"Life in a Northern Town" is the debut single by British band The Dream Academy, released in March 1985. It appears on the band's self-titled debut studio album, The Dream Academy. The song was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake. Written by band members Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel,[4] the song was produced by Laird-Clowes with help from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.[4][5] The single reached No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1986 and reached No. 15 on the UK charts. It is the band's highest charting single in the UK,[6] the US,[7] and Ireland.[8]
"Life in a Northern Town" | ||||
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Single by The Dream Academy | ||||
from the album The Dream Academy | ||||
Released | 12 March 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:19 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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The Dream Academy singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Life in a Northern Town" on YouTube |
American country music artists Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Jake Owen recorded a live cover version of "Life in a Northern Town" that became a minor U.S. hit in 2008.
The Dream Academy released the original version of "Life in a Northern Town" as a single in 1985. The song was included as a track on the band's self-titled album.[4] The single peaked at number seven on the US charts[9] and number 15 on the UK charts.
"Life in a Northern Town" was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake, who died in 1974.[1][10] Nick Laird-Clowes said he wrote it on a guitar that Drake had been holding on one of his album covers, that Laird-Clowes "bought for £100 and still had his tuning ... I still have that guitar."[5]
Gilbert Gabriel, a member of the Dream Academy and co-writer of "Life in a Northern Town,” said that the inspiration for the tune came from his experience at Dartington College of Arts.[11] According to Nick Laird-Clowes, "We had the idea, even before we sat down, to write a folk song with an African-style chorus.[5] We started it and when we got to the verse melody, there was something about it that reminded me of Nick Drake."[12] Laird-Clowes has stated that the song is about the collapse of the shipping industry in the United Kingdom.[13]
The song includes elements of classical music,[14] an "African-esque" chant of "hey ma ma ma ma” (which was later sampled by dance duo Dario G for their track "Sunchyme" and by the duo Tritonal),[15] and hints of psychedelia.[11] "Life in a Northern Town" is written in the key of E major with a main chord pattern of E-Amaj7-E.[16]
Laird-Clowes told Mojo that his mentor Paul Simon spurred him to come up with the title.[5] “I played him the song and he asked, 'What are you going to call it – Ah Hey Ma Ma Ma?' I told him that we intended to name it 'Morning Lasted All Day.' 'That’s no good,' he said and so I came up with 'Life In A Northern Town,' which he thought was a great title.”[12]
7" single
12" single
Two videos were released to promote the single.[5] The earlier version features the group performing the song in various locations in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.[17] The second version, released in November 1985, features the group performing at a concert while clips play featuring footage of Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, and Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.[18]
Credits sourced from "One Two Testing" and Mix.[19][20]
The Dream Academy
Additional Musicians
Stephen Holden of The New York Times described "Life in a Northern Town" as a "richly textured nostalgic ballad...that looks back warmly on 'winter 1963, when it felt like the world would freeze with John F. Kennedy and the Beatles'".[21]
According to SingersRoom.com, the song's "haunting, ethereal melody and poetic lyrics...create a sense of wistfulness..."[22] ClassicFM.com describes the song as "brimming with nostalgia, something that's mainly achieved, somewhat unexpectedly, with the wistful sound of an oboe".[23]
Chart (1985–1986) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] | 4 |
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[25] | 7 |
Ireland (IRMA)[26] | 9 |
UK Singles (OCC)[27] | 15 |
US Billboard Hot 100[28] | 7 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[29] | 2 |
Year-end chart (1985) | Position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] | 38 |
Year-end chart (1986) | Position |
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[31] | 78 |
"Life in a Northern Town" | |
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Song by Sugarland featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen | |
from the album Love on the Inside | |
Released | 2008 |
Recorded | 2007 |
Genre | Country |
Length | 4:14 |
Label | Mercury Nashville |
Songwriter(s) | Gilbert Gabriel Nick Laird-Clowes |
Producer(s) | Byron Gallimore Sugarland |
The song was covered in 2007 by the country music duo Sugarland, along with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, on the Sugarland Change for Change Tour. A live performance from 2007 was made into a music video by Becky Fluke for the network Country Music Television.[32]
This performance was included on the Deluxe Fan Edition of Sugarland's 2008 album Love on the Inside[32] and on Capitol Records' late 2008 re-release of Little Big Town's 2007 album A Place to Land. It was nominated for Vocal Event of the Year at the Country Music Association awards,[33] Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 51st Grammy Awards,[34] and Vocal Event of the Year at the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music awards.[35]
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
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Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[36] | 53 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[37] | 28 |
US Billboard Hot 100[38] | 43 |