"Martian Man" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul[1][2] that was destined to be a track on her 1976 album Before You Go Tonight (aka Take Your Time), but was shelved as part of a legal dispute with former manager Don Arden.[3]
Although the dispute was solved in de Paul's favour, the album was first released in 1990 in Japan[4] as well as on a Best of.. CD (albeit as "My Martian Man") that was released in 1993.[5] "Martian Man" finally appeared internationally as a track on de Paul's 2013 anthology CD, Into My Music: 1975-1979.[6] De Paul explained that the ethereal song is about former boyfriend and zany musician Roy Wood, hence the strange lyrics about a woman who falls in love with a stranded Martian.[3] "He came to collect me at my flat and he's dyed his hair green - I thought he looked like a Martian", she said in the booklet to her Into My Music album. Ironically, it was Wood who had recommended Don Arden as her new manager when she left MAM Records.
In 1996, the ex-All About Eve singer and longterm de Paul fan, Julianne Regan, released an electronic version of the song that was approved by de Paul,[7] as a track on the extended play CD The Milkman by Regan's group, Mice.[8] Released on 22 April 1996 on Permanent records, it reached No. 92 on the UK Singles Chart in May that year.[9] This recording of the song was also included on the 2001 Julianne Regan and Mice CD album, New and Improved on Jamtart Records.[10]
References
edit- ^ "ACE Repertory". Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Song "Martian Man"". Musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Lynsey de Paul: A gritty and determined star who penned a string of hits and won two Ivor Novello awards". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Before You Go Tonight (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul – The Best Of Lynsey De Paul (1993, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Lynsey de Paul - Into My Music Anthology 1975-1979 (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "A few mice words - interview with Julianne Regan". Goony.nl. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "Mice - The Milkman". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "the+milkman | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "Martian Man - Mice, Julianne Regan - Song Info - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2017.