View source for Kayleigh

{{Short description|1985 single by Marillion}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Kayleigh
| cover      = M_kayleigh.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Marillion]]
| album      = [[Misplaced Childhood]]
| B-side     = [[Lady Nina]]
| released   = {{Start date|1985|5|7|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Robin|date=4 May 1985|title=News|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=9}}</ref>
| recorded   =
| studio     = [[Hansa Tonstudio]] ([[Berlin]], Germany)
| genre      = [[Neo-prog]]<ref name="Goldmine 2024">{{cite web|first= Martin|last= Popoff|title= The Top 20 unlikely Progressive Rock hits, ranked|website= [[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]| date= 5 January 2024|url= https://www.goldminemag.com/music-history/top-20-unlikely-progressive-rock-hits-ranked|access-date= 7 January 2024}}</ref>
| length     =
* 3:33 (7-inch version)
* 4:04 (album version)
| label      = [[EMI Records|EMI]]
| writer     =
* [[Mark Kelly (keyboardist)|Mark Kelly]]
* [[Ian Mosley]]
* [[Steve Rothery]]
* [[Pete Trewavas]]
* [[Fish (singer)|Fish]]
| producer   = [[Chris Kimsey]]
| prev_title = [[Assassing]]
| prev_year  = 1984
| next_title = [[Lavender (Marillion song)|Lavender]]
| next_year  = 1985
| misc       = {{Audio sample
 | type        = single
 | file        = Marillion kayleigh.ogg
 | description = "Kayleigh"
}}
}}

"'''Kayleigh'''" is a song by British [[neo-prog]] band [[Marillion]]. It was released as the first single from the [[concept album]] ''[[Misplaced Childhood]]''. It is the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number two and stayed on the [[UK singles chart]] for 14 weeks. It also became the band's most successful single worldwide, reaching the top 10 in Ireland, Norway, and West Germany. In the United States, it gave the band their sole appearance on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, reaching number 74 in October 1985.

The song popularised the name Kayleigh in the UK. It was later performed by the band's lead singer, [[Fish (singer)|Fish]], at the [[Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], with [[Midge Ure]] on guitar and [[Phil Collins]] on drums.

==Composition==
"Kayleigh" has been characterised as a "tremulous [[torch song]]".<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3616342/Stayingin.html | title= Stayingin | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=3 May 2004 | access-date=24 August 2016}}</ref> [[Fish (singer)|Fish]], the band's lead singer and lyricist, said that writing the lyrics was "his way of apologizing to some of the women he had dated in the past." Although he had at one point dated a woman whose forenames were Kay Lee<!-- sic – don't change it to "Kay Leigh" again without a source -->, the song was more a composite of several women with whom he had had relationships. Fish told ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' in 2014, "I'd wanted to write a song about a girlfriend I'd split up with, whose name was Kay. Which of course we couldn't do. So we added her middle name, Lee, and it became Kayleigh instead."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-kayleigh-by-marillion |title=The Story Behind The Song: Kayleigh by Marillion|website=Loudersound.com |first=Dave |last=Ling |date=7 April 2014 |access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>

Fish was quoted:
<blockquote>I was very confused at the time, you know, I had a lot of long term relationships, a lot of 'deep and meaningful' relationships that basically I'd wrecked because I was obsessed with the career and where I wanted to go. I was very, very selfish and I just wanted to be the famous singer but I was starting to become aware of the sacrifices that I was making, and I think that Kay was one of those sacrifices that went along the road. 'Kayleigh' was not just about one person; it was about three or four different people. The 'stilettos in the snow', that was something that happened in [[Galashiels]], when I can remember going down one night and we were both really drunk, and, you know, dancin' under a street light, and 'dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls' was part of the Cambridge thing.<ref>The Funny Farm Interview – July '95, Dick Brothers Record Company</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Steve Rothery]], the guitar hook line through the verse came from demonstrating to his girlfriend what effects a chorus and a delay pedal could add to a guitar's sound. Rothery recorded the song on a chorused [[Stratocaster]] guitar, using the pick and his second and third fingers to play it.<ref>''Total Guitar'' July 2001</ref> The album version contained an extended guitar solo by Rothery, 27 seconds of which is edited for the single version.

