March 1985.

Well I never. It would appear that the inner jukebox has been having a good old rummage through the forgotten corners of the mind this morning. This is a treat indeed.

Written by Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel, this featured on The Dream Academy’s 1985 self-titled debut album. It was produced by Laird-Clowes himself, with a little help from a certain Mr David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame.

The song is said be a homage to Nick Drake, heavily influenced by his music and even composed using the same guitar that Drake is pictured with on the cover of his 1970 album Bryter Layter.

The original music video (the one included here) was filmed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire but the band members weren’t happy with the finished product. (Can’t think why, Hebden’s a beautiful place). After the song was released in the US they filmed a second video in Newcastle and Manchester in the UK, as well as a place called Aliquippa in Pennsylvania in the US.

On its release this gave the band their only hit on either side of the Atlantic. It reached the top ten in the US and Canada, peaking at number seven in both countries, whilst here in the UK it spent nine weeks on the chart and peaked at number fifteen.