| "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| from the album Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| Released | 4 November 1985 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 6:14 4:09 (7") |
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| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | Mike Rutherford, B. A. Robertson | |||
| Producer | Christopher Neil | |||
| Mike + The Mechanics singles chronology | ||||
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"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by Mike Rutherford and B. A. Robertson, it was the first track from their 1985 self-titled debut album. It was also released as the band's first single, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for five weeks.[1] It reached number 21 in the band's native United Kingdom.[2]
Paul Carrack provided lead vocals on the song.[3] The song's original title was simply "Silent Running"; the name extension was given when the song was chosen to appear in the 1986 movie On Dangerous Ground, which was titled Choke Canyon in the US.[4] The longer title for the song has proved confusing, not only because of the film's different title in the US, but because the song's lyrics have nothing to do with the film. Possibly because of this, on many later releases the song is listed as "Silent Running".
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"Silent Running" was one of the first songs to come from the Rutherford/Robertson songwriting partnership. It was, in fact, one of a series of songs that the two wrote simply to test how effective collaboration between them would be. When producer Christopher Neil heard it on a demo tape that Rutherford played for him, however, he recommended that it be used for the album.[5]
According to Rutherford, the song "is about a guy who's traveled light-years away, out in space somewhere, and he's ahead in time. Therefore he knows what's going to happen to his wife and kids back home, on Earth. And he's trying to get the message to them to say what's going to happen, the kind of anarchy, the breakdown of society, to tell them to be prepared."[5]
The song's video features a few clips from the film Choke Canyon, but is primarily based on the completely unrelated story on which the song's lyrics are based.[6] Billy Drago makes a cameo appearance in the video.
| Chart (1985–1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 8 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 39[7] |
| German Singles Chart | 8[8] |
| UK Singles Chart | 21 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 6[1] |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 1[1] |
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