Puneet Varma (Editor)

I Ran (So Far Away)

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B-side
  
"Pick Me Up"

Format
  
7" 12"

Released
  
January 4th 1981

Genre
  
New wave synthpop

Length
  
5:07 (album version) 3:58 (video version) 3:43 (radio edit)

Label
  
Jive Records (UK) Teldec (Germany)

"I Ran (So Far Away)", also released as "I Ran", is a song by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 as their third single and it was the second single from their self-titled debut album. It was the band's most successful single, topping the chart in Australia, and reaching number seven and nine in New Zealand and the United States respectively.

Contents

7": Jive. / Jive 14 United Kingdom

  1. "I Ran" – 3:56
  2. "Pick Me Up" – 3:06

12": Jive. / Jive T 14 United Kingdom

  1. "I Ran" – 5:02
  2. "Messages" – 2:50
  3. "Pick Me Up" – 3:06

12": Jive. / Jive T 14 United Kingdom

  1. "I Ran" – 4:00
  2. "Messages" – 2:50
  3. "Pick Me Up" – 3:06

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, 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.

    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 a 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.

    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.

    The song was featured in a 3-minute "minisode" of American animated Cartoon Network series, Regular Show named, "Fun Run".

    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.
  • Darude and Blake Lewis released a cover in 2008.
  • The chorus for the song served as the basis for the chorus of the Lonely Island musical skit "Iran So Far".
  • Slim Thug's "I Run", which appears on his 2009 album Boss of All Bosses, interpolates the song.
  • A cover by Boga appeared in the TV series The Flash.
  • In the 2016 film La La Land, the song is performed by an 80s covers band.

    • References

    I Ran (So Far Away) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA