"Skateaway" is a 1980 rock song by

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and pe ...

, dealing with a female roller-skater breezing through busy city streets, while listening to a portable radio through her headphones. It appears on the band's 1980 album ''

Making Movies ''Making Movies'' is the third studio album by British rock band Dire Straits released on 17 October 1980 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album includes the single ...

''. It was released as a single in 1980, and in January 1981 peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was accompanied by a

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

that was popular on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, featuring musician Jayzik Azikiwe (1958-2008) as Rollergirl. The daughter of Nigeria's first president

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the ...

, she was credited as Jay Carly in the video directed by

Lester Bookbinder Lester Bookbinder (New York City, 1929 - London, 9 January 2017) was an American photographer and commercial director who worked in the United Kingdom. Bookbinder trained with Rouben Samberg before moving to London. He established a career as a p ...

. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that the narrative is "as vivid as nopfler'sguitar is distinctive". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated "Skateaway" as Dire Straits' 7th best song, saying that it "sticks closer to a traditional rock-radio format" than the other songs on ''Making Movies''.

Charts

References

External links

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Jayzik Azikiwe (1958-2008)
{{Authority control Dire Straits songs 1980 singles Songs written by Mark Knopfler 1980 songs Song recordings produced by Mark Knopfler Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine

Charts

See also

References

External links