Life in a Northern Town

"Life in a Northern Town" is a song by British group called The Dream Academy. The song was released as a single from the band's debut studio album "The Dream Academy," released in 1985. The song was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake. Written by band members Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel, the song was produced by Laird-Clowes with help from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. The single reached No. 7 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in February 1986. It is the band’s highest-peaking chart single in the United States, the UK, and Ireland.
Original version.
The Dream Academy released the original version of "Life in a Northern Town" as a single in 1985. The song appeared on their self-titled album. The single peaked at number seven on the U.S. charts.
Composition.
"Life in a Northern Town" was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake, who died in 1974. The song's composition was heavily influenced by Drake's music (the acoustic arrangement was composed using the guitar Drake is seen holding on the cover of his 1970 album "Bryter Layter"), and the single's record sleeve includes a dedication to him.
Gilbert Gabriel, a member of the Dream Academy and co-writer of "Life in a Northern Town", said that the inspiration for the tune came from his experience at Dartington College of Arts.
The song, which took a year to record, includes elements of classical music, an "African-esque" chant of "hey ma ma ma", which was later sampled by dance duo Dario G for their track "Sunchyme" and more recently by the duo Tritonal, and hints of psychedelia. The song is written in the key of E major with a main chord pattern of E-A-E and a vocal range from B to E.
Music video.
Two different music videos were made for "Life in a Northern Town". The first was made in 1984 and filmed in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. It was directed by Tim Pope.
Upon the release of their initial music video, the band's members were unhappy with the finished product and elected to shoot a new video when the song became a single in North America. The North American version was filmed in 1985 and was directed by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams. It was filmed in and around Newcastle upon Tyne with some scenes filmed in Manchester in the UK and in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, United States, using footage of the now-closed LTV Steel and Duquesne Light facilities. The video featured footage from one of the band’s first television appearances, on "The Tube". The second version is considered the band's official music video for the single.
Track listing.
7" single
12" single
Sugarland cover version.
The song was covered in 2007 by the country music duo Sugarland, along with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, on the Sugarland Change for Change Tour. A live performance from 2007 was made into a music video by Becky Fluke for the network Country Music Television. Although not officially released as a single, this rendition received airplay on country radio, debuting at 57 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart dated for 5 April 2008 and reaching a peak of 28. It also peaked at 43 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 based on downloads.
This performance was included on the Deluxe Fan Edition of Sugarland's 2008 album "Love on the Inside" and on Capitol Records' late 2008 re-release of Little Big Town's 2007 album "A Place to Land". It was nominated for Vocal Event of the Year at the Country Music Association awards, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 51st Grammy Awards, and Vocal Event of the Year at the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music awards.