Stop the Cavalry

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"Stop the Cavalry"
Single by Jona Lewie
B-side"Laughing Tonight"
Released21 November 1980 (1980-11-21)
StudioMorgan Studios, London
Genre
Length2:55
LabelStiff
Songwriter(s)Jona Lewie
Producer(s)
Jona Lewie singles chronology
"Big Shot – Momentarily"
(1980) 		"Stop the Cavalry"
(1980) 		"Louise (We Get It Right)"
(1981)

"Stop the Cavalry" is an

UK Singles Chart in December 1980,[1] at one point being kept from number one by two re-issued songs by John Lennon, who had been murdered on 8 December that year. Initially a stand-alone single, the song was included on Lewie's album Heart Skips Beat which was released nearly two years later.[2]

Background and composition

Lewie wrote the song while living at home with his parents.

tubular bell."[6]

The lyrics of the song mention cavalry and

stationed in the UK
and a renewed fear of nuclear war, which was referenced in the lyrical mention of the fallout zone.

Music video

The song's music video was filmed in Hampstead Heath in London. It is set in the trenches of the First World War, while also featuring Lewie and the Salvation Army brass band walking through the streets.[3]

Legacy

In an interview for Channel 4's

100 Greatest Christmas Moments, Lewie said that the song was never intended as a Christmas hit, and that it was a protest song. Indeed, some overseas releases (for example, in South Africa and New Zealand) were in the spring rather than at Christmas. The line "Wish I was at home for Christmas",[8][9] as well as the brass band arrangements made it an appropriately styled song to play around Christmas time. Lewie had said that royalties received from the song account for 50 per cent of his income stream.[10]

According to a 2017 poll conducted by The Irish Times, "Stop the Cavalry" is the fourth most popular Christmas song in Ireland.[11]

In 2022, it was reported that the song was listed as the seventh-highest-royalty-earning Christmas song.[12] According to analysis of PRS for Music figures, it was estimated that the song generates £120,000 of royalties per year.[13]

Charts

Chart (1980–1981) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 5
France (IFOP)[17] 1
Germany (GfK)[18] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[23] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 3
Chart (2006) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[27]
 130
Chart (2007) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 48
Chart (2008) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[27]
 118
Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[27]
 119
Chart (2010) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[27]
 159
Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 86
Chart (2012) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[28]
 158
Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[29]
 186
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[30] 86
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 82
Chart (2016–2017) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[31] 69
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 58
Chart (2017–2018) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 44
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 77
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 61
Chart (2018–2019) Peak
position
Germany (GfK)[18] 95
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 87
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 70
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 85
Chart (2019–2020) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[34] 93
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 81
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 56
Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Germany (GfK)[18] 91
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 88
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 77
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[35] 60
UK Singles (OCC)[26]
 43

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "stop the cavalry | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Heart Skips a Beat - Jona Lewie | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Crae, Ross (18 December 2019). "Story behind the Christmas song: Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780957570061
    .
  5. ^ Awbi, Anita (19 December 2011). "Stop the Cavalry". PRS for Music. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. ^ Crossan, Fionn (1 December 2021). "Best Christmas Songs: 60 Classic Tracks For The Holiday Season". Dig!. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Stop The Cavalry by Jona Lewie Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 12 March 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  8. ISBN 9781317156468
    – via Google Books.
  9. ISBN 9780748631872
    – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "How much money do pop stars make from Christmas hits? - BBC Music". bbc.co.uk. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  11. ^ Pope, Conor (1 December 2017). "What's Ireland's favourite Christmas song, we wondered. So we asked you . . ". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  12. ^ "The highest royalty earning Christmas songs". Teesside Gazette. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  13. ^ "From Wham to Slade... just how much do these classic Christmas songs earn each festive season?". Radio X. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  14. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  15. ^ "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  16. ^ "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par L". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  18. ^ a b c "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Stop the Cavalry". Irish Singles Chart.
  20. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Jona Lewie" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. Top 40 Singles
    .
  23. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry". Singles Top 100.
  25. ^ "Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry". Swiss Singles Chart.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jona Lewie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ a b c d "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L. - LZ Love". www.zobbel.de. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Chart Log UK – 2012 + Weekly Updates + Sales 2012". www.zobbel.de. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Chart Log UK – 2013 + Weekly Updates + Sales 2013". www.zobbel.de. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  30. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". www.irma.ie. Select singles chart, then go to 25 December 2015 from drop-down boxes. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  31. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". www.irma.ie. Select singles chart, then go to 30 December 2016 from drop-down boxes. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  32. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  33. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". www.irma.ie. Select singles chart, then go to 28 December 2018 from drop-down boxes. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  34. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". www.irma.ie. Select singles chart, then go to 27 December 2019 from drop-down boxes. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  35. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". www.irma.ie. Select singles chart, then go to 17 December 2021 from drop-down boxes. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  36. ^ "British single certifications – Jona Lewie – Stop the Cavalry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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