is the first of twelve singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks, and starting a streak of four consecutive number-one singles. The song has received a Gold sales status certification and sold over 438,000 copies in the UK, won British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year at the 1994 Brit Awards, and was the finale of Take That's Beautiful World Tour 2007. The music video for "Pray" was directed by Gregg Masuak and filmed in Mexico.
"Love Won't Wait" is a song by English singer Gary Barlow from his debut studio album, Open Road (1997). It was released as the second single from the album on 9 April 1997 by BMG and RCA Records. The song was written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, and was an unreleased demo from her Bedtime Stories (1994) studio sessions. Barlow came by the demo in 1997, while looking to record more songs for Open Road. He changed the lyrics to represent a male point of view rather than Madonna's, and recorded the track with Stephen Lipson as producer.
"So Help Me Girl" is a song written by Howard Perdew and Andy Spooner and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It was released in January 1995 as the third single from his fourth studio album, Third Rock from the Sun (1994). The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, where it debuted at number 59 for the week of February 4, 1995, and number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Clementine" is the second single released from Take That band member Mark Owen's debut solo album, Green Man. The single was released on 3 February 1997. The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, his second successive single at that ranking.
"Child" is the debut solo single of Take That band member Mark Owen, released on 18 November 1996. It was the first single to be released from Owen's debut album, Green Man (1996). He told in an interview, "It was the first song I wrote, and while I was writing the others I always knew it was going to be the first." "Child" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, making it Owen's joint-most-successful single of his solo career. It was certified silver and sold over 200,000 copies. The song reached number one in Lithuania, Spain, and Taiwan and peaked within the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, and Switzerland.
"My Love" is a song by the Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 30 October 2000 as the second single from their second studio album, Coast to Coast (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their seventh UK number one. The song was the 35th best-selling single of 2000 in the UK. It also won The Record of the Year in 2000. It has sold 400,000 copies in the UK.
"Why Can't I Wake Up with You" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by Gary Barlow, the song was released on 8 February 1993 as the lead single from their second album, Everything Changes (1993). The song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number seven in Ireland
"Babe" is a song by English boy band Take That, released in December 1993 by RCA and BMG as the fourth single from the band's second album, Everything Changes (1993). Written by Gary Barlow, it features Mark Owen on lead vocals. Production was led by David Clayton, who later spent 10 years as keyboard player and backing vocalist with Simply Red. Accompanied by a music video directed by Gregg Masuak, the song was a number-one hit in both Ireland and the United Kingdom while peaking within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
"Everything Changes" is a song by English boy band Take That. Released as the fifth single from the band's second studio album, Everything Changes (1993), and written by Gary Barlow and producers Michael Ward, Eliot Kennedy and Cary Bayliss, the song features Robbie Williams on lead vocals.
"Bop Bop Baby" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife and it was released on 20 May 2002 as the third and final single from their third studio album, World of Our Own (2001). The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart; during an interview, the band claimed this was due to the obscure choice of single, as they would have much preferred to release "Why Do I Love You", for which they had recorded a video. It is the band's 18th-best-selling single in paid-for sales and in combined sales in the United Kingdom as of January 2019. Billboard named the single one of the "Top 15 Underrated Boy Band Jams" in 2015.
"Unbreakable" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 4 November 2002 by RCA Records and Syco Music as the first and only single from their first greatest hits album, Unbreakable – The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2002). The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid, and produced by Steve Mac. It was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in G major, with the group's vocals ranging from the chords of D4 to C♯6.
"What My Heart Wants to Say" is the fourth single from English pop singer Gareth Gates' debut studio album of the same name. The song was written by Steve Mac and Jorgen Elofsson and produced by Mac. Upon its release on 9 December 2002, the single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart; it was Gates' first single not to reach the top spot in the UK.
