"Spark" is a single released by Scottish singer

Amy Macdonald Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This ...

as the second single from her second studio album '' A Curious Thing'' (2010) and was released in the UK on 10 May 2010. The song achieved considerable commercial success in Europe, particularly on the continent in countries including

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It became the first single released by Macdonald not to chart on the official singles charts in the United Kingdom.

Background

Macdonald began writing songs for her second album in spring 2009, in a brief break from her touring commitments. For the first time she began poring through her old notebooks, looking at song ideas, unlike her debut which consists mainly of songs that she wrote straight away. Many of the tracks were inspired by real-life personalities or events from her daily life. "An Ordinary Life" is inspired by the "Z-list celebs" she saw flocking around Scots-born Hollywood actor

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...

at a party he held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

late 2009 to mark the opening of his film ''

Law Abiding Citizen ''Law Abiding Citizen'' is a 2009 American vigilante action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray, written by Kurt Wimmer, and starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler (who also co-produced). The film takes place in Philadelphia, telling the story ...

''. The tracks were recorded at Weller's BlackBarn Studios in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Music video

The music video was filmed at

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It starts with Macdonald walking down a slipway towards the Loch carrying a case she puts it down and starts playing the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

with a caravan in the background, orange lines flash throughout the music video and the viewer can see different shots of the loch, the forest and Macdonald playing her guitar.

Track listing

;Digital download # "Spark" – 3:07 # "Spark" (Acoustic Version – German Radio Tour) – 3:05 ;iTunes digital download # "Spark" – 3:07 # "Your Time Will Come" (Farewell Olympic Studios Version) – 3:48 # "Spark" (Tom Middleton Mix) – 8:22 # "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" (Acoustic Version – German Radio Tour) – 3:07 ;German single-CD # "Spark" – 3:07 # "Spark" (HR1 Acoustic Version) – 3:05 # "Spark" (Tom Middleton Mix) – 8:22 # "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" (HR1 Acoustic Version) – 3:07

Charts

Weekly charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spark (Amy Macdonald Song) Amy Macdonald songs 2010 singles Songs written by Amy Macdonald 2010 songs Mercury Records singles