| "1973" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by James Blunt | ||||
| from the album All the Lost Souls | ||||
| Released | July 23, 2007 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 4:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic/Warner Music Group | |||
| Writer(s) | Mark Batson and James Blunt | |||
| Producer | Tom Rothrock | |||
| James Blunt singles chronology | ||||
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"1973" is the first single released from James Blunt's second studio album, All the Lost Souls. First performed by Blunt during his Autumn 2006 North American tour, "1973" was released for radio play on July 23, 2007, to selected radio stations around the world. It was made available for download exclusively from the Verizon Wireless network in the United States on the same date.[1] Starting on August 7, 2007, the song was made widely available for digital download, with physical releases being made available from September 3, 2007. The single peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart.
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"1973" is written by Mark Batson and James Blunt. "He was trying to write an English singer-songwriter song, and I was trying the Dr. Dre end of the scale," says Blunt.[2] The song was inspired by the club scene in Ibiza, where Blunt maintains a residence and enjoys the social scene.[3] The song has been remixed by Pete Tong and Dave Spoon as part of their Ibiza 2007 Remix Project, and Tong started playing the remix in July 2007 when acting as DJ at Pacha, the Ibiza club that inspired the song and opened in 1973. Blunt has stated in a radio interview with KISFM on 8 September 2007, that the girl from his lyrics "Simona" was indeed based on a real woman he had met at the club.
The lyrics include references to a few American popular songs: "As Time Goes By," written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld and popularized by Dooley Wilson playing the character of Sam in the 1942 film Casablanca; "It's the Same Old Song," written by the legendary songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland and recorded in 1965 on the Motown label by The Four Tops; "Here We Go Again," popularized in 1967 by Ray Charles and re-popularized as a duet with Nora Jones upon the 2005 posthumous release of Charles' masterwork album, Genius Loves Company, and; "I Can See Clearly Now," written and recorded by Johnny Nash, a song which spent November at the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.
The single was released on three physical formats. CD1 features a brand new track, "Dear Katie", which was written by Blunt's long-time keyboardist Paul Beard. Beard also provides backing vocals for the song. CD2 includes a live version of "Annie", the video for "1973", plus a further new track, "So Happy", which was written by Felix Howard and Blunt. The 7" Vinyl also includes "So Happy".[4]
The video, in which a modern-day Blunt strolls among '70s street scenes, reflects the song's nostalgic tone. "The '70s sound like they were a time of excess and great flamboyance," he says, "but a sense of fun as well."[2] The video was shot in the Universal Backlots in Los Angeles.
The song debuted at #10 on the UK Singles Chart, then peaked at #4, making it Blunt's third top 10 single and his fifth-released single debuting in the UK Singles Chart. In Switzerland the song debuted at #1 making it his second top 10 hit. It also peaked at #1 in Venezuela. In the U.S. the song made its first appearance on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles where it peaked at #2. It later debuted at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the release of All the Lost Souls. The song peaked at #60 on the Pop 100. From number 86, the song made a jump two number 2 on Billboard's Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. "1973" is also featured on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 68.
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart[5] | 11 |
| Ö3 Austria Top 40[5][6] | 1 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[5] | 3 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[5] | 1 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Singles Chart[7] | 13 |
| Czech Singles Chart[8] | 6 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 9 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[5] | 3 |
| Finnish Singles Chart[5] | 11 |
| German Singles Chart[9] | 2 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart[10] | 11 |
| Irish Singles Chart[11] | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart[12] | 1 |
| Italian Top Digital Download Chart[13] | 2 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[5] | 9 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[5] | 7 |
| Romanian Singles Chart[14] | 31 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart[15] | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[5] | 7 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[5] | 1 |
| Turkish Top 20 Chart[16] | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[17] | 4 |
| UK Download Chart[17] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 73 |
| U.S. Billboard Eurochart Hot 100 Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 59 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 60 |
| Venezuelan Singles Chart[18] | 1 |
| Year | Chart | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | German Singles Chart[19] | #95 |
| Charts (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[20] | 76 |
| German Singles Chart[21] | 17 |
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany[22] | Gold | 2007 | 150,000 + |
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{{succession box
| before = "Moi... Lolita" by Julien Doré | title = Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart | years = 13 October 2007 - 20 October 2007 | after = "Garçon" by Koxie |
| Preceded by Vayamos companeros by Marquess |
Swiss Charts number-one single 2 September - 28 October 2007 |
Succeeded by "Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna |