It's a Fine Day

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"It's a Fine Day" is a song written by English poet and musician Edward Barton. It was originally recorded in 1983 by Jane, and later by Opus III for whom it was a major international hit in 1992.

Contents

[edit] Original recording by Jane

“It's a Fine Day”
Single by Jane
Released 1983
Length 2:44
Label Cherry Red Records
Writer(s) Edward Barton

Barton wrote the lyrics as a poem when living in the Hulme area of Manchester[1]. It was originally sung unaccompanied by, and credited to, Jane - that is, Jane Lancaster, Barton's girlfriend[2][3]. They recorded and released it independently, and it was played by radio DJ John Peel. It was then heard by Iain McNay of Cherry Red Records, who obtained the rights to the record and released it more widely on his label in 1983.[4] It reached # 5 on the UK Indie Chart, and later appeared, credited to Jane and Barton, on their eponymous mini-album Jane And Barton.

Jane's version of the song was remixed by A Guy Called Gerald in 1992.

[edit] Opus III version

“It's a Fine Day”
“It's a Fine Day” cover
Single by Opus III
from the album Mind Fruit
Released 1992
Format CD single
7", 12"
Genre Dance
Length 5:29
Writer(s) Edward Barton

Also in 1992, the song was covered by Opus III, with vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw. This version reached # 5 in the UK charts, and # 1 in the US Hot Dance Club Play Chart.

[edit] Track listings

CD single
  1. "It's a Fine Day" (edit) (3:36)
  2. "It's a Fine Day" (accapella version) (5:30)
  3. "Evolution Rush" (6:11)
7" single
  1. "It's a Fine Day" (edit) (3:40)
  2. "Evolution Rush" (edit) (4:21)
12" maxi
  1. "It's a Fine Day" (club remix) (6:45)
  2. "It's a Fine Day" (club remix) (6:45)

[edit] Charts

Chart[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1
U.S. Billboard Rock Modern Tracks 30
Austrian Singles Chart 14
French Singles Chart 14
German Singles Chart 18
Irish Singles Chart 6
Swedish Singles Chart 22
Swiss Singles Chart 24
UK Singles Chart 5
Preceded by
"Strobelite Honey" by Black Sheep		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one singles
August 29, 1992		 Succeeded by
"Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!

[edit] Later versions

The song was also the basis of Orbital's 1993 track, "Halcyon + On + On", on their second eponymous album - the "la la la" section of the chorus was backmasked and sampled throughout the song.

A further version was released in 1998, credited to Miss Jane. This was produced by Italian producers David Carlotti and Carmine Sorrentino. The remake was based on samples of Kirsty Hawkshaw's vocals from the Opus III version, and does not feature vocals from the original Jane version. Luisa Gard provided the on-stage image for the touring version of Miss Jane, but did not contribute to the recordings.[10]

Other versions have been recorded by Dallas Superstars and the Barcode Brothers. Norwegian artist Erlend Øye also covered the song on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks series.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.djhistory.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-7551.html
  2. ^ Mojo magazine, March 2008, p.76
  3. ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jane_and_barton
  4. ^ Jane - It's A Fine Day (A Guy Called Gerald Remix)
  5. ^ "It's a Fine Day", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
  6. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  7. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  8. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  9. ^ Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  10. ^ Miss Jane
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