"Ordinary People" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released as a non-album single in 2015.[1] It was written by Harley, Jim Cregan and Robert Hart, and produced by Harley. The song was Harley's first new song of five years, following the release of his fifth solo studio album Stranger Comes to Town in 2010.
"Ordinary People" was originally written and performed by Jim Cregan and Robert Hart as a demoed track, who handed the recording to Harley in 2010. Although Harley did nothing with the song for five years, in 2015, he gained the support of Cregan and Hart to develop the song further.[2] The song, in an early incarnation, was first performed live by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel during their Autumn/Winter 2014 tour at the York Barbican on 13 December. During this airing, Harley revealed the song was a "work in progress".[3] The next performance of the song live was at Hull City Hall on 26 February 2015. In an online diary entry, dated 13 January, Harley noted: "Next show: Hull City Hall – complete with new song. Well, the same new song we played at York Barbican, but with a twist. I said it was a work in progress, and now it has a separate section, a middle eight."[3]
In June 2015, Harley spent several days in the Shrubbery Studio at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, recording "Ordinary People". Harley used his touring band Cockney Rebel to record the song, while the studio's owner Richard Clark engineered it.[4] The song was bassist Marty Prior's debut performance on a Steve Harley song, having joined the band in 2014. During the sessions, assistant engineer George Perks had posted a photograph to his official website, and announced: "Honoured to be in the Shrubbery studio this month with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, assisting the recording of "Ordinary People". The new single sounds great, and has been sent over to producer extraordinaire Matt Butler for mixing. I'm really excited to hear the final mix! Stay tuned...!"[5] It was announced that month that the song would be released as a single nearer the time of the upcoming The Best Years of Our Lives tour in November. Harley hoped that the song would gain airplay on UK radio and act as a publicity boost for the tour.[6]
In Harley's online diary entry for 22 June, he wrote: "We spent a few days in a recording studio recently, and "Ordinary People" came out sounding like a potential R2 play-lister... if only! I've added an extra 12 bars of new melody and lyric (a Middle 8, which is actually 12)." It was also revealed that the digital recording files had been sent via Ethernet to Matt Butler, who would re-mix the song using Pro-tools. The single's release was first announced outside of the official website in the Southend Echo on 15 July, with the article noting that the single was still in the process of being remixed and prepared for release at that time.[7]
"The tune was sent to me by my dear friend Jim Cregan, and he wrote the tune with Robert Hart, a great singer. So Robert and Jim sent me a demo of that five years ago, and for five years the MP3 file was sitting on the desktop of my computer. And I've looked at this thing, and played it twice a year for five years, and said 'I like that, I like that, but it's not finished'. So I called Jim and Robert and said 'Can I finish this for you? I need about 30 more per cent, a new tune, a new part and new lyrics', and they went 'Get on with it, it's too old for us now'. So I finished it and recorded it."[8][9]
In an interview with Phoenix FM, backstage at the Brentwood Music Festival in July 2015, Harley also spoke of the song's development:
"Well it's a song, a good song. It started life written by Jim Cregan and Robert Hart, and they gave it to me five years ago. And I sat on it, it's been sitting on my computer for five years, and I hear it now and again and think I really like this song. Then I said to Jim and Robert, look, you know, it needs extra, it needs a middle eight, the new section, and are you in for giving me a free hand. Because it's like, well, they've had a song for five/six years that hasn't done anything, so its not earning them anything. So they're quite happy for someone like me to come along and say I'm gonna make some alterations for a bit of the publishing, obviously it's business. But I mean they just said get on with it, so I made some changes and I've made a record of it. And we're really pleased with it. We're going to play it today in the set."
The song has been described by Harley as "Beatle-esque".[10] Speaking to Classic Rock in October 2015, Harley revealed: "It's a cri de coeur – I'm speaking for the little man, as it were. It's not John Lennon, but as I get older I'm not ashamed to wear my heart on my sleeve." Speaking of the song's chances of getting airplay on BBC Radio 2, he added: "The new single from Cliff Richard is on the A-list, and they play David Gilmour, but it's tough. I'd love it if Radio 2 played my single – half the world and its grandmother thinks I only wrote one song. If it had the right name stuck to it I think they would play it."[11]
Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times in November 2015, Harley spoke of the song and its release:
"I've got a single out that we're really pleased with and might well get some good airplay with, but I'm only pressing 150 copies to give to local radio. The national radio, everywhere else, you send them a memory stick or MP3. We've played it at four festivals this year and it's proving popular so my hopes are quite high – although I'm pretty long in the tooth, I'm not young and hip, so it's pretty hard to get on the A or B list of Radio 2, which is what I need. It's tough. I've a new single out, a big tour that will probably sell out, so no, I'm not complacent, but I have my place. I've got my audience and I don't want to lose them, it's even increasing somewhat with airplay."[12]
Release
"Ordinary People" was made available as a pre-order digital single on 5 September 2015.[13] It was released on 25 September.[14][15] The song was not given a full commercial release on any physical format. The single's artwork features a close-up photograph of Harley, taken by Mike Callow.[1]
A promotional one-track CD release of the single was later issued with an "impact" date of 27 November, specifically for radio station use. As an exclusive for radio, the promotional CD features a "Radio Edit" version of the song, which has a shortened introduction and first verse, and is approximately 20 seconds shorter than the full version. The CD features the same artwork as the digital version for a picture sleeve, housed in a plastic wallet, with a record company information sticker placed on the rear side.[16][17] The physical format release was limited to 150 copies,[12] and was issued by Comeuppance Ltd and promoted by All About Promotions.[16][17]
The song was given its first play on 3 October, on BBC Radio Scotland's Billy Sloan Show.[18][19] On 8 October, it received its first play on the Norwegian Oslo Radio,[20] and on 21 October, it had its first BBC Radio 2 airing on Vanessa Feltz's show,[21] followed with a play on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on 9 November.[9]
