Stay (Bernard Butler song)
Encyclopedia
"Stay" is the debut single from Bernard Butler
released in January 1998. It was taken from the album People Move On
and charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart
.
The song begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, which leads into Butler's vocals. Drums, electric guitar, keyboards and backing vocals all get introduced gradually, before coming together in one last climax and quiet coda. Butler has said that "Stay" is not a love song but a song about change. "The process of change is hard but you've got to do it. It's about when you know you've got to do something but there's an element of risk. It's about when I first went to France to record. A lot of the lyrics come from a conversation with Elisa, my wife. I wrote them on the train over to France."
Ned Raggett of Allmusic wrote: "The long-awaited introduction of Butler to the music world as a singer/songwriter is at once slightly tentative and quite promising. The title track is one of the more self-consciously grandiose things out there, but its big advantage is that it builds rather than overwhelms."
The music video for the title song was directed by David Mould, whose directing credits include Suede's "Trash", the first single released after Butler's departure.
B-side "Hotel Splendide" features backing vocals from Edwyn Collins
.
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...
released in January 1998. It was taken from the album People Move On
People Move On
People Move On is the debut album from English singer Bernard Butler released in 1998.Following his split from soul singer David McAlmont in 1995 and a three-year absence from the public eye, Butler re-emerged on Alan McGee's Creation label for his debut solo album. A year earlier McGee had, in...
and charted at number 12 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 ...
.
The song begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, which leads into Butler's vocals. Drums, electric guitar, keyboards and backing vocals all get introduced gradually, before coming together in one last climax and quiet coda. Butler has said that "Stay" is not a love song but a song about change. "The process of change is hard but you've got to do it. It's about when you know you've got to do something but there's an element of risk. It's about when I first went to France to record. A lot of the lyrics come from a conversation with Elisa, my wife. I wrote them on the train over to France."
Ned Raggett of Allmusic wrote: "The long-awaited introduction of Butler to the music world as a singer/songwriter is at once slightly tentative and quite promising. The title track is one of the more self-consciously grandiose things out there, but its big advantage is that it builds rather than overwhelms."
The music video for the title song was directed by David Mould, whose directing credits include Suede's "Trash", the first single released after Butler's departure.
B-side "Hotel Splendide" features backing vocals from Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
.