I Ran (So Far Away) (5:05)

“I Ran (So Far Away)” (also released as “I Ran”) is a song by English New Wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released on their debut album A Flock of Seagulls in 1982 and was its most successful single, reaching # 9 in the United States and #1 in Australia.

The single was promoted by a distinctive music video in which the band members performed in a room covered in aluminum foil and mirrors. It received heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of 1982, and helped the single to become a hit. The video features a different edit of “I Ran” than the album version; the introduction was greatly shortened.

The band toured the United States extensively to promote the single, supporting Squeeze on their 1982 tour. As well as reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, “I Ran” peaked at #3 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #8 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Subsequently the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200.

Despite success in the States and Australia, the single did not enjoy similar success in the band’s home country (United Kingdom), failing to make the top 40.

In an interview on the VH1 special 100 Greatest Songs of the ’80s, Mike Score said that he resents the song, but plays it live because people enjoy it. “I Ran” was listed at #55 on the countdown. In VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s, the song was listed at #2, with Mike Score’s interview played again.

Although considered an 80’s New Wave classic, the song experienced somewhat of a revival in 2002 as the signature theme for the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; being played during the game’s television commercials and during gameplay as one of the songs in the playlist for radio station Wave 103.