Alive And Kicking (5:25)

Released as first single from the band’s 1985 album, Once Upon a Time.

Following on from the success of previous non-album single, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, “Alive and Kicking” was released as a single, reaching #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (Four weeks at Top Five Billboard) and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.

The music video for “Alive and Kicking” was directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński, who directed the video for “All the Things She Said”, the third single from the same album.

It was re-released in 1992 as a double A-side with “Love Song” to promote the band’s Glittering Prize 81/92 collection. Around the same time, it was used on trailers for BSkyB’s recently acquired coverage of FA Premier League matches. The double A-side reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart.

Spin magazine’s review of the album Once Upon a Time had mixed messages about the song saying that the song was an “ornate epic”, but that the lyrics are so vague that the band “only describes nirvana without attaining it”.