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Life in a Northern Town

"Life in a Northern Town" is the debut single by British band The Dream Academy, released in March 1985. It appears on the band's self-titled debut studio album, The Dream Academy. The song was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake. Written by band members Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel,[4] the song was produced by Laird-Clowes with help from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.[4][5] The single reached No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1986 and reached No. 15 on the UK charts. It is the band's highest charting single in the UK,[6] the US,[7] and Ireland.[8]

"Life in a Northern Town"

12 March 1985

1984

4:19

American country music artists Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Jake Owen recorded a live cover version of "Life in a Northern Town" that became a minor U.S. hit in 2008.

- lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars

Nick Laird-Clowes

- backing vocals, ARP Solina String Ensemble, Roland JX-3P synthesizer, E-mu Emulator II

Gilbert Gabriel

- backing vocals, cor anglais, piano

Kate St John

"Life in a Northern Town"

2008

2007

4:14

Gilbert Gabriel
Nick Laird-Clowes

In 2005, included a version of the song on the covers album The Day After Yesterday.[39]

Rick Springfield

Simpson, Dave (8 April 2024). . The Guardian.

"'I wrote it in a bedsit on Nick Drake's guitar': how the Dream Academy made Life in a Northern Town"

at CMT

Video of Sugarland version