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==Song history== ==Song history==
Promotional copies of "Spaceman" had been distributed, and the ] remix was chosen to tie in with the release on 1 December 1995 of a new ] jeans ] ]<ref>{{cite book |first=Alex P. |last=King |title=Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes |publisher=Pascal |year=2004 |place=Paris |page=347 |language=French |isbn=2-35019-009-9}}</ref> titled " Planet" which was directed by Vaughan Arnell and ]. The advertisement concentrated on the speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song owing to Baker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hangout.altsounds.com/features/128758-happened-babylon-zoo.html|title=Whatever happened to... Babylon Zoo|publisher=altsound.com|last=Edden|first=John|date=21 April 2011|accessdate=29 May 2013}}</ref> Promotional copies of "Spaceman" had been distributed, and the ] remix was chosen to tie in with the release on 1 December 1995 of a new ] jeans ] ]<ref>{{cite book |first=Alex P. |last=King |title=Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes |publisher=Pascal |year=2004 |place=Paris |page=347 |language=French |isbn=2-35019-009-9}}</ref> titled " Planet" which was directed by Vaughan Arnell and ]. The advertisement concentrated on Baker's speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song which was clearly a mechanism to boost sales.<ref name="MTTM">{{cite web|url=http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/babylon-zoo/|title=Babylon Zoo|publisher=morethanthemusic.co.uk|last=Sloan|first=Nicola|date=6 January 2013|accessdate=22 June 2013}}</ref>


On the promotional version of "Spaceman" there are extra lyrics at the start of the song, with Jas saying "I killed your mother, I killed your sister" and then later "I killed you all". These lyrics were later taken out of the song and replaced with the Arthur Baker introduction; although, the "I killed you all" lyric is still buried in the song (it can be heard after the first chorus). There was a lower budget video made for this version.{{CN|date=May 2013}} The initial intro to "Spaceman" on the promotional copies, before it was used for the advert, featured Mann's whispering vocals of "I killed your mother, I killed your sister, I killed you all."<ref name="MTTM"/> These lyrics were later taken out of the song and replaced with the more radio friendly Arthur Baker introduction; although, the "I killed you all" lyric is still buried in the song (it can be heard after the first chorus). There was a lower budget video made for this version.{{CN|date=May 2013}}


In 2006 "Spaceman" featured on trailers for ]'s film '']'', the ]'s children's channel, ] for the animated pre-school series '']'', and ]'s advertisement for '']''. "Spaceman" is also used in '']'' (Pop Idol Estonia). "Spaceman" is also featured in E4's ] in the episode "Ladies and Gentlemen" during the scene where Rae and Finn begin their drive to Knebworth.{{CN|date=May 2013}} In 2006 "Spaceman" featured on trailers for ]'s film '']'', the ]'s children's channel, ] for the animated pre-school series '']'', and ]'s advertisement for '']''. "Spaceman" is also used in '']'' (Pop Idol Estonia). "Spaceman" is also featured in E4's ] in the episode "Ladies and Gentlemen" during the scene where Rae and Finn begin their drive to Knebworth.{{CN|date=May 2013}}

Revision as of 13:37, 22 June 2013

"Spaceman"
Song
B-side"Blue Nude"
"Metal Vision"
"5th Dimension Remix"
"E Before I Remix"

"Spaceman" is the début single by British band Babylon Zoo, taken from the album The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes. Featuring heavily distorted guitars and metallic, robotic-sounding vocals, it went straight to Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 1996 after being featured in a popular Levi's jeans TV advert in late 1995. The song was Babylon Zoo's only major hit. The song became the second fastest-selling single ever, behind only The Beatles' 1964 single "Can't Buy Me Love". The song was the seventh song to be spring-boarded to no. 1 thanks to its coverage in a Levi advert.

Song history

Promotional copies of "Spaceman" had been distributed, and the Arthur Baker remix was chosen to tie in with the release on 1 December 1995 of a new Levi's jeans TV advert titled " Planet" which was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton. The advertisement concentrated on Baker's speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song which was clearly a mechanism to boost sales.

The initial intro to "Spaceman" on the promotional copies, before it was used for the advert, featured Mann's whispering vocals of "I killed your mother, I killed your sister, I killed you all." These lyrics were later taken out of the song and replaced with the more radio friendly Arthur Baker introduction; although, the "I killed you all" lyric is still buried in the song (it can be heard after the first chorus). There was a lower budget video made for this version.

