Run to the Sun

Last updated

"Run to the Sun"
Erasure - Run to the Sun.jpg
Single by Erasure
from the album I Say I Say I Say
B-side "Tenderest Moments"
Released18 July 1994 (1994-07-18) [1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:12 (single version)
  • 4:25 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Martyn Ware
Erasure singles chronology
"Always"
(1994)
"Run to the Sun"
(1994)
"I Love Saturday"
(1994)
Music video
"Run to the Sun" on YouTube

"Run to the Sun" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in July 1994 by Mute and Elektra as the second single from the duo's sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). The song is written by Vince Clarke with fellow Erasure member Andy Bell and is an uptempo dance music track that displays signature synthesizer programming by Clarke. The UK 7-inch single of "Run to the Sun" was issued on yellow-coloured vinyl and featured a fold-out poster of the single's cover artwork. The single's B-side, a ballad entitled "Tenderest Moments", was later re-recorded by Erasure in an acoustic version for their 2006 album Union Street .

Contents

Released on 18 July, "Run to the Sun" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Erasure's 15th UK top-10 hit. In the US, the song reached number 24 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and number 14 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Elsewhere, the song reached number five in Finland, number 19 in Ireland and Sweden, and number 49 in Germany. Its music video was directed by Nico Beyer.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Ned Raggett viewed the song as "strident" and "full-on pep". [2] Larry Flick from Billboard declared it as a "rave-happy pop/dance ditty", noting that "as always, singer Andy Bell is a delight, while synthmaster Vince Clarke offers a racing beat and tweaking computer noises. Layered between the two is a sweet, contagious hook that sticks to the brain upon impact." [3] Cashbox named it "one of the best tracks from the excellent new Erasure album", calling it a "quickly-paced, freestyle synth romp." The reviewer added, "Vince Clark[ sic ] flicks his snappy keyboard stings throughout, while Andy Bell's songbird voice and longing-for-thou lyrics shoot right for the heart. Top-40 potential here, with alternative and modern rockers again laying the foundation for the band." [4] Chris Willman from Los Angeles Times felt the song, "which may or may not be a paean to a departed loved one, should score big at the clubs." [5]

Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "Too much bluster and too little substance here, as Erasure switch to automatic pilot on a song that lacks melodic substance. Not one of their bigger hits, though it should make a brief appearance in the Top 20." [6] Sylvia Patterson of NME remarked, "You thought 'Always' was dreary and then this! A dot-to-dot doodle of hyperactive keyboards with some crumby '70s 'whzzzzing' and 'poo-poo!' bits and cobblers lyrics and no chorus whatsoever. Andy 'Ding Dong' Bell knows better, so does Cardboard Ken." [7] Darren Lee from The Quietus declared it a "surefooted day-glo" pop anthem, "which fitted seamlessly into the canon". [8] James Hamilton from the RM Dance Update described it as "old fashioned galloping 133.9bpm Hi-NRG". [9] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine remarked that Bell explores lower voice registers on "inventive and ornate overdubs pad songs", like "the sci-fi/techno dance" number "Run to the Sun". [10] Dardy Chang from American independent newspaper Stanford Daily stated that its "bouncy, relentless" beat "makes it an instant dance hit." [11]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by German director Nico Beyer. [12] It was shot at the World Clock in Alexanderplatz, Berlin and features an early appearance by Jason Statham as a silver-painted background dancer.[ citation needed ]

Track listings

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [23] 39
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [24] 33
Europe (European Dance Radio) [25] 8
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [26] 5
Germany (Official German Charts) [27] 49
Ireland (IRMA) [28] 19
Scotland (OCC) [29] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [30] 19
UK Singles (OCC) [31] 6
UK Club Chart ( Music Week ) [32] 55
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [33] 24
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [34] 14
US Dance Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [35] 48

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Policy of Truth</span> 1990 single by Depeche Mode

"Policy of Truth" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 7 May 1990 as the third single from their seventh studio album Violator (1990). It is the only Depeche Mode single to chart higher on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart than on the UK Singles Chart, and it became the band's second chart-topper on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking in My Shoes</span> 1993 single by Depeche Mode

"Walking in My Shoes" is a song by British electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 26 April 1993 as the second single from their eighth studio album, Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993). The song reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and matched the success of the previous single "I Feel You" on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it reached one. The B-side is "My Joy", the only exclusive B-side from the Songs of Faith and Devotion album, and is a rock track in the vein of "I Feel You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Only When I Lose Myself</span> 1998 single by Depeche Mode

