Kayleigh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Kayleigh" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Marillion | ||
| from the album Misplaced Childhood | ||
| Released | May 7, 1985 (UK) | |
| Format | Vinyl record (7") | |
| Recorded | Hansa Ton Studios, Berlin, March - May 1985 | |
| Genre | Progressive Rock | |
| Length | 3:33 (7") | |
| Label | EMI | |
| Producer(s) | Chris Kimsey/Wonderknob | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Marillion singles chronology | ||
| "Assassing" (1984) |
"Kayleigh" (1985) |
"Lavender" (1985) |
"Kayleigh" was a number 2 UK hit for British Prog Rock band Marillion in 1985. It remains the group's most successful single in terms of chart position. The single was kept from the UK Number 1 spot by charity single "You'll Never Walk Alone" by supergroup The Crowd in the summer of 1985.
Although the lead singer and lyricist of the band Fish had at one point dated a woman whose forenames were Kay Lee, the song was more a compilation of several different women that he had relationships with, according to [1]. Many of his lyrics are angst-ridden and full of pain, and this song is no different, if not more personal than anything else he had written up that point.
Fish has said that his writing the song was 'his way of apologising to some of the women he had dated in the past.' The lyrics of Kayleigh are much more detailed and flowery, reminders of a more happier past. By contrast, descriptions of many of his other relationships deal with darker subjects. Although many are metaphors for violent abuse, and some mirror more psychological warfare, 'Kayleigh' is actually more innocent, sentimental and just a bit more romantic.
[edit] Rise in popularity of the name Kayleigh
In late 2005, it was revealed that 96% of Kayleighs living in Britain were born after 1985. It is definitely undoubtable that the song had inspired the amazing rise in popularity of the name, and studies of girls' first names show that it was not in the top 100 most popular names in Scotland before 1975. By 1997 however, twelve years after the song's release, the name was the 30th most popular girls' name in the region.[2] By 2001, Kayleigh had become the 75th most popular girls' name in England and Wales.
In other countries throughout the world as well people have named their children in tribute to this song.[3]
[edit] Trivia
- A BBC News story related to Kayleigh and the 2004 Asian tsunami.
- Fish ended up proposing to the Berlin model who portrayed Kayleigh in the video to the song. They married in 1987, but separated at the end of 2001.
- The lyric "By the way, didn't I break your heart?" is an homage to Clifford T. Ward's song "Home Thoughts from Abroad", which features the lyric, "Oh, and by the way, how's your broken heart?"
[edit] Quotations
Regarding "Kayleigh", Fish has had the following to say[4]:
- "I've got used to signing autographs for 13 year old Kayleighs."
- "'Kayleigh' was a way of saying sorry. I had a lot of relationships that basically I'd wrecked because I was obsessed with the career and where I wanted to go. I was very, very selfish and I just wanted to be the famous singer but I was starting to become aware of the sacrifices that I was making, and I think that Kay was one of those sacrifices. 'Kayleigh' was not just about one person; it was about three or four different people. The 'stilettos in the snow' was something that happened in Galashiels, when I can remember we were both really drunk and, you know, dancing under a street light, and 'dawn escapes from moonwashed college halls' was part of the Cambridge thing."
- "There came a lot of pressure upon us. They wanted Kayleigh part II. Because Misplaced Childhood was a big album. And Clutching at Straws had not sold quite as many as Misplaced. And everybody wanted us to break America. I just feel a bit uncomfortable when I am under pressure like that."
