Stay on These Roads (song)
"Stay on These Roads" | ||||
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Single by A-ha | ||||
from the album Stay on These Roads | ||||
B-side | "Soft Rains of April" (Original Mix) | |||
Released | 14 March 1988 | |||
Format | ||||
Length |
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Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Alan Tarney | |||
A-ha singles chronology | ||||
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"Stay on These Roads" is a song by Norwegian band A-ha. It was their first single from the album of the same name and was released in early 1988. It achieved success in many European countries.
Release and reception
"Stay on These Roads" was released in the spring of 1988 and became the most successful single from the Stay on These Roads album, along with "The Living Daylights" on the UK charts. The song did not hit the national charts in the United States, but was a significant hit across Europe. It went to number seven in Germany, number three in France, and number two in Ireland. In Norway, the song was the band's fourth number one single. "Stay on These Roads" was A-ha's seventh and final top five showing in the United Kingdom, reaching number five on the chart edition of March 27, 1988. It would also prove their last top ten hit in the country for almost two decades, as they did not score another UK top ten hit until eighteen years later in 2006.
A Roland D-50 was used on this song—the sound patch is called "Staccato Heaven"—the wind sound during the instrumental was made on either a Roland Juno 60 or Juno 106 synthesizer.
The versions on the 7" vinyl and the 3" CD single ("7 inch Version") are identical to the album version.
Music video
The official music video was directed by Andy Morahan and was filmed in North Norfolk. The band are riding on the bikes and take a break in a petrol station.
The song length is four minutes and forty-six seconds.
Formats and track listing
7": Warner Bros. / W 7936 United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" - 4:46
- "Soft Rains of April" (Original Mix) - 3:18
- Track 1 is the "Album Version".
12": Warner Bros. / W 7936T United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" (Extended Remix) - 6:08
- "Soft Rains of April" (Original Mix) - 3:18
- Also released as a 12" picture disc (W 8405TP)
CD: Warner Bros. / W 7936CD United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" (7" version) - 4:46
- "Soft Rains of April" (Original Mix) - 3:18
- "Take on Me" - 3:50
- "Cry Wolf" - 4:05
Album releases
This track was released on six albums by A-ha:
Date | Album | Track | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1988-05-01 | Stay on These Roads | 01 of 10 | 4:45 |
1991-11-04 | Headlines and Deadlines - The Hits of A-ha | 14 of 16 | 4:46 |
2005-02-21 | The Singles: 1984–2004 | 09 of 19 | 4:46 |
2005-04-11 | The Definitive Singles Collection 1984–2004 | 09 of 18 | 4:45 |
2008-07-29 | A-ha Live at Vallhall – Sight & Sound series CD & DVD set. 2008 release of the 2001 concert |
10 of 19 (cd 1of2) |
|
2009-07-19 | 25 | 12 of 20 (cd 1of2) |
4:45 |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Certifications
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Chart successions
Preceded by "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" by Billy Ocean |
Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single 13/1988 - 18/1988 (6 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Alphabet Street" by Prince |
References
- ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 January 2014". imgur.com. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", French Singles Chart" (in French). lescharts.com. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", German Singles Chart" (in German). charts.de. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ "Irish Single Chart, database". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", Norwegian Singles Chart" (in Norwegian). norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", Swedish Singles Chart" (in Swedish). swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). hitparade.ch. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ ""Stay on These Roads", UK Singles Chart". chartarchive.org. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ "1988 Belgian Flanders Singles Chart" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ↑ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit. tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. pp. 61–62. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.