The Living Years

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This article is about the song by Mike + The Mechanics. For the album of the single, see Living Years. For the 2013 album The Living Years, see The Isaacs. For the One Tree Hill episode, see The Living Years (One Tree Hill episode).
"The Living Years"
File:TheLivingYears.jpg
Single by Mike + The Mechanics
from the album Living Years
B-side "Too Many Friends"
Released 27 December 1988[1]
Format Cassette Single, 7"
Recorded 1988
Genre Soft rock, pop rock
Length 5:32
Label Atlantic, WEA
Writer(s) Mike Rutherford, B. A. Robertson
Producer(s) Christopher Neil, Mike Rutherford
Mike + The Mechanics singles chronology
"Nobody's Perfect"
(1988)		 "The Living Years"
(1988)		 "Seeing Is Believing"
(1989)

"The Living Years" is a ballad written by Mike Rutherford and B. A. Robertson, and recorded by Rutherford's English rock band Mike + The Mechanics. It was released in December 1988 in the UK and in the US as the second single from their album, Living Years. The song was a chart hit around the world, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 on 25 March 1989,[2] and reaching No.1 in Canada and Australia and No.2 in the UK. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Paul Carrack sings lead vocals on the track.

The song addresses a son's regret over unresolved conflict with his now-deceased father.[3] It won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1989,[4] and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1990. In 1996, famed composer Burt Bacharach opined: "'The Living Years' is one of the finest lyrics of the last 10 years."[5]

In 2004, "The Living Years" was awarded a 4 Million-Air citation by BMI.[6]

Content

The Mike + The Mechanics version was initially promoted to give the impression about the disagreements between Mike Rutherford and his father, who had recently died. In an interview with Rutherford, he said:

"The lyrics were written by BA [Robertson] and the song is about something he went through. He lost his Dad and it's about the lack of communication between him and his father before he died. There's also the irony of him having a baby just after losing his father."[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Tim Broad and premiered in January 1989. It was filmed in October 1988 in West Somerset, England near Porlock Weir and the hamlet of Culbone. The video features Mike Rutherford with his then eight-year-old son, Tom. The chorus was done by a church choir.

Charts and certifications

Covers

There are dozens of recordings of the song,[27] instrumental as well as vocal, reggae to classical crossover, from artists as diverse as American country music band Alabama, West End theatre star Michael Ball, Marcia Hines, Engelbert Humperdinck, James Last, The London Symphony Orchestra, Christian artist Russ Lee, Rhydian, John Tesh, Russell Watson, the London Community Gospel Choir, the Newsboys, The Isaacs and The Katinas.

  • Mike + The Mechanics band member Paul Carrack, who performed the original lead vocal, has made a number of solo interpretations. Carrack's father died in an industrial accident when he was eleven.[28] It is still a mainstay of Carrack's live performances today.[29]
  • There is a comedic interpretation by Big Daddy,[30] where the song gets recast as the death-rock classic "Leader of the Pack", by The Shangri-Las.
  • The song has a number of foreign language covers, including the Tokyo Broadcasting System's (TBS) Drama, "Hotel", where it was performed, half in English, half in Japanese by one of the show's stars.[31]

References

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Preceded by Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
25 February 1989 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"You Got It" by Roy Orbison
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number one single
25 March 1989		 Succeeded by
"Eternal Flame" by The Bangles
Preceded by Canadian RPM Singles Chart number-one single
8 April 1989 – 15 April 1989		 Succeeded by
"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals
Preceded by Australian ARIA Chart number one single
13 May 1989		 Succeeded by
"Eternal Flame" by The Bangles
  1. ↑ release date
  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. ↑ 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. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "Musicline.de – Mike + The Mechanics Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living Years". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mike & The Mechanics search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years". VG-lista. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ "Mike + the Mechanics – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Mike + the Mechanics. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Mike + the Mechanics – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Mike + the Mechanics. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Mike + the Mechanics – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Mike + the Mechanics. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter The Living Years in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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.
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