Runner (song)
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"The Runner", also called simply "Runner", is a song written by Canadian rock musician Ian Thomas and released in 1981 on his album of the same name. Inspired by the story of
Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...
, "The Runner" was covered by French singer Sheila later that year, but its most famous rendition was recorded by
Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...
, a British band known for making hits of reworked cover songs, and released as a single in 1984, shortly before that year's Summer Olympics. The timing of the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version made it a success, and it reached number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States.


Ian Thomas's version

Ian Thomas is a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician, whose songs have been successfully covered by several other artists. Thomas was inspired to write "The Runner" by the story of
Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...
, a Canadian athlete who lost a leg to cancer and attempted to run with his
prosthetic leg In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...
from the East Coast of Canada in
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
to the West Coast in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, but was forced to stop in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
due to medical concerns when cancer had been discovered in both of his lungs. Fox died in 1981. Thomas said that in making the song he "wanted to capture that gallantry, the importance of passing on the flame". His version was included in '' The Terry Fox Story'', a 1983
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...
about Fox.


Manfred Mann's Earth Band version

The timing on the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version was especially good, as it came out right before the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
held in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, prompting especially heavy play.
Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and produc ...
, at that time the guitarist of the progressive rock band
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, played the guitar solo on this track. The video for this version, directed by Lindsey Clennell, received heavy airplay on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. In it, the band performs near a campfire at night (shot on a soundstage), interspersed with video of runners racing or carrying the
Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...
, much of which was footage shot for the previous Summer Olympics in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
and
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
. A 12-second sequence focused on American sprinter Robert Taylor, along with other parts from the 100 metres in Munich. This version of the song was used in the movie '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984). The song was included on the American release of their album ''
Somewhere in Afrika ''Somewhere in Afrika'' is the eleventh album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, released in 1982. It is their last studio album recorded for their long time record label Bronze Records. They would record their next studio album, '' Criminal Tango'' f ...
'' (1984). With the 1998 series of remastered reissues, the song was instead appended to the reissue of ''
Criminal Tango ''Criminal Tango'' is the twelfth studio album released in 1986 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band with Chris Thompson. Founding guitarist/vocalist Mick Rogers returned to the band for this album and is still an active member. The new bassist Ste ...
''. It was also included on the compilations '' The Best of Manfred Mann's Earth Band Re-Mastered'', '' Odds & Sods – Mis-takes & Out-takes'', the ''Leftovers'' disc of the ''40th Anniversary'' box set and the deluxe edition of ''Mannthology''. The single edit (which fades early) is rarer on CD, having only been reissued on ''The Complete Greatest Hits of Manfred Mann'' and the 50th anniversary release ''Mannthology''.


Track listing

*7" single :A. "Runner" (7" version) – 3:50 :B. "No Transkei" 2:35 *12" single :A. "Runner" (12" version) – 4:40 :B. "No Transkei" 2:35 :C. "Lies (Through the 80s)" 4:34 Both B-sides are taken from the
Budapest Live ''Budapest Live'' is an album released in 1984 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The album was recorded on the "Somewhere in Europe" tour in 1983 in support of the "Somewhere in Afrika" album, and despite its title, also featured recordings from the ...
concerts, although "No Transkei" (re-titled second part of the "Africa Suite") was originally only available on the cassette of the album. US releases retained the title "Where Do They Send Them", which had already been used on the ''Budapest Live'' cassette. (The
studio recording A studio recording, or a recording session is any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance. Studio cast recordings In the cas ...
was called "To Bantustan?")


Personnel


Musicians

*
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...
keyboards,
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s * John Lingwood –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, percussion * Chris Thompson – vocals *
Matt Irving Matt Irving (born Glasgow, Scotland; 16 March 1950 – 3 April 2015) was a Scottish singer and musician who played keyboards, accordion, and bass guitar. Irving was the bass guitar player for Manfred Mann's Earth Band between 1981 and 1986. H ...
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, programming (MC4) * Mick Rogers – backup vocals *
Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and produc ...
– guitar solo


Technical

* Manfred Mann – producer * Lars Finnstrom –
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
* Terry Medhurst – engineer


References

{{Manfred Mann's Earth Band 1984 singles 1981 songs Arista Records singles Manfred Mann songs Bronze Records singles Songs written by Ian Thomas (Canadian musician) Terry Fox Ian Thomas (Canadian musician) songs