I Ran (So Far Away)

"I Ran" (also released as "I Ran (So Far Away)") is a song by English New Wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released on their debut album A Flock of Seagulls in 1982 and was its most successful single, reaching number 9 in the United States and number 1 in Australia.

Single

The single was promoted by a distinctive music video in which the band members performed in a room covered in aluminum foil and mirrors. The cameras used to film the video are clearly visible in many of the background reflections, their stands also covered in foil. The video is a homage to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's (No Pussyfooting) album cover, which was also respectively portrayed by The Strokes for their single, "The End Has No End" two decades later. The video received heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of 1982,^[1] and helped the single to become a hit. The video features a different edit of "I Ran" than the album version; the introduction was greatly shortened.

The band toured the United States extensively to promote the single, supporting Squeeze on their 1982 tour. As well as reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, "I Ran" peaked at #3 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #8 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Subsequently the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200.

Despite success in the States and Australia, the single did not enjoy similar success in the band's home country (United Kingdom), failing to make the top 40.

In an interview on the VH1 special 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, Mike Score said that he resents the song, but plays it live because people enjoy it. "I Ran" was listed at #55 on the countdown. In VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s, the song was listed at #2, with Mike Score's interview played again.

Although considered an '80s New Wave classic, the song experienced somewhat of a revival in 2002 as the signature theme for the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; being played during the game's television commercials and during gameplay as one of the songs in the playlist for radio station Wave 103.

Along with the Bowling for Soup cover, it was also used as the theme song for the English dub of the anime series Knights of the Zodiac which was later removed from the air during its first season.

The song briefly featured in the Dead Zone Season 2 episode 'Playing God', heard during a party scene. It can also be heard during a nightclub scene in the 2005 Nick Love film The Business.

The master recording is available as a playable song in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s as well as the rebooted version of Karaoke Revolution. The song was from the TV show Everybody Hates Chris entitled Everybody Hates the Last Day

It was performed by the Ska Rangers in the film The Hangover: Part II during the closing scene.

Also, Fez sung a verse in That 70's Show during one of the "Circles" in the fourth season's opener.

Cover versions

"I Ran" has been covered by a number of artists:

Tori Amos covered the song on her Original Sinsuality/Summer Of Sin Tour in Denver, during Piano Bar Time. Her version was released with the rest of the show in the 3rd CD of The Original Bootlegs.
Assemblage 23 recorded the song for the 1997 compilation Newer Wave.
Cranial Screwtop recorded a version of the song for their 2006 album "Too Fast for Technology".
Terminal Choice's cover of the song is included on the bonus disk of their 2006 album New Born Enemies.
Bowling for Soup covered the song for the 2003 re-release of their album Drunk Enough to Dance and their "Punk Rock 101" single. Both the original and the punk cover are the theme song of the American version of Saint Seiya, also known as Knights of the Zodiac.
Hidden in Plain View recorded the song on the covers compilation album Punk Goes 80s.
In Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2, Spacebar vs Naughty G covered this song.
Darude and Blake Lewis released a cover in 2008.
Nickelback covered the song during their Dark Horse Tour in 2010. It was sung by guitarist/vocalist Ryan Peake.
Slim Thug also took the bass line of this song to produce his single "I Run"
Umphrey's Mcgee covered the song during a performance at the Birmingham Southern College on 4/9/05, however they have played it many times before.
Ska Rangers covered the song which featured on the film and soundtrack of The Hangover: Part II.

Chart positions

Charts	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	43
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	9
Germany Singles Chart	31

References

^ allmusic

Preceded by "I've Never Been to Me" by Charlene	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 2 August 1982 – 9 August 1982	Succeeded by "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant