Spaceman (Babylon Zoo song)

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"Spaceman"
Single by Babylon Zoo
from the album The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes
B-side "Blue Nude"
"Metal Vision"
"5th Dimension Remix"
"E Before I Remix"
Released 15 January 1996
Format CD, Cassette, 12"
Recorded 1995
Genre Space rock, alternative rock
Length 5:41 (album version)
Label EMI
Writer(s) Jas Mann
Producer(s) Jas Mann
Steve Power
Arthur Baker
Babylon Zoo singles chronology
"Spaceman"
(1995)		 "Animal Army"
(1996)

"Spaceman" is a song by British band Babylon Zoo. It was released in January 1996 as the lead single from their debut album The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes. Featuring heavily distorted guitars and metallic, robotic sounding vocals, it went straight to Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 1996, after being featured in a popular Levi's jeans advertisement in December 1995, and became the fastest selling single in the United Kingdom in over thirty years, since The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love".

The song was the seventh to reach number one, after being featured in an advert for Levi's.[1]

Song history

Promotional copies of "Spaceman" had been distributed, and the Arthur Baker remix was chosen to tie in with the release on 1 December 1995, of an new United Kingdom Levi's advertisement titled "Planet", which was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton.[2] The advertisement concentrated on Baker's speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song.[3]

The initial intro to "Spaceman" on the promotional copies, before it was used for the advert, featured Mann's whispering vocals of "I killed your mother, I killed your sister, I killed you all."[3] These lyrics were later taken out of the song and replaced with the more radio friendly Arthur Baker introduction; although, the "I killed you all" lyric is still buried in there. There was a lower budget video made for this version.[citation needed]

In 2006, "Spaceman" featured on trailers for Ant and Dec's film Alien Autopsy, the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies for the animated preschool series Lunar Jim, and Network Ten's advertisement for Battlestar Galactica. "Spaceman" is also used in Eesti otsib superstaari (Pop Idol Estonia). "Spaceman" is also featured in E4's My Mad Fat Diary, in the episode "Ladies and Gentlemen", during the scene where Rae and Finn begin their drive to Knebworth.[citation needed]

Chart performance and sales

The single charted at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart,[4] selling 420,000 copies in its first week.[5][6] It became the fastest selling single in the United Kingdom in over thirty years, since The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love".[7] "Spaceman" became a number one chart hit in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom.[8] As of November 2012, "Spaceman" was the 74th best selling single in the history of the United Kingdom, selling 1.14 million copies.[9]

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the song a "bizarre, tuneless collage of hip-hop rhythms, techno keyboards and alternative guitars", that despite sounding distinctive, "didn't have any tangible hook to make it memorable".[10] Chuck Eddy at Entertainment Weekly described the song's "futuristic kitsch" as "both funny and seductive."[11]

MTV UK ranked "Spaceman" as the #24 single of the 1990s.[12]

Cover versions

Track listings

CD Promo Single 1995 WEA (YZ925CDDJ)
  1. "Spaceman" (radio version) — 3:50
  2. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56
CD Promo 1995 EMI (CDEMDJ 416)
  1. "Spaceman" (zupervarian mix) - 3:50
7" Single
  1. "Spaceman" (zupervarian mix) - 3:50
  2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09


CD Single 1996 EMI (CDEM 416)
  1. "Spaceman" (zupervarian mix) — 3:50
  2. "Metal Vision" — 3:48
  3. "Blue Nude" — 2:09
  4. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
CD Single ('The Only Original Remixes') 1996 EMI (7243 8 82721 2 4)
  1. "Spaceman" (zupervarian mix) — 3:50
  2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
  3. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56
  4. "Spaceman" (E before I) — 6:37

Charts and sales

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by Irish IRMA number-one single
13 January 1996 – 10 February 1996 (5 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis
UK Singles Chart number-one single
21 January 1996 – 24 February 1996
Preceded by Swedish number-one single
26 January 1996 – 15 March 1996 (8 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"One of Us" by Joan Osborne
Preceded by Finnish number-one single
5/1996 - 9/1996 (5 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Born in Africa" by Dr. Alban
Preceded by German number-one single
16 February 1996 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden
Preceded by
"Knockin'" by Double Vision
 Belgian (Flanders) number-one single
17 February 1996 – 24 February 1996 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli
Preceded by Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single
18 February 1996 – 10 March 1996 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden
Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
24 February 1996 – 16 March 1996 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Children" by Robert Miles
Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single
9 March 1996 – 16 March 1996 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Children" by Robert Miles
French SNEP number-one single
9 March 1996 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Soirée disco" by Boris

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes review. AllMusic.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ The Official Top 100 Singles of The 90's
  13. ↑ "My week: Katie Melua". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 2006
  14. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  18. ↑ Canadian alternative peak
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ "Babylon Zoo: Spaceman" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  21. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman" (in French). Les classement single.
  22. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". GfK Entertainment.
  23. ↑ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Babylon Zoo search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  26. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". Top 40 Singles.
  27. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". VG-lista.
  28. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". Singles Top 60.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Babylon Zoo – Spaceman". Swiss Singles Chart.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  40. ↑ French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  43. ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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