A Spaceman Came Travelling

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"A Spaceman Came Travelling"
Single by Chris de Burgh
from the album Spanish Train and Other Stories
Released1975 (1975)
Recorded1975 (1975)
GenreRock, Christmas, art rock
Length5:10
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Christopher Davison
Producer(s)Robin Geoffrey Cable
Chris de Burgh singles chronology
"Turning Around"
(1975) 		"A Spaceman Came Travelling"
(1975) 		"Just Another Poor Boy"
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Record Mirror[1]

"A Spaceman Came Travelling" is a song by Chris de Burgh. It first appeared on his second studio album, Spanish Train and Other Stories, which was released in 1975. It has been released numerous times as a single, becoming a popular Christmas song, and has appeared on many festive compilation albums.

Single release

After its first release in 1975, the song saw minimal success in the UK. It eventually reached the top position of the Irish single charts, staying 15 total weeks[2] and climbed to number 22 in the Canadian airplay charts.[3]

Composition

De Burgh, who had just signed his first recording contract with A&M Records, was broke and "staying at a friend's flat" when he read Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken. The book made him think "what if the star of Bethlehem was a space craft and what if there is a benevolent being or entity in the universe keeping an eye on the world and our foolish things that we do to each other?" A fan of Irish poet William Butler Yeats, whose work "The Second Coming" avers that every 2,000 years or so there would be a major cataclysmic event happening, de Burgh saw the birth of Christ as "such an event and then 2,000 years later there would be a similar" one. He imagined "the nativity scene, the thing hovering over and I could see the shepherds in the fields and this weird, ethereal music was drifting into the air and they were 'what the heck is that'?" But he "had no ideas about trying to write a hit record." The song failed to chart when it was first released as a single, but de Burgh says it's been "much better to have a regular recurring song than a hit for three weeks ",[4] referring to the song's regular airplay on UK radio during the festive season.

The space angle is reflected in the use of a string synthesizer on the track.[5]

Reissue and later chart success

In 1986, following de Burgh's huge hit "The Lady in Red", "Spaceman" was reworked and reissued,[6] as a double A-side with the song "The Ballroom of Romance". The new version charted for the first time in the UK, reaching number 40 and staying on the British charts for five weeks.[7] It also reached #15 on the Irish charts.

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

  • Hong Kong singer, Samuel Tai, covered the song in English on his album Looking for a word to replace.[9]
  • Icelandic singer Páll Óskar and harpist Monika Abendroth covered the song on their 2003 Christmas album Ljósin Heima (Lights at home).[10]
  • Akira the Don recorded a version of the song for his 2016 Christmas EP, Litmas.[11]
  • John Gibbons covered the song in 2018. The song charted at #58 on the Irish Singles Chart.[12]
  • Singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson released their version of the song as the lead single from their November 2022 album Christmas with Aled and Russell.
  • Kate Rusby included a version on her 2023 album Light Years

See also

References

  1. ^ Brown, David (26 November 1976). "Review: Chris de Burgh – "A Spaceman Came Travelling"" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 14. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022 – via World Radio History.
  2. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  4. ^ "The stories of the Christmas hits" by Liam Allen, BBC News, 25 December 2010.
  5. ^ A Spaceman Came Travelling synths Vintage Synth Explorer accessed 15 December 2020
  6. ^ Chris De Burgh – A Spaceman Came Travelling (New Version) http://www.discogs.com, accessed 15 December 2020
  7. ^ David Roberts. British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Limited
  8. ^ "British single certifications – Chris de Burgh – A Spaceman Came Travelling". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  9. ^ Samuel Tai - "A spaceman came travelling" on YouTube http://www.youtube.com
  10. ^ "Ljósin heima – Páll Óskar og Monika Abendroth" [The lights at home - Páll Óskar and Monika Abendroth]. Tónlist (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Litmas". Akira The Don. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  12. ^ "irishcharts.com - Discography John Gibbons". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
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