On 7 November 2015, an official video of the song being performed live was uploaded onto YouTube. The footage was recorded during the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel tour of that same month.[22]
Critical reception
Upon release, Andrew Thomas of The Westmorland Gazette reviewed the single, describing the song as "deceptively simple" and "of the type that you need years of experience to pull off so well". He commented on the "Beatles/George Harrison feel", Harley's "rich and assured vocals" and the "straightforward but heartfelt lyrics - a plea for ordinary people to band together and show their essential humanity to try to make the world a better place". He concluded "Ordinary People" was "a very mature song which grows on you with each listen".[23]
Reviewing the band's November 2015 concert at Scunthorpe Baths Hall, Scunthorpe Telegraph noted the song's inclusion within the set-list, commenting how "at the age of 64, Steve is still making great music".[24] Another similar review on the band's Liverpool Philharmonic show, for the Wirral Globe, saw reporter Peter Grant comment: "We were treated to "Ordinary People" – Steve's new single which is, he says, unashamedly Beatle-esque".[10]
When giving the song its first play on BBC Radio Scotland, Billy Sloan commented: "There's a brand new song which I think really is a fantastic piece of work, and I hope you agree. One of Steve Harley's best vocals in a long-long time, and that really is saying something when you consider his incredible back-catalogue".[19] After playing the song on his BBC Radio 2 show, presenter Steve Wright commented that the song was "highly familiar", and that it "really does sound like a song I've heard before".[8][9] After being played on Oslo Radio, the song received positive feedback from listeners.[20]
Track listing
Digital Single
"Ordinary People" - 3:59
Promotional CD Single
"Ordinary People (Radio Edit)" - 3:37
Personnel
Steve Harley – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, producer
Barry Wickens – violin, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice, known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the glam rock group Cockney Rebel. He had six UK hit singles with the band in the mid-1970s, including "Judy Teen", "Mr. Soft", and the number one "Make Me Smile ".
The Best Years of Our Lives is the third studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1975. It was the first album to feature Harley's name ahead of the band's. The album was produced by Harley and Alan Parsons, and contains the band's only UK number one, the million-selling "Make Me Smile ".
Love's a Prima Donna is the fifth studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1976. It was produced by Harley, and would be the band's last album before splitting in 1977.
Timeless Flight is the fourth studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1976. It was written and produced by Steve Harley.
Hobo with a Grin is the debut solo album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released by EMI in 1978. The album was produced by Harley, except for "Roll the Dice", which was produced by Michael J. Jackson. Jackson also acted as additional producer on the album.
Yes You Can is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released by CTE in Europe in 1992 and by Food For Thought Records in the UK in 1993.
Poetic Justice is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released by Transatlantic on 26 August 1996.
"Ballerina (Prima Donna)" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by Stiletto Records as a non-album single in 1983. The song, written and produced by Mike Batt, reached number 51 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Quality of Mercy is the sixth and final studio album by English rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by Gott Discs in 2005. The album was Steve Harley's first studio album in 9 years and the first in 29 years to be released under the Cockney Rebel name. The album was produced entirely by Harley, with Jim Cregan co-producing the track "A Friend for Life". The album's title is based on the Shakespearean phrase.
Stranger Comes to Town is the fifth studio album from English songwriter and musician Steve Harley, which was released by Absolute in 2010. The album was produced by Harley.
The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology is a remastered three-disc box-set anthology by Steve Harley, released in 2006. The anthology features material from Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley's solo career. It covers all of Harley's albums, spanning over 33 years, from 1973's The Human Menagerie to 2005's The Quality of Mercy. The anthology was released by EMI Music UK. It was released on CD in the UK only. Today, the physical CD release is out-of-print.
"Tumbling Down" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released in 1975 as the third and final single from the band's second studio album The Psychomodo (1974). The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"(Love) Compared with You" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1976 as the third and final single from the band's fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna. Released as a single in America only, the song was written and produced by Harley.
"A Friend for Life" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released by Intrinsic Records in 2001 as a non-album single. The song was written by Harley and former Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan, and produced by Cregan. Harley's first release of new material since his 1996 album Poetic Justice, "A Friend for Life" was later included on Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's sixth studio album The Quality of Mercy (2005).
Acoustic and Pure: Live is a live acoustic album by English songwriter and musician Steve Harley, released in 2003. The album features ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan, while certain tracks also include other members of Cockney Rebel.
Birmingham is a live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, featuring the Orchestra of the Swan and Chamber Choir. It was recorded live at the Birmingham Symphony Hall on 24 November 2012, and was released on both CD and DVD in 2013. A DVD version of the performance was also released at the same time.
"Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Soft" peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Sebastian" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from their album The Human Menagerie. The song was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
"The Best Years of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1975 as the title track from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. In 1977, a live version of the song was released as a single from the album Face to Face: A Live Recording.
Uncovered is the sixth and final solo studio album from English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released on 21 February 2020.
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