"Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)", given the reversed title "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" in some markets, is a song by the British band

The Icicle Works The Icicle Works (also known as Icicle Works in the United States) are an English alternative rock band and were named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hi ...

. It was released in 1983 as the first single from the band's 1984 debut eponymous album ''

'', and re-released in March 1984. The song was written by

Ian McNabb Robert Ian McNabb (born 3 November 1960) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Previously the frontman of The Icicle Works, McNabb has since embarked on a solo career and performed with Ringo Starr, Neil Young/Crazy Horse, Mike Scott ...

, the band's lead singer, and produced by Hugh Jones.

UK releases

The recording was initially released as a single in the UK in June 1983 as "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" on the

Situation Two Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet releases were often distributed by WEA; to appeal to the indie ...

label. This initial release hit #2 on the UK independent charts, and scraped the lower reaches of 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 ...

at number 89. After the Icicle Works' next UK single "

Love Is a Wonderful Colour "Love Is a Wonderful Colour" is a song by British new wave band the Icicle Works. It was released in 1983 as the second single from the band's 1984 debut eponymous album ''The Icicle Works''. The song was written by Ian McNabb, produced by David ...

" hit number 15 on the UK charts in late 1983 and early 1984,

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DI ...

rereleased "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" in March 1984 with a new cover and B-side. This release climbed to number 52 in the UK.

American release

The group's American label

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

refused to release the record unless some changes were made. The track was remixed slightly in order to remove a brief spoken-word

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

in the opening bars of music (the woman performing this intro was identified only as "Mariella" on the original Situation Two single sleeve). As well, the song title was reversed, becoming "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" and Arista shortened the band's name to Icicle Works. With changes, the song reached number 37 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number 34 on ''Cashbox'''s singles chart in the summer of 1984. The song also reached number 18 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock chart 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 i ...

, number 13 on ''Billboard''s dance chart and number 15 on the

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

AOR chart.

Canadian release

The Canadian version of the single (credited to ''The'' Icicle Works) used the original UK mix with the spoken-word intro, but under the revised American title "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)." This was the most successful commercial release of the single, reaching number 19 on the Canadian chart in the summer of 1984.

Track listings

1983 release

7" vinyl # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:46) # "Reverie Girl" (3:54) 12" vinyl # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:52) # "Reverie Girl" (3:55) # "Gunboys" (3:44)

1984 release

7" vinyl (UK) # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:48) # "In the Cauldron of Love" (3:50) 7" vinyl (Canada) # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:48) # "Scarecrow" (3:06) 12" vinyl (BEG 108T) # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:48) # "In the Cauldron of Love" (3:50) # "Scarecrow" (3:06) # "Ragweed Campaign" (4:12) 12" vinyl (BEG 108TD) # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:48) # "In the Cauldron of Love" (3:50) # "Birds Fly (Frantic Mix)" (5.20) 12" vinyl (BEG 108TR) # "Birds Fly (Frantic Mix)" (5:20) # "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (3:48) # "In the Cauldron of Love" (3:50) # "Scarecrow" (3:06) # "Ragweed Campaign" (4:10)

Charts

References

External links

Ian McNabb website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) 1983 singles 1984 singles The Icicle Works songs 1983 songs Beggars Banquet Records singles Song recordings produced by Hugh Jones (producer)