"Only When I Lose Myself" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was made exclusively for their 1998 compilation The Singles 86>98 and released as a single on 7 September 1998. It is the first non-album studio single since "It's Called a Heart" in 1985 and is also one of the rare singles to have two limited editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gossip Folks</span> 2002 single by Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris

"Gossip Folks" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring fellow American rapper Ludacris, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, Under Construction (2002), on December 9, 2002. Written alongside producer Timbaland, it peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffer Well</span> 2006 single by Depeche Mode

"Suffer Well" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their eleventh studio album, Playing the Angel (2005). It was released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2006 as the album's third single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Little Respect</span> 1988 single by Erasure

"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a lover to show compassion and respect. The heavily synthesized instrumentation is accentuated by acoustic guitar and Bell's vocal falsetto in the chorus. It was their tenth single and was taken from their third studio album, The Innocents (1988). Known as one of their signature songs, the single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Erasure's second consecutive top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it made number 14, and reached number two on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drama!</span> 1989 single by Erasure

"Drama!" is the first single released from English synth-pop duo Erasure's fourth studio album, Wild! (1989). Written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the song begins with a low-key keyboard line and a subdued vocal from Bell. As the song progresses, the instrumentation and vocals become more hectic, ultimately ending as a full-blown dance track. "Drama!" contains a "Guilty!" exclamation throughout, provided by Scottish band the Jesus and Mary Chain, who were recording in the studio next door. The song was met with critical acclaim from both music critics and fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Savannah</span> 1990 single by Erasure

"Blue Savannah" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure from their fourth studio album, Wild! (1989). Written by members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the song was released as a single in Japan on 25 January 1990 and was issued in the United Kingdom the following month. Alfa Records released it in Japan as the album's lead single, Mute Records released it in Europe as the album's third single, and Sire Records released it in the United States as the album's second single. Considered one of the band's signature songs, the duo still perform it regularly in concerts. It has been described as an uplifting love song; the instrumentation is crisp and heavily synthesized, accented with sweeping, programmed piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chorus (Erasure song)</span> 1991 single by Erasure

"Chorus" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in June 1991 as the first single from their fifth studio album of the same name (1991). Produced by Martyn Phillips and written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the song features Clarke's electronic soundscapes and Phillips' computerised production. The single was released by Mute Records in the United Kingdom and Sire Records in the United States. It peaked at number three in both Denmark and the UK while reaching number four in Ireland. In the US, it peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love to Hate You</span> 1991 single by Erasure

"Love to Hate You" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1991 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Chorus (1991). Written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is an electronic dance track inspired by disco music. The synthesizer melody in the chorus is an interpolation of the string break from American singer Gloria Gaynor's disco-era classic "I Will Survive". The duo also recorded a Spanish version of the song, called "Amor y Odio", and one in Italian called "Amo Odiarti". The single was released by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US. It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breath of Life (Erasure song)</span> 1992 single by Erasure

"Breath of Life" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released as the fourth and final single from their fifth studio album, Chorus (1991), in March 1992. It was written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell with additional input from Pat O'Brien. An uptempo synth-pop song, its dance music elements were strongly accentuated for the club remixes. For the single release, it was remixed slightly, including a shortened intro. In the United States, it was the third single released from the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Always (Erasure song)</span> 1994 single by Erasure

"Always" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. The ballad was released on 11 April 1994 as the first single from their sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it was produced by Martyn Ware. Mute Records issued the single in the United Kingdom, and Elektra Records released it in the United States.

<i>I Love Saturday</i> 1994 single by Erasure

"I Love Saturday" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released as the third single from their sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994), on 18 November 1994 in Japan. The track was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, and produced by Martyn Ware. In the United Kingdom, Mute credited the first CD single as the I Love Saturday EP, which contains several new tracks; it was released on 21 November 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breathe (Erasure song)</span> 2005 single by Erasure

"Breathe" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was released by Mute Records in the UK and the US as the first single from the band's 11th studio album, Nightbird (2005). Written and produced by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the song was remixed slightly for its radio version. The UK CD single includes CD-ROM information that allowed buyers to download the Digipro software package and use isolated musical tracks of "Breathe" to create their own remixes. For a short time, fans were able to upload their finished "Breathe" remixes to Erasure's website to share with others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Ur Freak On</span> 2001 single by Missy Elliott

