Guilty Pleasures: A Flock of Seagulls | I Ran (So Far Away).

A new wave classic, the song is been introduced to a new generation of fans by TV shows, cartoons and video game.

This week my kid asked me to teach how to play in the guitar a song he had heard in a cartoon, to my surprise it was 'I Ran' by A Flock of Seagulls, a song that was released 28 years before he was born.

Inspired by a poster of a UFO, which the band wanted to be the cover of their first album, 'I Ran' is, according to the band, about a man who sees an attractive woman and attempts to run away from his feelings. Before this happens, the man sees an aurora in the sky, and he and the woman are abducted by aliens. Probably few people understood what the song was supposed to mean and, to be honest, most didn’t care. The song's upbeat tempo, the amazing synths sounds, the simple but catchy chord progression and the impossible-not-to-sing-along chorus hooks the listeners at first sting.

With a distinctive music video directed by Tony van den Ende, in which the band members performed in a room covered in aluminum foil and mirrors, the song achieved great commercial success, the reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 3 on the Top Tracks chart and number 8 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200.

Recently the song got a new version with orchestral backing.

A new wave classic, the song is been introduced to a new generation of fans by TV shows, cartoons and videogames since the turn of the century.

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