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"Spaceman" is the début single by British band Babylon Zoo, taken from the album The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes. Featuring heavily distorted guitars and metallic, robotic-sounding vocals, it went straight to Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 1996 after being featured in a popular Levi's jeans TV advert in late 1995. The song was Babylon Zoo's only number one hit. The song became the second fastest-selling single ever, behind only The Beatles' 1964 single "Can't Buy Me Love".

Song history

Promotional copies of "Spaceman" had been distributed, and the Arthur Baker remix was chosen to tie in with the release on 1 December 1995 of a new Levi's jeans TV advert titled " Planet" which was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton. The advertisement concentrated on the speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song, which was the product of an Arthur Baker remix.

On the promotional version of "Spaceman" there are extra lyrics at the start of the song, with Jas saying "I killed your mother, I killed your sister" and then later "I killed you all". These lyrics were later taken out of the song and replaced with the Arthur Baker introduction; although, the "I killed you all" lyric is still buried in the song (it can be heard after the first chorus). There was a lower budget video made for this version.

In 2006 "Spaceman" featured on trailers for Ant and Dec's film Alien Autopsy, the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies for the animated pre-school series Lunar Jim, and Network Ten's advertisement for Battlestar Galactica. "Spaceman" is also used in Eesti otsib superstaari (Pop Idol Estonia). "Spaceman" is also featured in E4's My Mad Fat Diary in the episode "Ladies and Gentlemen" during the scene where Rae and Finn begin their drive to Knebworth.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the song a "bizarre, tuneless collage of hip-hop rhythms, techno keyboards and alternative guitars", that "didn't have any tangible hook to make it memorable". Chuck Eddy at Entertainment Weekly said: "Babylon Zoo's 'Spaceman' boasts Martian-munchkin squeaking and a high-pitched chorus that makes its futuristic kitsch both funny and seductive."

Cover versions

• Katie Melua has performed an acoustic version of this song live.
• Metal band The Kovenant covered this song in their album Animatronic.
• Cinema Bizarre covered this song both live and in a studio recorded track.
• DJ Kambel and MC Magika remixed and covered this song as Dream State (Spaceman) in the 2001 eurodance compilation Dancemania Speed 7.

Track listings

CD Promo Single 1995 WEA (YZ925CDDJ)

1. "Spaceman" (radio version) — 3:50
2. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56

CD Promo 1995 EMI (CDEMDJ 416)

1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) - 4.08

7" Single

1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09

CD Single 1996 EMI (CDEM 416)

1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
2. "Metal Vision" — 3:48
3. "Blue Nude" — 2:09
4. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09

CD Single ('The Only Original Remixes') 1996 EMI (7243 8 82721 2 4)

1. "Spaceman" (radio edit) — 4:08
2. "Spaceman" (the 5th dimension) — 5:09
3. "Spaceman" (Arthur meets the spaceman) — 5:56
4. "Spaceman" (E before I) — 6:37

Charts and sales

Chart successions

References

1. ^ The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes review. AllMusic.
2. "Spaceman band falls back to earth". Sunday Mercury. The Free Library. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
3. "New boy rockets to No 1 space". The Mirror Archived at The Free Library. 22 January 1996. Retrieved 21 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
4. King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes (in French). Paris: Pascal. p. 347. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
5. Eddy, Chuck (12 April 1996). "Music Review - Spaceman (1996)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. "My week: Katie Melua". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 2006
7. ^ "Spaceman", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
8. "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research)". Billboard. 108 (13). Nielsen Business Media: 55. 30 March 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
9. ^ "Single top 100 over 1996" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
10. "Babylon Zoo singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
11. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
12. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/ab.htm
13. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
14. "1996 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
15. "1996 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
16. "1996 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
17. "1996 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
18. "1996 French Singles Chart" (in French). Disqueenfrance. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
19. "1996 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
20. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
21. French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
22. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Spaceman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
23. Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
24. UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 5 January 2009)
25. Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.

• Use dmy dates from June 2013
• 1995 singles
• 1996 singles
• Babylon Zoo songs
• Number-one singles in Austria
• Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
• Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
• European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
• Number-one singles in Finland
• Number-one singles in France
• Number-one singles in Germany
• Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
• Number-one singles in Norway
• Number-one singles in Sweden
• UK Singles Chart number-one singles