"Dance Away" is a song by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

. Released in April 1979, it was the second single to be taken from their sixth studio album ''

Manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

'', and became one of the band's most famous songs, reaching number two in the UK and spending a total of 14 weeks on the charts, the longest chart residency of a Roxy Music single. Although it did not make number one, it became the ninth biggest selling single in the UK in 1979. It did make it to number one on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

and held that position for one week.

Background

"Dance Away" was originally written by

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

for his fourth solo studio album '' In Your Mind'' (1977), but did not make the final track listing. It was then planned for inclusion on his follow studio album '' The Bride Stripped Bare'' (1978), but again was not included. It was finally completed and released on Roxy Music's ''Manifesto'', the band's first studio album in four years.

Critical reception

'' Cashbox'' said it is "Roxy Music's most commercial effort to date" and that the highlights are "

Andy Mackay Andrew Mackay (born 23 July 1946) is an English musician, best known as a founding member (playing oboe and saxophone) of the art rock group Roxy Music. In addition, he has taught music and provided scores for television, while his work as a se ...

's sax lines,

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...

's guitar treatments and an entrancing percussive' sound."

Versions

The single version was a different shorter edit and mix compared to the original album version. As with their next single " Angel Eyes", the single version of "Dance Away" replaced the album version in subsequent releases. The 1999 re-mastered version of the ''

'' studio album restored the original version of "Angel Eyes",Angel Eyes (Rock Version) on Viva Roxy Music!
/ref> but still retained the single mix of "Dance Away" in place of the original. Thus the 1995 '' Thrill of It All'' box set was the only release on which the LP version of the song could be found, until the release of the box set ''The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982'' in 2012. The ''Thrill of it All'' album also includes an extended (6.29 minutes) version.

Personnel

– vocals, keyboards *

– oboe, saxophone *

– electric guitar *

Alan Spenner Alan Henry Spenner (7 May 1948 – 11 August 1991) was an English bass player who performed with Wynder K. Frog, the Grease Band, Spooky Tooth, ABC, David Coverdale, David Soul, Joe Cocker, Kenny Loggins, Lynda Carter, Peter Frampton, Ted Nuge ...

– bass *

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American jazz fusion pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as " I'll B ...

– piano *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums *

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

– percussion, claves

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dance Away 1979 singles 1979 songs 1970s ballads British soft rock songs Island Records singles Polydor Records singles Pop ballads Rock ballads Roxy Music songs Songs about dancing Songs written by Bryan Ferry