"Get Ur Freak On" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album Miss E... So Addictive (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music and dance form from the region of Punjab in India, the song features a six-note base that is a Punjabi melody played on a tumbi and rhythm and bassline played on tabla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pass That Dutch</span> 2003 single by Missy Elliott

"Pass That Dutch" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott. It was written and produced by Timbaland and Elliott for her fifth studio album, This Is Not a Test! (2003), and contains samples of "Magic Mountain" by War and "Potholes in My Lawn" by De La Soul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobody (Keith Sweat song)</span> 1996 single by Keith Sweat

"Nobody" is a song by American singer-songwriter Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage from the band Kut Klose. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, it reached No. 9 in New Zealand, No. 10 in the Netherlands, No. 16 in Canada, and No. 22 in Australia. The music video for the single features a young Mekhi Phifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Into You (Fabolous song)</span> 2003 single by Fabolous

"Into You" is the third single from American rapper Fabolous's second studio album, Street Dreams (2003), featuring either Ashanti or Tamia. The song also appears on Tamia's album More. "Into You" originally featured Ashanti, but after Irv Gotti of Murder Inc. Records refused to let her film a music video to promote the single, Fabolous reached out to Tamia to re-record a commercial version. Both the album and single versions received heavy radio-play, resulting in all three artists being credited on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single was released through Elektra Records and DJ Clue's Desert Storm Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honey (Moby song)</span> 1998 single by Moby

"Honey" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released as the lead single from his fifth studio album Play on August 24, 1998. The song samples the 1960 recording "Sometimes" by American blues singer Bessie Jones. Moby first heard "Sometimes" on a box set collection of folk music compiled by Alan Lomax, and subsequently composed "Honey" around vocal samples from the Jones song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got Your Money</span> 1999 single by Ol Dirty Bastard

"Got Your Money" is a song by American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, released in 1999 as the only single from his second studio album, Nigga Please. Both the single and the album were the last to be released by Ol' Dirty Bastard, before his death in 2004. The song, produced by the Neptunes, features American R&B singer Kelis, who sings the chorus. It marked her first appearance on record, before the release of her debut single the following month. "Got Your Money" is listed at number 255 on NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", published in 2014.

References

  1. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week . 16 July 1994. p. 23. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  2. Raggett, Ned. "Erasure - I Say, I Say, I Say". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. Flick, Larry (23 July 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. "Pop Singles: Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox . 30 July 1994. p. 7. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  5. Willman, Chris (22 May 1994). "Organic Love for Space Age Swooners". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  6. Jones, Alan (9 July 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week . p. 16. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  7. Patterson, Sylvia (16 July 1994). "Singles". New Musical Express . p. 33.
  8. Lee, Darren (27 February 2009). "Erasure – Total Pop! Erasure's First 40 Hits". The Quietus . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. Hamilton, James (23 July 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 10. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  10. Cinquemani, Sal. "I Say I Say I Say". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. Chang, Dardy (26 May 1994). "Spins". Stanford Daily . Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  12. "Erasure Run to the sun VIVA VHS". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. Run to the Sun (UK CD1 liner notes). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. CD MUTE 153.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Run to the Sun (UK CD2 liner notes). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. LCD MUTE 153.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Run to the Sun (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. 12 MUTE 153.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. Run to the Sun (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. MUTE 153.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. Run to the Sun (UK cassette single sleeve). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. C MUTE 153.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. Run to the Sun (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Erasure. Mute Records. 1994. PCDY-00125.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. Run to the Sun (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Erasure. Mute Records, Elektra Records. 1994. 66208-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. Run to the Sun (Canadian maxi-CD single liner notes). Erasure. Mute Records, Elektra Records. 1994. CD 66208.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. Run to the Sun (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Erasure. Liberation Records. 1994. D 11787.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. Run to the Sun (US cassette single sleeve). Erasure. Mute Records, Elektra Records. 1994. 4-64527.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. "Erasure – Run to the Sun" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 34. 20 August 1994. p. 23. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  25. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media . 27 August 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  26. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN   951-31-2503-3.
  27. "Erasure – Run to the Sun" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  28. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Run to the Sun". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  30. "Erasure – Run to the Sun". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  31. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  32. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 2 July 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  33. "Erasure Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  34. "Erasure Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  35. "Erasure Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.