Living on an Island
| "Living on an Island" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Status Quo | ||||
| from the album Whatever You Want | ||||
| Released | 16 November 1979[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Vertigo | |||
| Songwriter | Parfitt/Young | |||
| Producer | Pip Williams | |||
| Status Quo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Living on an Island" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1979. It was included on the album Whatever You Want[2] and featured Rick Parfitt on lead vocals.
Lyrically, the song is about band member Rick Parfitt having to take a "tax year" outside of the United Kingdom and the boredom and isolation he felt living on the Isle of Jersey; however he is also excited about a pending visit from a friend ("Cruxie") who is arriving shortly.[3]
The themes of the song are isolation, friendship, partying and drugs, specifically cocaine. Every verse ends with the 'line' (also referenced multiple times and a further indication of the drug theme) "and we'll get high".[3] The song reached no. 16 in the UK singles chart.[4]
The first 100,000 copies of "Living on an Island" were issued with a picture sleeve featuring several penguins enjoying Antarctic conditions. In addition, the music video features footage of penguins interspersed with footage of the band miming the song on a soundstage.
Track listing
- "Living on an Island" (Parfitt/Young) (3.47)
- "Runaway" (Rossi/Frost) (4.32)
Charts
| Chart (1979–80) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 62 |
| Germany (GfK)[6] | 38 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[7] | 12 |
| Spain (AFE)[8] | 28 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 16 |
References
- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 56.
- ^ "Status Quo discography". statusquo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ a b "Living on an Island - Status Quo Lyrics". Statusquo.co.uk.
- ^ "Status Quo | full Official Chart History". Official Charts.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living on an Island". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ Aranegui, Fernando Salaverri (2015). "1980 [Singles]". Sólo Éxitos 1959-2012 (in Spanish). Fundación SGAE. pp. 240–244. ISBN 9788480488662.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart on 11/24/1979 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.