hypersongs

Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)

A 1985 single that borrows from North American Indian rhythms and reached number three in the United Kingdom.
Red Box, from The Circle & the Square (1985)

Written by
Simon Toulson-Clarke
Released
1985
Length
4:25
Album
The Circle & the Square

Play on hypersongs

"Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)" was written by Toulson-Clarke and produced by David Motion, with Chris Hughes credited on the album, and released on Sire in 1985 as the third single from the album, with "Stinging Bee" on the other side. The band's page says August 1985 and the song's page says it reached number three in October. It runs 4:32 on the single and 4:25 on the album, with a 6:42 Dogmatix 12-inch mix and a 4:15 seven-inch edit. Wikipedia says it borrows from North American Indian rhythms.

It reached number three in the United Kingdom, their highest, number two in Ireland, 27 in West Germany and on the European Hot 100, and 29 in Australia, and was number 36 on the UK year-end chart for 1985. It was certified silver by the BPI. The video features a British Sign Language interpreter; the band's Wikipedia page says it was nominated for Best Video at the 1985 Brit Awards, which was not confirmed elsewhere. It was re-released digitally on Silent Songs in 2007. No recording date, comment from the writer, covers or samples were found.

More songs by Red Box

For America

Sources

  1. Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo), Wikipedia
  2. Red Box (band), Wikipedia