"Goodbye Mr A" is the second single by the English
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band
the Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are an English pop rock band who were originally formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The band consists of members Irwin Sparkes (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Alan Sharland (drums, percussion, vocals).
Their first ...
, from their debut album, ''
The Trick to Life'' (2007). The song is written in the key of
B major
B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...
and was created in memory of frontman Irwin Sparkes' secondary school English teacher, Jonathan "Mr A" Anderton, after Sparkes heard of Anderton's death in 2006. It has been noted for its similarities to
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...
's single "
Mr. Blue Sky".
The Hoosiers: 'Goodbye Mr A'
/ref> Released on 8 October 2007, the song gave the band their second UK top-five single, entering the UK Singles Chart at 5 on 14 October 2007 and climbing to its peak of No. 4 the following week.
Music video
The music video to "Goodbye Mr A" is reminiscent of superhero comics
Superhero comics is one of the most common genres of American comic books. The genre rose to prominence in the 1930s and became extremely popular in the 1940s and has remained the dominant form of comic book in North America since the 1960s. Supe ...
and popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
, such as the 1960s ''Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' television series. In the video, the Hoosiers kidnap Mr A, a comic-book character and the world's greatest superhero. They then take his place fighting crime. Despite being fired into space at the end, Mr A. survives and opens his eyes; this is a reference to the film '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer''.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2007 singles
2007 songs
The Hoosiers songs
RCA Records singles