I Ran (So Far Away)

"I Ran (So Far Away)"
Single by A Flock of Seagulls
from the album A Flock of Seagulls
B-side	"Pick Me Up"
Released	March 1982 (UK)[1]
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	Battery Studios, London, November 1981
Genre	New wave[2][3] synthpop[4]
Length	5:07 (long version) 3:58 (video version) 3:43 (radio edit)
Label	Jive Records (UK) Teldec (Germany)
Writer(s)	Mike Score Ali Score Frank Maudsley Paul Reynolds
Producer(s)	Mike Howlett
A Flock of Seagulls singles chronology
"Telecommunication" (1981) "I Ran (So Far Away)" (1982) "Space Age Love Song" (1982)
Music video "I Ran" on YouTube

"I Ran (So Far Away)",^[5] also released as "I Ran", is a song by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 as the second single from their self-titled debut album. Since then, it has been their most successful single, topped the chart in Australia, and reached number seven and nine in New Zealand and the United States respectively.

Versions

Three different versions of the song exist:

• The long version (5:07) features an introduction with swirling synthesizer noises imitating seagulls which then segues into a lengthy instrumental passage by the band before leading into the song. It concludes with a guitar solo and comes to a full ending. This version was featured on some pressings of A Flock of Seagulls and is featured on all CD versions of the album.
• The video version (3:58) omits most of the introductory section and begins with a cymbal crash but retains the full ending of the long version. This version was featured on some pressings of A Flock of Seagulls.
• The radio edit (3:43) begins with a cymbal crash and loops the song's final chorus, fading out at the end.

Single release and legacy

The single was promoted by a distinctive music video directed by Tony van den Ende in which the band members performed in a room covered in aluminum foil and mirrors. The cameras used to film the video are clearly visible in many of the background reflections, their stands also covered in foil. The video is an homage to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's (No Pussyfooting) album cover, which was also portrayed by The Strokes for their single, "The End Has No End" two decades later. The video received heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of 1982,^[5] and helped the single to become a hit.

The band toured the United States extensively to promote the single, supporting Squeeze on their 1982 tour. As well as reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, "I Ran" peaked at number 3 on the Top Tracks chart and number 8 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Subsequently, the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200.^[6]

Despite success in Australia, New Zealand and the US, the single did not enjoy similar success in the band's home country (United Kingdom), failing to make the top 40.

In an interview on the VH1 special 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, Mike Score said that he resents the song, but plays it live because people enjoy it. "I Ran" was listed at #55 on the countdown. In VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s, the song was listed at #2, with Mike Score's interview played again.

Although considered an 1980s new wave classic, the song experienced somewhat of a revival in 2002 as the signature theme for the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, being played during the game's television commercials and during gameplay as one of the songs in the playlist for radio station Wave 103.^[7]

It appeared as a karaoke song in the 2012 game Sleeping Dogs.

The master recording is available as a playable song in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s as well as the rebooted version of Karaoke Revolution, the song is also available in the game Rock Band 3 as a DLC.

Cover versions

"I Ran" has been covered by a number of artists:

• Tori Amos covered the song on her Original Sinsuality/Summer Of Sin Tour in Denver, during Piano Bar Time. Her version was released with the rest of the show in the 3rd CD of The Original Bootlegs.
• Bowling for Soup covered the song for the 2003 re-release of their album Drunk Enough to Dance and their "Punk Rock 101" single. Both the original and the punk cover are the theme song of the American DiC dubbed version of Saint Seiya, also known as Knights of the Zodiac. The cover is also featured in the film National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year.
• Hidden in Plain View recorded the song on the covers compilation album Punk Goes 80's.
• In Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2, Spacebar vs Naughty G covered this song.
• Darude and Blake Lewis released a cover in 2008.
• Ska Rangers covered the song, which featured on the film and soundtrack of The Hangover: Part II.
• A cover by Boga was used during a bar scene in episode five of The Flash.
• The chorus for the song served as the basis for the chorus of the Lonely Island musical skit "Iran So Far".

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1982) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 26 Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 31 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 46 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 7 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 43 US Billboard Hot 100[6] 9 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[6] 8 US Billboard Top Tracks[6] 3 US Cash Box[14] 14

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 15 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 31 US Billboard Hot 100[17] 67 US Cash Box[18] 89 US Top Disco/Dance Singles/Albums[19] 13

References

1. "A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran". Discogs. Retrieved 2 May 2013. released March 1982
2. Silberman, Jeff (13 May 2000). "Simply the Best: A Quarter Century of Arista". Billboard 112 (20): 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
3. "Sept. 18 > Flock of Seagulls". Orange Coast Magazine: 226. September 2008. ISSN 0279-0483.
4. Tucker, Ken (11 February 1983). "Invasion warning (Adam Ant's on his way)". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
5. Demalon, Tom. "A Flock of Seagulls – Overview". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
6. "A Flock of Seagulls – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
7. Phares, Heather. "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Vol. 2: Wave 103 – Overview". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
8. "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1980's". World Charts. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
9. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6547." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
12. "Charts.org.nz – A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
13. "A Flock Of Seagulls: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
14. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending OCTOBER 23, 1982 at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
15. "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
16. "End of Year Charts 1982". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
17. "Top 100 Hits for 1982". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
18. The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1982 at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
19. "Top Disco/Dance Singles/Albums". Billboard 94 (51): 36. 25 December 1982. ISSN 0006-2510.