Laid (song)
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| "Laid" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by James | ||||
| from the album Laid | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 1 November 1993 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | Fontana | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | Brian Eno | |||
| James singles chronology | ||||
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"Laid" is the title track from Laid, the fifth studio album of Manchester alternative rock band James. Released on 27 September 1993 by Fontana Records, the song was a commercial success, charting in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. "Laid" has received attention as a theme song for the American Pie film series.
The song includes the lyric "she only comes when she's on top". The American release of its music video replaced this lyric with "she only sings when she's on top" (although Tim Booth is seen to lip-sync the original line, and is accompanied by a subtitle reading "hums").
It quickly gained popularity on American college radio and remains the group's best-known song in the United States.[3]
The song peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, in part due to its cult status as a popular college song in the US. The song was more successful in the band's native UK, where it peaked at number 25, becoming the band's ninth top-40 hit.
One of the Three, the 'unofficial archive of the band James', has said this of the song:
Originally viewed by the band as a throwaway song and a possible b-side, Brian Eno soon convinced them of the potential of this track. Whilst only reaching a disappointing 22 in the UK charts, it made serious inroads for the band in the US where it led to performances on prime-time TV shows such as Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.[4]
Music video
Usage in American Pie
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the song gained additional exposure and popularity when it was used as the theme song for the American Pie films starring Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott.[6] A cover by Matt Nathanson was recorded exclusively for the third film American Wedding, and was later included on the first spin-off American Pie Presents: Band Camp's soundtrack after previously only being in the first two films' trailers. The seventh installment in the franchise, The Book of Love, contains a cover of "Laid" by singer Aidan Hawken; as of 2012, it had yet to be released on any album or as a single. The eighth film, American Reunion, features the original version by James played during the film.[7]
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[20] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[21] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
