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More than This (Roxy Music song)

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"More than This" is a song by the English rock band Roxy Music. It was released in March 1982 as the first single from their eighth and final studio album, Avalon (1982). "More than This" was the group's last top-10 UK hit, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, and also charted in the United States, reaching No. 58 on the Billboard Rock Top Tracks chart.

"More than This"
Single by Roxy Music
from the album Avalon
B-side"India"
ReleasedMarch 1982 (1982-03)[1]
Genre
Length
Label
Songwriter(s)Bryan Ferry
Producer(s)
Roxy Music singles chronology
"Jealous Guy"
(1981) 		"More than This"
(1982) 		"Avalon"
(1982)

"More than This" has become one of Roxy Music's most popular tracks.[8] American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs released a cover version in 1997 that peaked at No. 25, and British singer Emmie released a cover that reached No. 5 in the UK in January 1999. The cover of the single's release is the painting Veronica Veronese, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which was completed in 1872 with Alexa Wilding as the model.

Composition

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The song was written by lead vocalist Bryan Ferry, who has stated in interviews that he began writing the songs for Avalon while on the western coast of Ireland, which he believes contributed to the dark melancholy of the album.[9] "More than This" is somewhat unusual for a pop song in that Ferry's lead vocals end at 2:45 minutes, leaving the last 1:45 minutes as a synthesizer-driven instrumental outro. The song's narrator is hopeful about the existence of something more but is vaguely melancholic about there not being so.[10][11][12]

Personnel

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Musicians

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "More Than This"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

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In 1997, a cover performed by 10,000 Maniacs with Mary Ramsey on lead vocals was a single from their album Love Among the Ruins becoming a US hit when it reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 29 August 1997.[29] The version also debuted at its peak position, No. 87, on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 28 September 1997.[30] The video for the cover was filmed at House on the Rock. A live version was also included on their 2016 album Playing Favorites.

English singer-songwriter Emmie recorded a cover of the song and released it as a single on 11 January 1999.[31] Produced by Mark Hadfield and Adam Carter-Ryan, her version of the song peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart,[32] No. 25 on the Irish Singles Chart,[15] and No. 39 in the Flanders region of Belgium.[33]

Bill Murray performs a karaoke version of "More Than This" in the 2003 Sofia Coppola film Lost in Translation. As Tom Nicholson wrote in Empire, "It's absolutely perfect. [Murray] makes for a weary, fragile kind of Bryan Ferry, the lounge lizard who’s lost the ability to really connect. He takes a shot before his first line then barely opens his mouth to sing, either too exhausted or too numb to really let go."[34] This version is available as a hidden track at the end of the film's soundtrack album.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 931. ISBN 1-84195-860-3.
  2. ^ Peake, Steve. "Top Soft Rock Songs of the 1980s". LiveAbout.
  3. ^ Pitchfork Staff (24 August 2015). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 October 2022. Pop songs are very rarely as lush and unabashedly romantic as "More Than This" ... "More Than This" is a high peak of the New Romantic moment of early 1980s UK pop...
  4. ^ Lynch, Joe (28 March 2019). "Roxy Music's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Roxy Music". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 705–706. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ Gibbs, Ryan (15 November 2022). "An introduction to Sophisti-pop". In Between Drafts. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  7. ^ de Visé, Daniel. "Thirteen New Wave Album Classics". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  8. ^ Topham, Michelle (24 February 2022). "Roxy Music's 'More Than This' played on Pam & Tommy, Episode 6 — Listen!". Leo Sigh. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Roxy Music - Songs - on VivaRoxyMusic.com". www.vivaroxymusic.com. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Lost in Translation: The Sounds of Silence". the-artifice.com. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  11. ^ James, Emily St (21 March 2017). "The Americans says hello to some old friends in "The Midges"". Vox. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  12. ^ "The old ennui: what's gained from what's Lost in Translation". In A Lonely Place. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  15. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – More Than This". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Ultimate Music Database". Umdmusic.com. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This". VG-lista. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  21. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  22. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Roxy Music – More Than This". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  24. ^ "Roxy Music: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Roxy Music Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Roxy Music – More Than This" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  27. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. 3 January 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  28. ^ "British single certifications – Roxy Music – More Than This". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  29. ^ "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 28 September 1997 – 04 October 1997". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  31. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 9 January 1999. p. 17. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Emmie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  33. ^ "Ultratop.be – Emmie – More Than This" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  34. ^ Nicholson, Tom (12 September 2023). "Forget The Whisper – Lost In Translation's Karaoke Bar Scene Is Its Real Heart". Empire. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  35. ^ Simpson, Ernest (10 April 2004). "Various Artists : Lost in Translation". Treble. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
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