Girl from Mars
| "Girl from Mars" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ash | ||||
| from the album 1977 | ||||
| B-side |
"Astral Conversations with Toulouse-Lautrec", "Cantina Band" | |||
| Released | 31 July 1995 | |||
| Format | CD, 7", cassette | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Britpop | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | Infectious | |||
| Writer(s) | Tim Wheeler | |||
| Producer(s) | Owen Morris | |||
| Ash singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Girl from Mars" is a single by Northern Irish band Ash, the second to be released from the album 1977. It was released on 31 July 1995 on CD, a 7" vinyl, and as a cassette.[1] "Girl from Mars" was Ash's first Top 40 single, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] number 16 on the Irish Singles Chart,[3] and the first single to bring the band to mainstream prominence. The song was written by Tim Wheeler when he was sixteen, and was played by the band on their first Top of the Pops appearance two weeks after their A-level exams.[4]
The song is also found on the greatest hits collection "Intergalactic Sonic 7″s", the soundtrack to the television program Gilmore Girls "Our Little Corner of the World", and live versions can be found on their "Live at the Wireless" album, "Tokyo Blitz" DVD and "Numbskull" EP.
The track has been used by NASA as the hold music on their telephone lines.[5]
Music video
Two different videos exists for the single. The first, the UK promo video, was directed by Peter Christopherson and is described by the band as a "cross between 'Give It Away' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the 'Natrel Plus' TV ad". The band (especially drummer Rick McMurray) hated the video so much that when the time came to release the song in America, they re-filmed it. Directed by Jesse Peretz (who also directed Foo Fighters's "Big Me" video), the video sees Ash playing the song as part of an art exhibition, and mesmerizing a small girl watching the band.
Track listing
- CD/7"/Cassette
- "Girl From Mars" (Wheeler)
- "Astral Conversations with Toulouse-Lautrec" (Ash)
- "Cantina Band" (John Williams)
References
- ↑ "Releases >> Girl from Mars". Ash Official. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ↑ "1995 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 12th August 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ↑ "Girl from Mars in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 15 July 2013. Only one result when searching "Girl from Mars"
- ↑ Heaney, Mick (2 May 2004). "A burning desire to rise from the ashes". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ↑ "Ash head to Zennor for final stop on A-Z tour". Western Morning News. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2016.