Englishman in New York

:"This is an article about the Sting song. For the Godley and Creme song, see "An Englishman in New York"

Infobox Single
Name = Englishman in New York
Type = Single
Artist = Sting
from Album = ...Nothing Like the Sun
B-side = "Ghost in the Strand"


Released = 1988
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:25
Label = A&M
Writer = Sting
Producer = Sting, Neil Dorfsman
Last single = "We'll Be Together" (1987)
This single = "Englishman in New York" (1988)
Next single = "Be Still My Beating Heart" (1988)"Englishman in New York" is a song by Sting, from his 1987 album "...Nothing Like the Sun". The "Englishman" in question is the famous eccentric Quentin Crisp. Sting wrote the song not long after Crisp moved from London to an apartment in New York's Bowery. Crisp had remarked jokingly to the musician "...that he looked forward to receiving his naturalization papers so that he could commit a crime and not be deported."

The song was released as a single in 1988, but only reached #51 on the UK Singles Chart. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=15092 UK Singles Chart info at chartstats.com] ] In the US, "Englishman in New York" peaked at #84 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in April 1988. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3007242&cdi=6356408&cid=04%2F30%2F1988 Billboard Hot 100 info at billboard.com] ] The song reached #32 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock chart that same month. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=376&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Mainstream+Rock+Tracks&ci=3007245&cdi=6356598&cid=04%2F23%2F1988 Billboard Mainstream Rock info at billboard.com] ] Branford Marsalis played saxophone on the track. In 1990, just prior to the release of his third studio album "The Soul Cages", Sting's record label licensed Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand to remix "Englishman in New York" and subsequently release it as a single. The remix played around with the introduction and some of the instrumentation, but the essence of the song remained the same. The new version was commercially successful, reaching number 15 in the UK charts in mid-1990. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=17921 UK Singles Chart remix info at chartstats.com] ]

The video was directed by David L. Fincher, and featured scenes of Sting and his band in New York, as well as the elusive Crisp. The song was used in the mid-1990s by Rover Cars in the UK, in a television advert for the Rover 200. In the end of the video, after the song fades, a male, elderly voice says: "If I have an ambition other than a desire to be a chronic invalid, it would be to meet everybody in the world before I die... and I'm not doing badly."

Cover versions

*The band Loose Ties performed "Englishman in New York" at the 1992 Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. It's available on the album: "1992 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Vol 1".

*Shinehead made a cover version of the song called "Jamaican in New York" in 1992, its video parodying the original.

*The Black Eyed Peas sampled the song in their recording "Union", featured on their 2005 album "Monkey Business", which included a guest appearance by Sting singing new lyrics.

*Filipino rock band Bamboo also made a cover of this song in their new album "We Stand Alone Together" as a hidden track.

*Razorlight have contributed a cover of this song for BBC Radio One's "Radio 1. Established 1967" CD

*Tiken Jah Fakoly covered the song in his 2007 album "L'Africain", in the song called "Africain à Paris" (African in Paris), with French lyrics.

*Omid Djalili used the song to promote his 2007 BBC1 show, "The Omid Djalili Show", the title becoming "An Iranian in UK" and the lyrics reflecting British Iranian culture.

*Masao Taneura made a cover of the song called "関西人 in Tokyo" (Kansaian in Tokyo) in 2007, with Kansai Japanese lyrics.

* Tanghetto, the neo tango band from Argentina released in March 2008 an instrumental version of the song in their album El Miedo a la Libertad, being the voice replaced by the bandoneon, and keeping the reggae and jazz elements of the original in the arrangements.

* Michael Wilkins, A Scouser in New York from City Talk 105.9 radio did a cover version for the intro of his segment beginning in March 2008.

* Canadian comedy duo Bowser and Blue perform a similar song, "Anglophone In Quebec", satirizing the trials and tribulations of a native-English speaker living among the predominantly French-speaking citizens of Quebec. The melody is identical to the original.

* Jazz pianist Eric Reed recorded a spacious, laid-back instrumental version on his cd, Manhattan Melodies, released in '99 on Verve Records.

* Canadian-based rapper Kardinal Offishall sampled it for his song "I'll Eagle Alien" released on his 2008 album, Not 4 Sale

* Spanish band Che Sudaka covered this tittle in the song called "Sin papeles", also with spanish lyrics.

External links

*youtube|JQQkI4W6_r8|"Englishman in New York" video
*youtube|mSOINigFU2E|"Jamaican in New York" video
*youtube|cfbpj63PYQ8|"Africain à Paris" video
*youtube|QqVPgsRtlwo|"An Iranian in UK" video
*youtube|xnq0PLldu1s|"関西人 in Tokyo" video made by a fan
*http://www.ascouserinnewyork.com