My Town (Glass Tiger song)

"My Town" is a song by Canadian band Glass Tiger. Released in August 1991 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Simple Mission, Rod Stewart appears as a featured vocalist. Composition inspired by Celtic music, "My Town" was written by Glass Tiger bandmates Alan Frew, Alan Connelly and Wayne Parker, as well as Jim Cregan, who co-wrote two of Stewart's other hits. The song's lyrics are a tribute to Frew's hometown, Coatbridge, Scotland, and Stewart was invited to record the song with Glass Tiger because of his Scottish nationality.

"My Town"
Single by Glass Tiger featuring Rod Stewart
from the album Simple Mission
B-side"The Tragedy of Love"
ReleasedAugust 1991
Recorded1990
Length
  • 4:51
  • 4:38 (video edit)
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Glass Tiger singles chronology
"Rhythm of Your Love"
(1991)		 "My Town"
(1991)		 "Rescued (By the Arms of Love)"
(1991)
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"You Are Everything"
(1991)		 "My Town"
(1991)		 "People Get Ready"
(1992)
Music video
"My Town" on YouTube

It became Glass Tiger's sixth top-ten hit in Canada, climbing to number eight on the RPM Top Singles chart in November of the same year and ending the year as Canada's 52nd-most-successful single. In the United Kingdom, due to Stewart's appearance, the single became the band's first song to chart since "Diamond Sun" in 1988,[2] peaking at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Elsewhere, "My Town" managed to chart in Germany, where it peaked at number 51.

Background

"My Town" was written about Glass Tiger member Alan Frew's hometown of Coatbridge, Scotland.[3] In an interview with Metal Express Radio, Frew said that he initially did not think to recruit Rod Stewart as a featured artist, despite spending time with him prior to the song's conception.[4] The two men were having dinner one night when a person Stewart recognized asked Frew why he had not asked Stewart to sing on "My Town". Frew explained, "Rod asked me why he'd not been asked to sing on it and I'd said that I didn't want to play that card on him. He just said he wanted to sing on it, so he did and that`s how he ended up singing on it."[4]

Composition and lyrics

Celtic singing and instrumentation were the main influences on the composition on "My Town".[3] Despite Glass Tiger being a Canadian band, the "Scotia" in the song's lyrics does not refer to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, but rather Scotland, which was called Scotia during the Middle Ages.[3] One of the lyrics states that "Burlington Bertie", a music hall song composed by Harry B. Norris in 1900, will be in Frew's heart forever.[3]

Music video

The music video for the song, filmed in black-and-white, features numerous references to Scotland. However, Rod Stewart does not appear in the video nor in the recording used for this video.

Track listings

Charts

References
  1. "Offiziellecharts.de – Glass Tiger – My Town". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  2. "Glass Tiger". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. McGinnis, Ray (June 28, 2017). "#975: My Town by Glass Tiger and Rod Stewart". Vancouver Pop Hits. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  4. Burgess, Mick (August 21, 2018). "Alan Frew (Glass Tiger) "Rod Stewart demanded to sing on our record"". Metal Express Radio. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  5. "My Town" – UK CD single (Liner notes). Glass Tiger. Capitol Records. 1991. 204502.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "My Town" – UK 12-inch single (Disc sleeve). Glass Tiger. Capitol Records. 1991. 12EM 212.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1672." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 48. November 30, 1991. p. 25. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  10. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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