On 24 October 2012, [[Marillion]] announced on [[Facebook]] that "Sad news via Fish – Kay – who inspired our song Kayleigh – has sadly died. RIP Kay."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/MarillionOfficial/posts/547758728574760  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/8367514340/547758728574760 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Marillion|website=Facebook.com |access-date=31 October 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Release==
"Kayleigh" entered the [[UK singles chart]] on 18 May 1985 and climbed to the number two position. It was kept from [[List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1980s|number one]] by a version of "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]" by the charity [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]] [[The Crowd (band)|the Crowd]] in June 1985, which was released following the [[Bradford City stadium fire]].

As with all Marillion albums and singles of the Fish period, the cover art was designed by [[Mark Wilkinson]] from an idea by Fish. The B-side on the international version, "[[Lady Nina]]", would go on to be used as a single promoting the 1986 US-only mini album ''[[Brief Encounter (album)|Brief Encounter]]''. "Lady Nina" is the only Marillion song from the Fish era to use a [[drum machine]]. The US version of the single uses "[[Heart of Lothian]]" instead, another track from ''Misplaced Childhood'' that would eventually be released as the third and final single from the album. A CD replica of the single was also part of a collectors box-set released in July 2000 which contained Marillion's first 12 singles and was re-issued as a 3-CD set in 2009 (see ''[[The Singles '82–'88]]'').

==Music video==
The promotional video for the single was shot in [[West Berlin]], where the ''[[Misplaced Childhood]]'' album was recorded. Tamara Nowy, a German woman who subsequently married lead singer Fish, and Simon Brown, the boy portrayed on the sleeve of the album and the single, appeared in the video.

==Legacy==
The song's popularity in mid-1985 was responsible for a significant rise in popularity of the name Kayleigh. Its popularity and legacy was addressed by Harry Wallop, writing in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' in 2011:
<blockquote>Some names just didn't exist a generation ago, but have taken off in popularity. The most famous of these is Kayleigh, which came into existence thanks to the neo-prog rock band Marillion, who had a number two hit with a single of this name in 1985. It was almost unheard of before the song. But since then it has taken hold, especially with parents who grew up with a love of long-haired bouffant [[power ballad]]s. A few years ago, the name made it to the 30th most popular girl's name in Britain, and it remains popular: 267 children were named it last year. Curiously, though, it has spawned a bewildering sub-sect of names, nearly all of which are unrelentingly bizarre. There were 101 Demi-Leighs last year, seven Chelsea-Leighs and four called Lilleigh, which sounds like a sanitary product.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/8908167/Baby-names-how-do-you-decide.html | title= Baby names: how do you decide? | work=The Telegraph | first=Harry | last=Wallop | date=23 Nov 2011 | access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2012, it was announced that the [[Scottish Borders|Scottish Borders Council]] was to inscribe extracts from the song's lyrics into the pavement at the newly developed Market Square in [[Galashiels]]. Council engineer David Johnstone said the authority felt it was appropriate to mark the links between Galashiels and the song: 
<blockquote>The lyrics from the song Kayleigh included reference to the old textiles college. Some of the lyrics referred to 'dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls' and 'do you remember cherry blossom in the market square?' There was a feeling that these lyrics were really appropriate and because of the connection between the singer and Galashiels that it would be appropriate to engrave some of those lyrics into the paving and make more of a feature of it." Johnstone also said the original cherry trees referred to in the song had been removed due to disease but they would be replaced.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-17608930 | title= Marillion hit Kayleigh to be set in Galashiels pavement | work=BBC News | date=4 April 2012 | access-date=4 April 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2013, in a presentation on [[crowd funding]] for a [[TED (conference)|TED conference]] in [[Bedford]], Marillion keyboardist [[Mark Kelly (keyboardist)|Mark Kelly]] identified the song's popularity as "part of the reason I've never had a proper job and I've been able to make a living from music for the past 32 years".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marillion.com/news/newsitem.htm?id=318|title=marillion.com &#124; The Official Website|website=Marillion.com|access-date=24 April 2021}}</ref>