In 2006 "Spaceman" featured on trailers for Ant and Dec's film Alien Autopsy, the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies for the animated pre-school series Lunar Jim, and Network Ten's advertisement for Battlestar Galactica. "Spaceman" is also used in Eesti otsib superstaari (Pop Idol Estonia). "Spaceman" is also featured in E4's My Mad Fat Diary in the episode "Ladies and Gentlemen" during the scene where Rae and Finn begin their drive to Knebworth.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the song a "bizarre, tuneless collage of hip-hop rhythms, techno keyboards and alternative guitars", that "didn't have any tangible hook to make it memorable". Chuck Eddy at Entertainment Weekly said: "Babylon Zoo's 'Spaceman' boasts Martian-munchkin squeaking and a high-pitched chorus that makes its futuristic kitsch both funny and seductive."

Cover versions

Track listings

CD Promo Single 1995 WEA (YZ925CDDJ)
  1. "Spaceman" (radio version) — 3:50
  2. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56
CD Promo 1995 EMI (CDEMDJ 416)
  1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) - 4.08
7" Single
  1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
  2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
CD Single 1996 EMI (CDEM 416)
  1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
  2. "Metal Vision" — 3:48
  3. "Blue Nude" — 2:09
  4. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
CD Single ('The Only Original Remixes') 1996 EMI (7243 8 82721 2 4)
  1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
  2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
  3. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56
  4. "Spaceman" (E before I) — 6:37

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1995/96) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 3
Austrian Singles Chart 1
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart 1
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart 1
Danish Singles Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 4
Eurochart Hot 100 1
Finnish Singles Chart 1
French SNEP Singles Chart 1
German Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 1
Italian Singles Chart 2
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 4
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart 2
UK Singles Chart 1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1996) Position
Australian Singles Chart 30
Austrian Singles Chart 13
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart 5
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart 13
Dutch Top 40 65
French Snigles Chart 19
Swiss Singles Chart 25

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Austria Gold 8 March 1996 15,000
France Gold 1996 250,000
Germany Gold 1996 250,000
Sweden Gold 14 February 1996 10,000
UK Platinum 1 March 1996 1,140,000

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by"Jesus to a Child" by George Michael Irish IRMA number-one single
13 January 1996 – 10 February 1996 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis
UK Singles Chart number-one single
21 January 1996 – 24 February 1996
Preceded by"Gangsta's paradise" by Coolio Swedish number-one single
26 January 1996 – 15 March 1996 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by"One of Us" by Joan Osborne
Preceded by"Jesus to a Child" by George Michael Finnish number-one single
5/1996 - 9/1996 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Born in Africa" by Dr. Alban
Preceded by"Missing (Todd Terry remix)" by Everything but the Girl German number-one single
16 February 1996 (1 week) 		Succeeded by"Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden
Preceded by"Knockin'" by Double Vision Belgian (Flanders) number-one single
17 February 1996 – 24 February 1996 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli
Preceded by"Gangsta's paradise" by Coolio Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single
18 February 1996 – 10 March 1996 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden
Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
24 February 1996 – 16 March 1996 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Children" by Robert Miles
Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single
9 March 1996 – 16 March 1996 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by"Children" by Robert Miles
French SNEP number-one single
9 March 1996 (1 week) 		Succeeded by"Soirée disco" by Boris

References

  1. ^ The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes review. AllMusic.
  2. "Spaceman band falls back to earth". Sunday Mercury. The Free Library. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  3. "New boy rockets to No 1 space". The Mirror Archived at The Free Library. 22 January 1996. Retrieved 21 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. "I was a sex symbol the moment I popped out of the womb". Daily Record. The Free Library. 23 January 1996. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  5. King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes (in French). Paris: Pascal. p. 347. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
  6. ^ Sloan, Nicola (6 January 2013). "Babylon Zoo". morethanthemusic.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. Eddy, Chuck (12 April 1996). "Music Review - Spaceman (1996)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. "My week: Katie Melua". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 2006
  9. ^ "Spaceman", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  10. "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research)". Billboard. 108 (13). Nielsen Business Media: 55. 30 March 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ^ "Single top 100 over 1996" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  12. "Babylon Zoo singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  13. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  14. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/ab.htm
  15. "Official Charts: Babylon Zoo - Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  16. "1996 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  17. "1996 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  18. "1996 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  19. "1996 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  20. "1996 French Singles Chart" (in French). Disqueenfrance. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  21. "1996 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  22. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  23. French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  24. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Spaceman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  25. Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  26. UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
  27. Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
Babylon Zoo
  • Jas Mann
  • Carrie Melbourne
  • Dave Goodes
  • Darrin Mooney
Studio albums
Singles
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