It's a Fine Day
"It's a Fine Day" is a song written by English poet and musician Edward Barton. It was originally recorded a cappella in 1983 by Jane and later by Opus III, for whom it was a major international hit in 1992.
Original recording by Jane
"It's a Fine Day" | |
---|---|
Single by Jane | |
A-side | "It's a Fine Day" |
B-side | "Of All Leaves Were Falling" |
Released | 1983 |
Label | Cherry Red Records |
Songwriter(s) | Edward Barton |
Barton wrote the lyrics as a poem when living in the Hulme area of Manchester.[1] It was originally sung unaccompanied by, and credited to, Jane – that is, Jane Lancaster, Barton's girlfriend.[2][3] They recorded and released it independently, and it was played by radio DJ John Peel. It was then heard by Iain McNay of Cherry Red Records, who obtained the rights to the record and released it more widely on his label in 1983.[4] It reached number 5 on the
Jane's unaccompanied vocal version of the song was given a backing track by A Guy Called Gerald in 1992.
Charts
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
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87 | |
5 |
Opus III version
"It's a Fine Day" | ||||
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PWL International | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Edward Barton | |||
Producer(s) | Opus III | |||
Opus III singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"It's a Fine Day" on YouTube |
In 1992, "It's a Fine Day" was covered by English electronic music group
Background
At the time of the release, the producers (i.e., Kevin Dodds, Ian Munro, and Nigel Walton -- the other three member of Opus III) couldn't legally reveal themselves, as they were at the time under contract to another record company. Instead, the group spun a wholly fabricated story that the producers had stumbled on classically-trained vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw, hearing her sing while they were up a tree recording the sounds of birds on a DAT recorder at a Spiral Tribe rave in the Hertfordshire woods to sample for a new track.[9][10]
Chart performance
"It's a Fine Day" peaked at number one in Greece and number two in Spain. It entered the top 10 in Finland (10), Ireland (6), Italy (9), and the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single reached number five during its second week on the
Outside Europe, "It's a Fine Day" reached number eight in Israel and peaked atop the US
Critical reception
Alan Jones from
Retrospective response
Music video
The accompanying music video for "It's a Fine Day" was directed by David Betteridge.[25] It first aired in February 1992. The video features Kirsty Hawkshaw with her standout shaved head and bodysuit, performing and dancing against a backdrop of what is supposed to be a fine day.
Track listings
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Later versions
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2015) |
The Jane version was used in a 1986 commercial for
A Cantonese-language version of this single, "Can lalalalali at night only," was recorded by Hong Kong singer Yolinda Yan in 1992.
The song was also the basis of
A further version was released in 1998, credited to Miss Jane. This was produced by Italian producers David Carlotti and Carmine Sorrentino. The remake does feature vocals from the original Jane version. Louise Gard provided the on-stage image for the touring version of Miss Jane, but did not contribute to the recordings.[49] Various remixes of this version were issued, including one by ATB.
Other versions have been recorded by Dallas Superstars and the Barcode Brothers. Norwegian artist Erlend Øye also covered the song on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks series.
Opus III vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw has remade the song three times: in 2002 with Mike Koglin, in 2008 with Kinky Roland, and in 2019 as "Fine Day 2K19".
American
Animal Collective member Avey Tare sampled the song's vocals on Oliver Twist, a song from his 2010 solo album Down There.
In 2012, "Fine Day" was remixed by Hungarian artist Sonic Entropy (or Péter Álmosdi).[50]
British Singer-Songwriter Billie Marten included a cover of the song in the deluxe version of her 2016 album "Writings of Blues and Yellows."[51]
German house producer and DJ Keanu Silva sampled the song in his track also titled "Fine Day" in July 2018. It has reached over 3 million views on YouTube.[52]
FKA Twigs also performed “It’s a Fine Day” in 2023 with the Rambert contemporary dance company as part of the Vogue World: London event.
References
- ^ [1] Archived March 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mojo magazine, March 2008, p.76
- ^ "Albums by Jane and Barton: Discography, songs, biography, and listening guide". Rate Your Music. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
- ^ [2] Archived October 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Official Singles Chart. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ISBN 0-9517206-9-4
- ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. February 8, 1992. p. 17.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Sholin, Dave (July 17, 1992). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 52. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ a b Cermak, Wendi (June 10, 1992). "Hot Crossover: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. p. 42. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ Flick, Larry (May 23, 1992). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ Kastanas, Andy (June 17, 1992). "Sounds of Progress". p. 20. The Charlotte Observer.
- ^ Fox, Marisa (November 6, 1992). "Mind Fruit". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (July 18, 1992). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 30. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Jones, Alan (February 8, 1992). "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 6. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ Scott, Danny (August 1, 1992). "Reviews: New Albums". Select. p. 93. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- NME. p. 30. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- NME. p. 49. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- NME. p. 34. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Beevers, Andy (February 15, 1992). "DJ Directory: Opus III" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 3. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ Frith, Mark (February 19, 1992). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 54. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ Wilson, MacKenzie. "Opus III - Mind Fruit". AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ Ewing, Tom (September 8, 1999). "80. Opus III – "It's A Fine Day"". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "Opus III feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw: It's a fine day". Mvdbase.com. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 209.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 11. March 14, 1992. p. 23. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- Les classement single.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 18. May 2, 1992. p. 34. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It's a Fine Day". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ March 10, 1992
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 26. June 27, 1992. p. 22. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Opus III - It's A Fine Day" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Opus III – It's a Fine Day". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. February 22, 1992. p. 24. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. August 29, 1992. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. September 12, 1992. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ "Alternative Airplay". Billboard. August 15, 1992. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. January 16, 1993. p. 8.
- ^ "Cursed Kleenex commercial ~ Pink Tentacle". pinktentacle.com.
- ^ "Miss Jane Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
- ^ "Opus III - Fine Day (Sonic Entropy Remix), by Sonic Entropy". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
- ^ "Writing of Blues and Yellows (Deluxe Version) by Billie Marten". Genius. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Keanu Silva - Fine Day (Official Audio)". YouTube. Retrieved March 12, 2023.