| "Goodbye Mr A" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Hoosiers | ||||
| from the album The Trick to Life | ||||
| Released | 8 October 2007 | |||
| Format | CD, Digital download | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, indie pop | |||
| Length | 4:27 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| The Hoosiers singles chronology | ||||
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"Goodbye Mr A" is the second single by UK pop rock band The Hoosiers from their debut album The Trick to Life. The song, released on 8 October 2007, has been noted by Digital Spy’s Alex Fletcher for its similarities to Electric Light Orchestra's single "Mr. Blue Sky".[1] The song is part of the soundtrack for the video game FIFA 08.[2]
The song is in memory of frontman Irwin Sparkes' secondary school English teacher, Jonathan "Mr. A" Anderton. Sparkes said he was inspired to write the song upon hearing of Anderton's death in 2006. Many of the lyrics such as: "So busy showing me where I'm wrong - you forgot to switch your feelings on...", were reflective of Anderton's personality as a teacher, but Sparkes has described him as being a "really cool guy" in interviews with the media. Sparkes also says that Anderton requested his students call him "Mr. A", as he disliked being called "Mr. Anderton". It is from this that the song's title stems.
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The song was released on 8 October, its video having debuted on 2 September on Channel 4.
On 28 September 2007, The Hoosiers performed "Goodbye Mr A" on GMTV's Entertainment Today segment.
The song marked the band's second UK Top 5 single, entering the UK Singles Chart at #5 on Sunday 14 October 2007 and it climbed to #4 the following week. On Sunday 30 December 2007, it rose up the chart from #29 to #10.
It was used in the 18 March 2009 episode of Waterloo Road.
The instrumental for this song has also been recently used in the second teaser trailer for Toy Story 3, which was released on 11 October 2009.
It also appeared in the film Juno.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart | 23 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| UK Downloads | 4 |
The music video to "Goodbye Mr A" is reminiscent of superhero comics and popular culture, such as the 1960s Batman TV series. In the video, The Hoosiers kidnap Mr. A, a comic-book character and the world's greatest superhero. They then take his place fighting crime as incompetent anti-heroes. Despite being fired into space at the end, Mr. A. survives and opens his eyes; this is a reference to the film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. "Goodbye Mr A" is included in the soundtrack for the football video game FIFA 08, and the game can also be seen in the "Goodbye Mr A" music video. Lead singer Irwin Sparkes, who is from Reading, Berkshire, is playing as Reading F.C. against Manchester United. The song also appears in a trailer for the 2007 film, 'Juno'. The video was broadcast on Channel 4 at 12:10pm on 22 March 2008.
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