In a 2021 interview about ''Weltschmerz'', which Fish described as his final album, he said that "I'm never going to be playing stadiums or arenas again. And I definitely don't want to be on the [[In a basket|chicken-in-a-basket circuit]] singing fucking 'Kayleigh'."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wall|first=Mick|author-link=Mick Wall|date=8 January 2021|title=Fish bids farewell: the pain of the world and the album he was born to make|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/fish-bids-farewell-the-pain-of-the-world-and-the-album-he-was-born-to-make|access-date=6 April 2021|website=[[Classic Rock Magazine]]|language=en}}</ref>

==Track listings==
'''International 7-inch version'''
:A. "Kayleigh" – 3:33
:B. "Lady Nina" – 3:41

'''US 7-inch version'''
:A. "Kayleigh" – 3:33
:B. "Heart of Lothian" – 3:47

'''12-inch versions'''
:A1. "Kayleigh" (alternative mix)  – 3:57
:A2. "Kayleigh" (extended version) – 4:00
:B1. "Lady Nina" (extended version) – 5:46

'''''The Singles {{'}}82-88{{'}}'''''
# "Kayleigh" – 3:33
# "Lady Nina" – 3:41
# "Kayleigh" (alternative mix)  – 3:57
# "Kayleigh" (extended version) – 4:00
# "Lady Nina" (extended version) – 5:46

==Personnel==
* [[Fish (singer)|Fish]] – vocals
* [[Steve Rothery]] – guitars
* [[Mark Kelly (keyboardist)|Mark Kelly]] – keyboards
* [[Pete Trewavas]] – bass
* [[Ian Mosley]] – drums

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1985)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=192}}</ref>
|88
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|38|artist=Marillion|song=Kayleigh|rowheader=true|access-date=13 March 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|76|chartid=0570|rowheader=true|access-date=13 January 2024}}
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles]])<ref>{{cite magazine|title=European Top 100 Singles|magazine=[[Music & Media|Eurotipsheet]]|volume=2|issue=27|page=12|date=8 July 1985}}</ref>
|9
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|4|song=Kayleigh|rowheader=true|access-date=13 January 2024}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Marillion".</ref>
|25
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|16|year=1985|week=32|rowheader=true|access-date=24 February 2019}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|12|artist=Marillion|song=Kayleigh|rowheader=true|access-date=13 March 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|8|artist=Marillion|song=Kayleigh|rowheader=true|access-date=13 January 2024}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|19|artist=Marillion|song=Kayleigh|rowheader=true|access-date=13 January 2024}}
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|2|artist=Marillion|artistid=|rowheader=true|access-date=7 August 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1985-10-26/|title=Billboard Hot 100|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=26 October 1985|access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|74
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Top Rock Tracks]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-mainstream-rock-tracks/1985-09-14/|title=Mainstream Rock Airplay|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=14 September 1985|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|14
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|7|artist=Marillion|song=Kayleigh|songid=1296|rowheader=true|access-date=13 January 2024}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1985)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1985&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|language=nl|access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|88
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 100 Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=10|date=18 January 1986}}</ref>
|32
|-
!scope="row"|West Germany (Official German Charts)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1985|title=Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1985|publisher=[[GfK Entertainment]]|language=de|access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|39
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Marillion|title=Kayleigh|award=Silver|relyear=1985|certyear=1985|id=3590-334-1|access-date=13 January 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==See also==
* [[Belsize Park]] (mentioned in the lyrics)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Marillion}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1985 songs]]
[[Category:1985 singles]]
[[Category:1980s ballads]]
[[Category:Marillion songs]]
[[Category:EMI Records singles]]
[[Category:Rock ballads]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey]]
[[Category:Songs written by Fish (singer)]]
[[Category:Songs written by Ian Mosley]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mark Kelly (keyboardist)]]
[[Category:Songs written by Pete Trewavas]]
[[Category:Songs written by Steve Rothery]]
[[Category:Torch songs]]