St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)

"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" is a song by British singer John Parr from the 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire. It hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on 7 September 1985, remaining there for two weeks. It was the main theme for Joel Schumacher's film, and first single from the soundtrack. The song was created and edited within 24 hours.[2]

"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)"
Single by John Parr
from the album St. Elmo's Fire (soundtrack) and John Parr
B-side
  • "Treat Me Like an Animal"
  • "Somebody Stole My Thunder"
  • "One Love" (instrumental)
  • "Georgetown"
Released23 June 1985 (1985-06-23)
Recorded1984
GenreRock[1]
Length4:08
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)David Foster
John Parr singles chronology
"Magical"
(1985)		 "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)"
(1985)		 "Love Grammar"
(1985)
Music video
"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" on YouTube

The record peaked at No. 6 in the United Kingdom, Parr's home country,[3] and became a No. 1 hit for him around the world, and provided many awards and a Grammy nomination.

The song did not initially feature on Parr's studio albums, only appearing on the London Records re-release of his self-titled debut album in the United Kingdom.[4]

Members of the bands Toto, REO Speedwagon and Mr. Mister appear on the recording.

Background and writing

David Foster and John Parr were contracted to write a song for the film, but Parr struggled with inspiration for the lyrics. Foster showed Parr a news clip about the Canadian athlete Rick Hansen, who at the time was going around the world in his wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. His journey was called the "Man in Motion Tour". Parr decided to help the campaign by writing words that would fit vaguely with the film, but which directly referenced Hansen's efforts.[5][6]

Personnel

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ford played the song in advertisements for its Mustang Pony car. In 2012, John Parr re-recorded the song with new lyrics, dubbed "Tim Tebow's Fire", to honor Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos.[7] Parr stated to Denver FOX affiliate KDVR, "I was inspired by Tim Tebow so I wanted to modify the lyrics...in his honor of the way that he lives his life as being a great example."[8]

In 2017, it was heard on the short film Deadpool: No Good Deed.[9] and the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

In 2020-21, during Conan's stint at the Largo Theater, the song was part of a running gag, with different lyrics set to the tune of the chorus, while Conan O'Brien looked at a different camera often with a fan blowing wind in his face.[10]

Music video

The music video features all seven of the main cast of the film St. Elmo's Fire looking sadly through the foggy windows of a run-down and fire-damaged version of the St. Elmo's Bar set. The video was directed by Kort Falkenberg III, who devised the concept with the film's director, Joel Schumacher. The production company only had Parr for a single day before he had to go back to England, so the shoot had to be done in exactly 24 hours.

The Canadian version of the video intersperses images of Rick Hansen's trek with those of the film.

The ending of the video shows Parr singing to each individual cast member from the film before he disappears into the night, and the cast follows him.

Chart performance

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history of "Levels"
Country Date
United Kingdom 26 August 1985
United States 23 June 1985

References
  1. Breihan, Tom (October 23, 2020). "The Number Ones: John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". Stereogum. Retrieved August 2, 2023. Musically, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" is also right in that weirdly-satisfying mid-'80s radio-rock zone.
  2. Parr, John (2018-03-10), John Parr The One Show Interview, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-03-06
  3. Farrar, Doug (2012-01-10). "John Parr re-records the 'St. Elmo's Fire' theme song with Tebow-centric lyrics | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  4. Original copy of album #LOnLP 12
  5. (January 12, 2012). "John Parr Rewrites 'St. Elmo's Fire' As Valentine To Tebow", NPR. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  6. (October 27, 2010). "Foster's song struck chord with Johns Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", The Province. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  7. KDVRDenver (2012-01-09). ""Tim Tebow's Fire" by John Parr". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  8. Web Staff, FOX 31 Denver (2012-01-10). "'St. Elmo's Fire' singer reworks 1980's hit for Tim Tebow". FOX 31 Denver. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  9. Dan Wickline (2017-03-04). "Deadpool: No Good Deed Brings A Basket Of Easter Eggs". Bleeding Cool.
  10. "VIDEO: Conan O'Brien's Parody Of 'St. Elmo's Fire' With Rob Gronkowski, Others". SB Nation Boston. 2012-01-17. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  13. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  14. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1985-11-02. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  15. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  16. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  17. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  18. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". VG-lista. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  19. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  20. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  21. "John Parr – St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  22. "John Parr: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  23. "John Parr Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  24. "John Parr Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  25. "John Parr Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  26. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  27. "Kent Music Report No 599 – 30 December 1985 > National Top 100 Singles for 1985". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  28. "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. 28 December 1985. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  29. Musicoutfitters.com
  30. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1985
  31. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  32. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  33. "Canadian single certifications – John Parr – St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)". Music Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  34. "British single certifications – John Parr – St. Elmo's Fire". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
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