Run to You (Bryan Adams song)
Encyclopedia
"Run to You" is a rock
song written by Bryan Adams
and Jim Vallance
for Adams' fourth studio album, Reckless. It was the first single released from the album and is still one of Adams' most recognizable and popular songs. The song topped the Billboard
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The song has appeared on all of Adams' compilation albums. The single was certified Gold in Canada
in 1985.
, Adams started the recording for Reckless. The recording for "Run to You" started on March 27, 1984 at Little Mountain Sound
, Vancouver
, Canada
and continued through the summer. It was mixed on September 21 in New York
by Jim Vallance
. The song was written on the January 10, 1983 and became the last song written for Reckless. Adams and Vallance originally wrote the song for the group Blue Öyster Cult
, but it was turned down by the band.
and was Adams first number one hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and number six on the Billboard Hot 100
. "Run to You" reached the top twenty on the Canadian singles
chart and remained there for seven weeks. "Run to You" reached the highest Canadian chart positions Adams had attained at the time of release and became his second top twenty single in Canada. "Run to You" was released the following month in Ireland
and peaked at number 8 and reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart
. It was his second single to chart in Europe
.
Stewart Mason from Allmusic said "Run to You" was the first of the album's six Top 30 hits, and in retrospect, "one of the weakest of the lot. Although the song has a thundering chorus, the kind that sounds truly excellent blasting through FM speakers, there is quite literally not much else to the song: of the song's nearly four-minute length, over half of the song is devoted to repeats of the chorus and an unimaginative instrumental breakdown that leads into a seemingly endless vamp on the chorus to fade."
The long instrumental is indicative of the theme of the music video where the protagonist is serenading his guitar as the object of his affection.
, England
and later Los Angeles
. Directed by Steve Barron
, it was nominated for the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards
in five different categories: Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. While the song didn't win any of the awards, it has received more MTV Video Music Award nominations than any other of Adams' songs.
The English actress Lysette Anthony
appears in the video.
The second was an alternative rock
version by Lou Barlow
on the 1993 extended play album, Lou Barlow and Friends: Another Collection of Home Recordings. A German band named Novaspace
covered "Run to You" on their 2003 album, Cubes which was heavily inspired by Dance
and pop music
. The Japanese rock band Nil
covered "Run to You" on their 2004 cover album "The Covering Inferno". The Norwegian
hard rock
singer-songwriter Jørn Lande
covered "Run to You" on his cover' album Unlocking the Past
on the Japan
ese edition of the album. In 2009 U.K. girl band Bananarama
released their own version as a digital pre-order only to their album Viva
.
It has been mashed up
with Metallica
's "Enter Sandman
" on YouTube
.
Canadian rock bands Arkells
and The Reason
covered the song together at both Edgefest
and the Festival of Friends
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
song written by Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
and Jim Vallance
Jim Vallance
James Douglas "Jim" Vallance, OC is a retired Canadian musician, songwriter, arranger and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the former songwriting partner of Canadian international recording artist Bryan Adams...
for Adams' fourth studio album, Reckless. It was the first single released from the album and is still one of Adams' most recognizable and popular songs. The song topped the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song has appeared on all of Adams' compilation albums. The single was certified Gold in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1985.
Writing and recording
After a tour in AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Adams started the recording for Reckless. The recording for "Run to You" started on March 27, 1984 at Little Mountain Sound
Little Mountain Sound Studios
Little Mountain Sound Studios was a music recording facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. In its day, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and was the home for many years to producers Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and continued through the summer. It was mixed on September 21 in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by Jim Vallance
Jim Vallance
James Douglas "Jim" Vallance, OC is a retired Canadian musician, songwriter, arranger and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the former songwriting partner of Canadian international recording artist Bryan Adams...
. The song was written on the January 10, 1983 and became the last song written for Reckless. Adams and Vallance originally wrote the song for the group Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, but it was turned down by the band.
Release and reception
"Run to You" was released in October 1984 and became one of the most successful songs from Reckless on the American rock charts and arguably one of Adams most recognizable and popular songs. "Run to You" was released worldwide on October 18, 1984. The song reached the top ten on the Mainstream Rock TracksMainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
and was Adams first number one hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and number six on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. "Run to You" reached the top twenty on the Canadian singles
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
chart and remained there for seven weeks. "Run to You" reached the highest Canadian chart positions Adams had attained at the time of release and became his second top twenty single in Canada. "Run to You" was released the following month in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and peaked at number 8 and reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It was his second single to chart in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Stewart Mason from Allmusic said "Run to You" was the first of the album's six Top 30 hits, and in retrospect, "one of the weakest of the lot. Although the song has a thundering chorus, the kind that sounds truly excellent blasting through FM speakers, there is quite literally not much else to the song: of the song's nearly four-minute length, over half of the song is devoted to repeats of the chorus and an unimaginative instrumental breakdown that leads into a seemingly endless vamp on the chorus to fade."
