A Prisoner of the Past
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| "A Prisoner of the Past" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Prefab Sprout | ||||
| from the album Andromeda Heights | ||||
| Released | 21 April 1997[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 5:03 (album version) 3:51 (single edit) | |||
| Label | Kitchenware | |||
| Songwriter | Paddy McAloon | |||
| Producers | Paddy McAloon, Calum Malcolm[2] | |||
| Prefab Sprout singles chronology | ||||
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"A Prisoner of the Past" is a single by English pop band Prefab Sprout, released by Kitchenware Records on 21 April 1997. It was the lead single from Andromeda Heights, the band's first studio album in seven years. Frontman Paddy McAloon wrote the song in 1989, inspired by the work of Phil Spector. Upon release, the song received critical acclaim and reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. It remains the band's final top 40 hit to date.
Paddy McAloon originally wrote "A Prisoner of the Past" in the spring of 1989[3] for a proposed album of songs where he imagined he was writing for Phil Spector, wishing to emulate "all the niceties of Sixties pop music but with a more modern lyrical twist".[4] "River Deep – Mountain High", a 1966 Spector production for Ike & Tina Turner, was a specific inspiration, though McAloon ultimately felt too small a recording space and too few musicians made it "impossible to create the Spector sound".[5] McAloon has described it as a revenge song, with the lyrics being a stalker's threat to a former lover.[6] His "pathetic dream of revenge" is the notion that both of them will become ghosts.[7]
Release
Prefab Sprout performed "A Prisoner of the Past" on BBC1's The National Lottery Live two days ahead of its release date of 21 April 1997.[8][9][10] The song was playlisted by British radio stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, Virgin Radio, Heart London and Key 103 Manchester.[11] It made number 35 on Music Week's Top 50 Airplay Hits chart on 26 April 1997.[12] It entered the UK Singles Chart at its peak of number 30 on 4 May 1997, ultimately spending two weeks on the chart.[13] A black and white music video was produced for the song featuring the band in a manor house.