"Green light" is a song recorded by
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
and released as a single in February 1979. It was the third single and title track taken from his 1978 studio album ''
Green Light''. The song is written by
Alan Tarney
Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spence ...
who went on to write some of Richard's biggest hits, such as the follow-up single "
We Don't Talk Anymore", "
Dreamin'" (1980), "
Wired for Sound
''Wired for Sound'' is the 24th studio album by Cliff Richard, released in September 1981. The album peaked at number 4 in the UK album charts upon release, and spent a total of 25 weeks on the chart in 1981–82. The album was certified P ...
" (1981) and "
Some People" (1987).
Release and reception
Released as a single over four months after the released of the album, the single peaked at number 57 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 a three-week run.
Nevertheless, it broke his singles-chart drought after his previous three singles in 1978 had all missed the charts. In the US, the track received FM radio airplay on
AOR formats, but did not chart.
Richard especially included the original version on his 1994 greatest hits album ''
The Hit List'' (primarily made up of all Richard's top 5 hits to that time) despite it not even making the Top 40 of the
UK Singles Charts
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- ...
. About the two bonus tracks on the album, he said in the cover sleeve of the album "A lot of you asked for a re-release of "Miss You Nights" so just for you it's included as a bonus and just for me, so is "Green Light"!
Music critic Bruce Eder, highlighted a rendition Richard recorded with the backing of the
London Philharmonic Orchestra and released in 1983 on the live album ''
Dressed for the Occasion''. In reviewing what he described as Richard's "most impressive concert album", he said:
Track listing
7" (UK)
# "Green Light" – 3:45
# "Imagine Love" – 4:20
7" (US)
# "Green Light" – 3:29
# "Needing a Friend" – 2:56
7" (Netherlands and Germany)
# "Green Light" – 4:01
# "Needing a Friend" – 2:55
Chart performance
Covers
*1979:
Yvonne Elliman included her version on her album ''Yvonne'' (1979).
References
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1979 songs
1979 singles
Cliff Richard songs
Songs written by Alan Tarney