The long instrumental is indicative of the theme of the music video where the protagonist is serenading his guitar as the object of his affection.
Music video
The music video was shot in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and later Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Directed by Steve Barron
Steve Barron
Steven "Steve" Barron is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"....
, it was nominated for the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
in five different categories: Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. While the song didn't win any of the awards, it has received more MTV Video Music Award nominations than any other of Adams' songs.
The English actress Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony is an English film, television, and theatre actress.-Early life:Anthony was born Lysette Chodzko in Fulham, London, the only daughter of actors Michael Anthony, and Bernadette Milnes....
appears in the video.
Cover versions
"Run to You" has been covered by numerous artists. The first notable cover recording was released as a single by the UK urban dance act Rage in 1992. This version did not meet with the same critical acclaim as Adams' version, but, after having failed to chart when released for the first time in May 1992, the single gained an unexpected boost in popularity due to controversy in the UK music media about the band's name following the release of the single because they shared their name with a German heavy metal band who had been recording under the same since 1984. After changing their name to En-Rage to avoid legal action from the German band, they re-released the single six months later, and this time it peaked at #3 in the UK singles chart (eight spots higher than the original in that country); the following year it was featured on the band's only album, Savior, released back under the name of Rage.The second was an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
version by Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
on the 1993 extended play album, Lou Barlow and Friends: Another Collection of Home Recordings. A German band named Novaspace
Novaspace
Novaspace is a German Eurodance project which, between 2002 and 2004, covered several 1980s hits, such as "Time After Time", "Guardian Angel" and "Beds Are Burning"...
covered "Run to You" on their 2003 album, Cubes which was heavily inspired by Dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. The Japanese rock band Nil
Nil (Japanese band)
Nil is a Japanese rock band that was formed in 1998 by Tetsu Takano , Hiroyuki Kashimoto and Kyoshi Moro. The original intent of Nil was to become Tetsu's solo unit and even though it has become a full fledged band, all lyrics and songwriting has been solely handled by Tetsu...
covered "Run to You" on their 2004 cover album "The Covering Inferno". The Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
singer-songwriter Jørn Lande
Jørn Lande
Jørn Lande is a Norwegian hard rock and heavy metal singer who has sold over 2 million records worldwide. He is probably best known for being the lead singer of the power metal band Masterplan.-Biography:...
covered "Run to You" on his cover' album Unlocking the Past
Unlocking the Past
Unlocking the Past is the fifth studio album by Jørn Lande.The album features covers of what Jorn states as his biggest musical influences, and as such, is composed mostly of classic hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake and Kiss.All covers were recorded...
on the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese edition of the album. In 2009 U.K. girl band Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
released their own version as a digital pre-order only to their album Viva
Viva (Bananarama album)
Viva is the tenth studio album recorded by the British vocal duo Bananarama. It was released by Fascination Records on 14 September 2009 in the UK....
.
It has been mashed up
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
with Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's "Enter Sandman
Enter Sandman
"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Canadian rock bands Arkells
Arkells
Arkells are a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, the label for other Canadian acts such as City and Colour, Attack In Black, Alexisonfire, and Tokyo Police Club.-Band history:...
and The Reason
The Reason (band)
The Reason is a Canadian rock band, formed by Adam White and James Nelan in 2003.-History:Adam White and James "Cubby" Nelan formed The Reason in late 2003 after the passing of their punk rock band, Sewing With Nancie...
covered the song together at both Edgefest
Edgefest
Edgefest, a yearly outdoor rock concert festival that primarily promotes Canadian rock music, began in 1987 as a thank-you gesture to the listeners of Toronto radio station 102.1 the Edge and as a birthday party to commemorate both the station's tenth birthday, and the coinciding Canada Day...
and the Festival of Friends
Festival of Friends
The Festival of Friends is an annual three-day free summer music festival held on the second weekend of August at the Gage Park in Hamilton, Ontario. The 35th year saw it at Ancaster Fairgrounds. It is the largest annual event of its kind in Canada...
.
Personnel
- Bryan Adams - Rhythm guitar, vocals
- Keith ScottKeith ScottKeith Douglas Scott is a Canadian guitar player. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams...
- Rhythm guitar, lead guitar - Jim Vallance - Percussion
- Tommy MandelTommy MandelTommy Mandel is a keyboardist who is most famous for playing with Bryan Adams, from 1981 to 1998, starting with Bryan Adams's album You Want It You Got It.He also has played with Dire Straits and others....
- Keyboards - Dave Taylor - Bass guitar
- Mickey CurryMickey CurryMichael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
- Drums
Chart positions
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 12 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 14 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 14 |
| UK Singles Chart | 11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 6 |
| US Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 1 |