Orchard Road (song)
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| "Orchard Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Leo Sayer | ||||
| from the album Have You Ever Been in Love | ||||
| B-side | "Gone Solo" | |||
| Released | February 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:29 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Alan Tarney | |||
| Leo Sayer singles chronology | ||||
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"Orchard Road" is a song by Leo Sayer released in February 1983 as the second single from his tenth album Have You Ever Been in Love. It peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his final top-twenty hit until his 2006 feature on "Thunder in My Heart Again".[1]
The music for "Orchard Road" was composed by Alan Tarney, with the lyrics by Sayer.[2] Tarney, who also produced the song, had previously worked with Sayer producing his 1980 album Living in a Fantasy, which included the top-ten hit "More Than I Can Say".
The song was originally recorded in one take as a demo, with Sayer "[making] up the words as we recorded it, with Alan Tarney playing to my hand signals".[3] However, the demo became the final version with the slightly unpolished guide vocal kept because of how it felt.[4]
Meaning of the song
According to Sayer, the lyrics to the song are based on an all-night phone conversation out in a public telephone booth he had with his then-wife, Janice, pleading for her return from her flat and forgiveness after a lapse of judgement in their 7-year marital life. In reality, his wife had moved to Churchfield Road, Acton in Greater London.[5]
The name "Churchfield Road" "didn't sing very well", so it was changed to "Orchard Road", the name coming from the shopping area in Singapore as Sayer had recently performed there.[6] However, this change gives rise to a level of incongruence:
- "waiting in the cold night air" in a tropical location known for year-round around-the-clock humid heat;
- "working out of town" in a city state without any independent urban entities besides Singapore.
Track listing
7": Chrysalis / CHS 2677 (UK)
- "Orchard Road" – 4:29
- "Gone Solo" – 3:58
