| "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Mike_the_mechanics-silent_running_(on_dangerous_ground)_s.jpg) European picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| from the album Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| Released | 7 October 1985 (UK)[1] 4 November 1985 (US)[2] | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 6:14 4:09 (7") | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mike Rutherford, B. A. Robertson | |||
| Producer(s) | Christopher Neil | |||
| Mike + The Mechanics singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" is a song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by Mike Rutherford and B. A. Robertson, it was the first track on the 1985 self-titled debut album of Mike + the Mechanics. It was also released as the band's first single, peaking at number 6 on 8 March 1986[3] on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for five weeks.[4]
Paul Carrack provided lead vocals on the song.[5] Alan Murphy was hired as a session guitarist and provided lead guitar on the track. The song's original title was simply "Silent Running"; the name extension was given when the song was chosen to appear in the 1986 movie On Dangerous Ground, which was titled Choke Canyon in the United States.[6] The single was re-released in the UK in January 1986 to tie-in with the film, and peaked at No. 21 in the UK charts.[7]
The song was banned by the BBC during the Gulf War due to its address of war, nationalism and religion, as well as a direct reference to weaponry in the line, "There's a gun and ammunition just inside the doorway."[8]
- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 20.
- ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 324.
- ^ "Silent Running" chart history, Song-database.com
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 425. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ^ Mike + The Mechanics (Media notes). Mike + The Mechanics. 1985.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Mike + The Mechanics Filmography". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ Mike + The Mechanics UK chart history, The Official Charts. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ Kirby, Mark; Kidd, Warren; Koubel, Francine; Barter, John; Hope, Tanya; Kirton, Alison; Madry, Nick; Manning, Paul; Triggs, Karen (2000). Sociology in Perspective. Heinemann. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-435-33156-6.