Orchard Road (song)

"Orchard Road"
Single by Leo Sayer
from the album Have You Ever Been in Love
B-side	"Gone Solo"
Released	February 1983 (1983-02)
Genre	Soft rock synth-pop
Length	4:29
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Leo Sayer Alan Tarney
Producer(s)	Alan Tarney
Leo Sayer singles chronology
"Paris Dies in the Morning" (1982) "Orchard Road" (1983) "Till You Come Back to Me" (1983)

"Orchard Road" is a song by Leo Sayer released in February 1983 as the second single from his tenth album Have You Ever Been in Love . It peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his final top-twenty hit until his 2006 feature on "Thunder in My Heart Again". ^[1]

Release and composition

The music for "Orchard Road" was composed by Alan Tarney, with the lyrics by Sayer. ^[2] Tarney, who also produced the song, had previously worked with Sayer producing his 1980 album Living in a Fantasy , which included the top-ten hit "More Than I Can Say".

The song was originally recorded in one take as a demo, with Sayer "[making] up the words as we recorded it, with Alan Tarney playing to my hand signals". ^[3] However, the demo became the final version with the slightly unpolished guide vocal kept because of how it felt. ^[4]

Meaning of the song

According to Sayer, the lyrics to the song are based on an all-night phone conversation out in a public telephone booth he had with his then-wife, Janice, pleading for her return from her flat and forgiveness after a lapse of judgement in their 7-year marital life. In reality, his wife had moved to Churchfield Road, Acton in Greater London. ^[5]

The name "Churchfield Road" "didn't sing very well", so it was changed to "Orchard Road", the name coming from the shopping area in Singapore as Sayer had recently performed there. ^[6] However, this change gives rise to a level of incongruence:

• "waiting in the cold night air" in a tropical location known for year-round around-the-clock humid heat;
• "working out of town" in a city state without any independent urban entities besides Singapore.

Track listing

7": Chrysalis / CHS 2677 (UK)

1. "Orchard Road" – 4:29
2. "Gone Solo" – 3:58

Personnel

• Leo Sayer – lead vocals
• Alan Tarney – backing vocals, Fairlight synthesiser, guitar, bass guitar, Linn Drum machine ^[7]
• Trevor Spencer – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Orchard Road"

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] [9]	17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10]	8
Ireland (IRMA) [11]	8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [12]	7
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13]	5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14]	18
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [15]	9
UK Singles (OCC) [1]	16

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Orchard Road"

Chart (1983)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [9]	95
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) [16]	81
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [17]	68
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [18]	71

References

1. "Leo Sayer: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
2. "Orchard Road". National library of Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2012. music / words by Allan Tarney ; music by Leo Sayer
3. "INTERVIEW: Leo Sayer looks ahead to show at Floral Pavilion". Wirral Globe. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
4. O'Connell, John (2013-07-12). "100. Orchard Road by Leo Sayer". What We Talk About When We Talk About Talk Talk. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
5. Interview with Leo Sayer, The Bob Rogers Show, Radio 2CH, 10:31:30 AEST 31 July 2008.
6. "8 Questions with Leo Sayer: He still makes you feel like dancing | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
7. World Radio + Have You Ever Been in Love (booklet). Edsel. 2009. EDSD 2062.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 265. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
9. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report . Retrieved 22 January 2023– via Imgur.com.
10. "Leo Sayer – Orchard Road" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Orchard Road". Irish Singles Chart.
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Leo Sayer" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
13. "Leo Sayer – Orchard Road" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
14. "Leo Sayer – Orchard Road". Top 40 Singles.
15. "SA Charts 1969–March 1989" . Retrieved 22 August 2022.
16. "Jaaroverzichten 1983". Ultratop. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
17. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1983". www.top40.nl. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
18. "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1983". www.dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 January 2022.