Dance Away

For the song by Roxette, see Look Sharp! (Roxette album).

"Dance Away" is a song by the English rock band Roxy Music. Released in April 1979, it was the second single to be taken from their album Manifesto, and became one of the band's most famous songs, reaching number two in the UK and spending a total of 14 weeks on the charts, the longest chart residency of a Roxy Music single. Although it did not make number one, it became the ninth biggest selling single in the UK in 1979.^[5] It did make it to number one on the Irish Singles Chart and held that position for one week.

"Dance Away"
Single by Roxy Music
from the album Manifesto
B-side	"Cry, Cry, Cry" (Europe) "Trash 2" (US, Canada, Japan)
Released	12 April 1979[1]
Recorded	1978 (1978)–1979 (1979)
Studio	Ridge Farm Studio, Rusper Basing Street Studios, London
Genre	Soft rock[2] pop[3]
Length	4:21 (Album version) 3:48 (7" single) 6:29 (12" extended remix)[4]
Label	Island, Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Bryan Ferry
Producer(s)	Roxy Music
Roxy Music singles chronology
"Trash" (1979) "Dance Away" (1979) "Angel Eyes" (1979)

Background

"Dance Away" was originally written by Bryan Ferry for his 1977 solo album In Your Mind, but did not make the final track listing. It was then planned for inclusion on his 1978 album The Bride Stripped Bare, but again was not included. It was finally completed and released on Roxy Music's Manifesto, the band's first studio album in four years.^[4]

Reception

Cash Box said it is "Roxy Music's most commercial effort to date" and that the highlights are "Andy Mackay's sax lines, Phil Manzanera's guitar treatments and an entrancing percussive' sound."^[6]

Versions

The single version was a different shorter edit and mix compared to the original album version. As with their next single "Angel Eyes", the single version of "Dance Away" replaced the album version in subsequent releases.

The 1999 re-mastered version of the "Manifesto" album restored the original version of "Angel Eyes",^[7] but still retained the single mix of "Dance Away" in place of the original.

Thus the Thrill of It All box set was the only release on which the LP version of the song could be found, until the release of the box set The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982 in 2012.

The Thrill of it All album also includes an extended (6.29 minutes) version.

Personnel

• Bryan Ferry – vocals, keyboards
• Andy Mackay – oboe, saxophone
• Phil Manzanera – electric guitar
• Alan Spenner – bass^[4]
• Richard Tee – piano^[4]
• Rick Marotta – drums^[4]
• Steve Ferrone – percussion, claves^[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[8]	1
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[9]	2
US Billboard Easy Listening[10]	38
US Billboard Hot 100[11]	44

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 62.
2. "Latest & Greatest: Soft Rock Ballads". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
3. 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.
4. "VivaRoxyMusic.com Fan Site, "Dance Away"". Retrieved 2012-01-27.
5. "EveryHit – biggest selling singles of the 1970s". Retrieved 2012-01-27.
6. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 31, 1979. p. 34. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
7. Angel Eyes (Rock Version) on Viva Roxy Music!
8. "The Irish Chart Placement". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
9. "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
10. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 211.
11. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012. Record Research. p. 727.