"A Life Less Ordinary" was a non-album single released by the band

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on 13 October 1997. It was the title track of the film of the same name, '' A Life Less Ordinary'', starring

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and Ewan McGregor, and also appeared on the film's soundtrack. The single was released in three formats: CD, 7-inch vinyl, and

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. The limited-edition 7-inch was printed on blue vinyl. The song peaked at number ten on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The band was personally requested for by the director of the film, Danny Boyle. This was also the first song to feature their new guitarist Charlotte Hatherley. The song had the working title of "Film Song" and Wheeler has said of the lyrics: 'This is a song about my muse. Robert Graves wrote a book called 'White Goddess' about the goddess of poetry, which is a concept that goes back to the ancient Greeks. Maybe this makes me sound completely mad, but I have this thing about music coming from a higher place. So, I was writing a song about the goddess. It's a weird love song. It says how I'd sell my soul for something to believe in, something more significant than everyday life.'. The song was remixed in a slightly heavier fashion for the Japanese and US versions of ''

Nu-Clear Sounds ''Nu-Clear Sounds'' is the second studio album by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 5 October 1998, through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Following the release of the band's debut studio album, ''1977'' (1996), guitarist ...

''.

B-sides

The first B-side, "What Deaner was Talking About," is a cover of the song by

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from the album '' Chocolate and Cheese''. This track also features on Ash's live album ''

Live at the Wireless ''Live at the Wireless'' is a radio show, and now a long-standing tradition, of Triple J, an Australian radio station. Live music is one of the central philosophies of the station. The live broadcasts take a number of forms. Some broadcasts are fr ...

''. The B-side "Where is Our Love Going?" is more of an example of the music Ash used to make in their '' Trailer'' then where they were heading for in ''

''. It's a fast-paced number, which later appeared on the '' Cosmic Debris'' B-sides collection. The (CD only) track, "Halloween" also appears on '' Cosmic Debris'', but is a much slower paced story, telling a tale of loneliness on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

night until finally reuniting with his friends at the end of the song. The track was originally called "Happy Halloween".

Music video

The famous directors Hammer & Tongs directed the video for the single, which consists of the band playing on a race-track inside a heart-shaped area marked with crash barriers. Four cars appear and crash into the band. The cars race forward with the band still playing the song on the bonnets of the cars. Towards the end, the cars crash into each other throwing one over the top. However, the cars land perfectly and race off into the distance out of view. Of course, this being the soundtrack to the film of the same name, footage from the film is occasionally cut to. Rick was taken ill with bronchitis during the filming of this video, which explains why after the first few shots of him at the start, he has his hood up for the rest of the video. This was in fact a crew member filling in for him.

Track listings

UK and European CD single # "A Life Less Ordinary" (Wheeler) # "What Deaner was Talking About" (

) # "Where Is Our Love Going?" (Wheeler) # "Halloween" (Wheeler) UK 7-inch and cassette single # "A Life Less Ordinary" (Wheeler) # "Where Is Our Love Going?" (Wheeler) # "What Deaner was Talking About" (Ween)

Charts

References

* http://walking-barefoot.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Life Less Ordinary, A Film theme songs 1997 singles 1997 songs Ash (band) songs Songs written by Tim Wheeler Songs written for films