"Wide Open Space" is a song by

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

rock band

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. It was announc ...

, released as a single on 25 November 1996. The song was the lead track of ''Four EP''. The single's success led to alternative versions appearing on four of the next five Mansun singles. These versions were one live, one acoustic, and two

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es, the first and most popular by Perfecto, and a NRG version by The Trouser Enthusiasts. A completely different version credited to longtime engineer Mike Hunter was included as a hidden bonus track on their compilation ''

Kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main cha ...

''. The song also appears on ''The Sound of Gran Turismo'', a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

based on '' Gran Turismo''.

Background

Singer Paul Draper said, "I struggled for 6 months to find the lyrics from this song, I eventually got them from absorbing someone talking on TV which gave me the title, then I painted the imagery around that."

History

"Wide Open Space" was not the group's most successful single in terms of sales or UK chart position – reaching number 15 in 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 ...

– but propelled the group's career and is their best-known song. It was also the only single that gained significant exposure in the US, reaching number 25 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in 1997. Paul Draper later wrote that he was the sole writer and performer of the song. In the liner notes of '' Legacy: Best Of'', Draper explained having recorded the entire song ''sans'' the vocals six months before he wrote the lyrics. Two videos were filmed to promote the single. The first, directed by Paul Cunningham, features the band playing in a small dilapidated room while Martino Lazzeri (Joe Williams from

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'') walks around a city, alienated and paranoid, amid vampiresque overtones. A second, simpler video was recorded for the US market, directed by Nigel Dick. "Wide Open Space" became a dance anthem after being

ed by DJ and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Paul Oakenfold (under the production alias Perfecto). This remix was included on Oakenfold's compilation ''Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream'', sealing its status as one of the most played songs at major UK nightclub

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, as well as in

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s around the world, over the 1997–1999 period. "I thought 'Wide Open Space' was in the running for best single of last year," remarked

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other mem ...

in 1997. "They've got loads of ideas and they don't sound like us at all. They're supposed to be part of that 'New Grave' thing with us and the

Manics Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus Nic ...

, aren't they? Everything that article said was true: we all ''did'' have long overcoats and dodgy haircuts in the '80s."

B-sides

"Vision Impaired" began life as a demo for Draper's previous group; Grind. The Glam infused track was initially called "I Lust You". It was an electronic composition with a heavy synth bass. The lyrics are mostly unchanged, apart from the chorus which emphasises the refrain 'I Lust You'. " Skin Up Pin Up" was the group's first single for a proper label. It was originally released as a double 'A' side with " Flourella". The latter song was rerecorded for the " She Makes My Nose Bleed" single release. The version of "Skin Up Pin Up" is unchanged. A remixed version was created for the film Spawn: The Soundtrack. The remix was produced by

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...

. "Moronica" and "Lemonade Secret Drinker" appeared on CD2 as acoustic versions, and had previously appeared on the Group's first two EPs (''One EP'' and ''Two EP'').

Track listing

Personnel

; Mansun *

Dominic Chad Dominic Chad (born 5 June 1972 in Exeter, Devon, England) is an English musician, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, arranger and co-writer of the rock band Mansun. Biography Early days Born in Exeter, Devon, Chad grew up in Maidston ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* Stove –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Andie Rathbone Andrew "Andie" Rathbone (born 8 September 1969 in Chester) is an English drummer and former member of the rock band Mansun. Rathbone grew up in Blacon, Chester and played in various local bands including "The Wandering Quatrains" and "Jonti" a ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Paul Draper –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, piano, synthesizer,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

; Production * Mike Hunter – engineer ("Wide Open Space", "Rebel Without A Quilt", "The Gods of Not Very Much") *

Ian Caple Ian Caple is an English recording engineer, record producer, programmer and mixer. History Caple's career began at EMI Music in 1979. After training at Abbey Road Studios, he became an engineer at EMI's KPM studios in Denmark Street London. He ...

– engineer/co producer ("Wide Open Space") *

Mark 'Spike' Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...

– mixing ("Wide Open Space") * Nick Griffiths – engineer ("Vision Impaired", "Moronica (Acoustic Version)", "Lemonade Secret Drinker (Acoustic Version)") * Ronnie Stone – engineer ("Skin Up Pin Up") * Richard Lewis – photography *

Pennie Smith Pennie Smith (born in London) is an English photographer, known for her photography of the rock music industry. She specialises in black-and-white photography. Early life Smith attended art school in Twickenham in the late 1960s, studying gra ...

– photography * Stylorouge London – design

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1996 singles Mansun songs Music videos directed by Nigel Dick 1996 songs Parlophone singles Songs written by Paul Draper (musician)