Blue Savannah

"Blue Savannah"
Single by Erasure
from the album Wild!
B-side	"Runaround on the Underground", "No G.D.M."
Released	26 February 1990
Format	12", 7", cassette, CD
Recorded	1989
Genre	Synthpop Freestyle (Der Deutsche mixes)
Length	4:23
Label	Mute (UK) Sire (U.S.)
Writer(s)	Vince Clarke, Andy Bell
Producer(s)	Gareth Jones, Mark Saunders, Erasure
Erasure singles chronology
"You Surround Me" (1989) "Blue Savannah" (1990) "Star" (1990)

"Blue Savannah" is a song by Erasure which was issued as a single from the duo's fourth studio album Wild! in 1990. Mute Records released it in Europe as the album's third single, and Sire Records released it in the United States as the album's second single.

It is a classic Erasure synthpop song written by members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. One of the band's signature songs, the duo still perform it regularly in concert. An uplifting love song, the instrumentation is crisp and heavily synthesized, accented with sweeping, programmed piano.

The music video shows Clarke and Bell performing the song in a large, white room, which gets painted blue as the video progresses. A blue hand holds a paint brush in view, and the camera follows the hand as it paints Clarke and a shirtless Bell until they both are completely blue. Eventually gold-colored leaves, similar to those featured on the Wild! album cover, blow in and cover the duo as they perform.

"Blue Savannah" became one of Erasure's most successful singles, peaking at number three on the UK singles chart. It also returned the band to the Top 20 in Germany, where the song hit number 13. The release of the single brought about the usual array of remixes and B-sides. Although several club mixes of "Blue Savannah" were issued commercially, the Shep Pettibone 'Out of the Blue' mix proved to be most popular in dance clubs. This remix, available only on promotional copies of the 12 inch single, was never officially released and fetches a premium from collectors on trading sites such as eBay. Compact disc versions of the promotional single which contain the 'Out of the Blue' remix are even rarer. In 2004, HiBias Records of Canada started their Retro:Active - Rare & Remixed CD series and the 'Out of the Blue' Mix received its first official release, on volume one. In 2016, the remix was included on the Erasure 30th-Anniversary anthology, "From Moscow To Mars" making its first-ever official release on an Erasure album. In Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, the song is often played at the end of music nights across the town as a finale.

"Blue Savannah" was the inspiration for the song "Escribeme en el Cielo" three years later by the Mexican group Sentidos Opuestos, which is strikingly similar in its instrumental arrangements and melody.

Track listings

7" single (MUTE109) / Cassette Single (CMUTE109)

1. "Blue Savannah"
2. "Runaround on the Underground"

12" single (12MUTE109) / CD single (CDMUTE109)

1. "Blue Savannah" (Mark Saunders Mix)
2. "Runaround on the Underground"
3. "No G.D.M."

Limited 12" single #1 (L12MUTE109)

1. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix II)
2. "No G.D.M." (Unfinished Mix)
3. "Runaround on the Underground" (12" Mix)

Limited 12" single #2 (XL12MUTE109)

1. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix II)
2. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix I)

Limited CD single (LCDMUTE109)

1. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix I)
2. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix II)
3. "Runaround on the Underground" (12" Mix)

U.S. CD maxi-single (21428-2)

• Also released on 12" (Sire 21428-0) and cassette (Sire 21428-4), minus "Blue Savannah" (Single Version).

1. "Blue Savannah" (Single Version)
2. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix I)
3. "Blue Savannah" (Der Deutsche Mix II)
4. "Runaround on the Underground" (12" Mix)
5. "Blue Savannah" (Mark Saunders Remix)
6. "Supernature" (William Orbit's Mix)
7. "No G.D.M." (Zeus B. Held Mix)

U.S. cassette single (Sire 922721-4)

1. Blue Savannah (7″ Edit)
2. 91 Steps

Chart performance

Chart (1990)	Peak position	Total weeks
Australian Singles Chart[1]	159
Canadian Dance/Urban Chart[2]	17	5
Dutch Singles Chart[3]	48	6
German Singles Chart[4]	13	17
Irish Singles Chart[5]	3	6
UK Singles Chart[6]	3	10
US Dance/Club Play Singles[7]	44	5
US Hot Dance Music Sales[8]	12

References

1. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-06-05". imgur.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
2. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
4. http://www.musicline.de/
5. http://www.irishcharts.ie/
6. "Erasure - Blue Savannah". Chart Stats. 10 March 1990. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
7. http://www.billboard.com/
8. http://www.allmusic.com/

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics