"Alive and Kicking" is a song released by the Scottish rock band

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

as the lead single from their seventh album, ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

''. The song reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four in Canada; it peaked within the top five of several European countries including Italy, where the song reached number one.

Chart performance

Following on from the success of previous non-album single, "

Don't You (Forget About Me) "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. It was written and composed by the producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, a guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band. Forsey ...

", "Alive and Kicking" was released as a single, reaching number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the

Top Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

chart (now called the Mainstream Rock chart). The song also reached number 4 in Canada. In Europe, the song topped the charts in Italy for one week, reached number 2 in Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and peaked at number 7 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 ...

. In 1992, when re-released as a double A-side with "

Love Song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

" to promote the band's compilation album ''

Glittering Prize 81/92 ''Glittering Prize 81/92'' is a compilation album by Simple Minds, released in 1992. It spans the period from ''Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call'' (the first album recorded by Simple Minds for Virgin Records) to ''Real Life Real ...

'', it managed to reach a new peak of number 6. Elsewhere, "Alive and Kicking" reached number 5 in New Zealand, number 16 in South Africa, and just missed the top 20 in Australia, peaking at number 21.

Music video

The music video for "Alive and Kicking" was filmed near the town of

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, at North–South Lake in the

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State. A portion of the video was filmed on the overlook at the site of the old Catskill Mountain House (previously demolished). It was directed by

Zbigniew Rybczyński Zbigniew Rybczyński (; born 27 January 1949) is a Polish filmmaker, director, cinematographer, screenwriter, creator of experimental animated films, and multimedia artist who has won numerous prestigious industry awards both in the United Sta ...

, who directed the video for "All the Things She Said", the third single from the same album.

Track listings

7-inch single # "Alive and Kicking" (Single Version) (4:47) # "Alive and Kicking" (Instrumental Version) (6:01) 12-inch single # "Alive and Kicking" (5:26) # "Alive and Kicking" (Instrumental Version) (6:01) Second 12-inch single * Ltd Edition Reflective Gold Sleeve # "Alive and Kicking" (5:26) # "Alive and Kicking" (Instrumental Version) (6:01) # "Up on the Catwalk" (Live) (5:37)

Personnel

* Produced by

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

and

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

* Engineered by Moira Marquis and Mark McKenna * Engineering assisted by Martin White * Words and music by Simple Minds (Kerr, Burchill, MacNeil) * "Up on the Catwalk" recorded live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 5 January 1985 * Backing vocals by

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

"Alive and Kicking" "Love Song" / "Alive and Kicking"

Year-end charts

Certifications

Appearances in media

In 1992, "Alive & Kicking" provided the soundtrack for a famous promo, entitled "A whole new ball game" for

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's launch of the

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East Side Beat version

In 1992, Italian dance music group

East Side Beat East Side Beat were an Italian music group, which achieved success in Europe in the early 1990s. Fronted by a line up of Italian-American vocalist Carl Fanini and Italian keyboardist Francesco Petrocchi, the act was masterminded by producers Giova ...

covered "Alive and Kicking". There are five remixes in total. Two versions are found on the 7-inch single and an additional three are on the CD single.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alive And Kicking (Song) 1985 songs 1985 singles 1992 singles Simple Minds songs Number-one singles in Italy Songs written by Jim Kerr Music videos directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński Virgin Records singles FFRR Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Clearmountain Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Songs written by Charlie Burchill Songs written by Mick MacNeil