One Day Like This

"One Day Like This"
Single by Elbow
from the album The Seldom Seen Kid
Released	2 June 2008
Format	CD single, 7" vinyl, digital download
Recorded	2006–2007
Genre	Art rock, symphonic rock, baroque pop
Length	6:34 (album version) 3:45 (radio edit)
Label	Fiction Records
Writer(s)	Guy Garvey, Elbow
Producer(s)	Craig Potter, Elbow
Elbow singles chronology
"Grounds for Divorce" (2008) "One Day Like This" (2008) "The Bones of You" (2008)

"One Day Like This" is the second single from Elbow's fourth studio album The Seldom Seen Kid, released on 2 June 2008^[1] on two 7" vinyl records and one CD single.

On 21 May 2009, the song won the Ivor Novello award for Best Song. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 41 on its list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[2] After the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony, the single peaked at #4 in the UK - a new high for the song and for the band.

The chorus line lyric "one day like this a year would see me right" had been in singer Guy Garvey's diary for several years before the song was written. Speaking in 2014 about the song Garvey said, "We put the chords behind it and realised it was going to be the hook of all hooks. I was like, 'what do we think?'... It was, 'it's kind of similar to "Hey Jude", isn't it?' I was like, 'yeah, and it's also similar to "Loaded" by Primal Scream, and we like both those songs, don't we?' So isn't it just generous to do that, isn't it a satisfying thing for the listener?... And my God, how it changed our fortunes."^[3]

Chart performance

"One Day Like This" debuted at number 39 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 2008, marking Elbow's seventh UK Top 40 single. After 14 weeks, the single finally peaked at number 35 on 14 September 2008. Due to the band's increasing popularity in the UK after winning their 2009 BRIT Award for Best British band "One Day Like This" spent more weeks in the UK Top 75 than any of Elbow's other singles with 31 weeks in five runs by the end of 2014,^[4] peaking at number 4 in August 2012 following their appearance at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. In December 2013, it was certified Platinum in the UK by the BPI.

Music video

The promotional video for the song features a man at a busy road junction, holding a red sign in the shape of a pointing arrow, containing the words "Condos - Now Selling". The man is named David Lemke, an employee at the time of guerilla marketing franchise AArrow Advertising.^[5][6] He stands at the junction, and turns the sign around many times, pointing it in all directions, including flipping it in the air and spinning it on his head, whilst the motorists, pedestrians and skateboarders pass by.

Track listing

CD single

7" vinyl #1

7" vinyl #2

Use in media

BBC Sport made use of the song in its daily highlights package of the 2008 Summer Olympics from Beijing - in addition, the music's instrumental version was used whilst the medal table was shown. "One Day Like This" was used on Sky UK's Earth Day 2009 advert, as well as TV spots for the 2009 Robert Downey Jr./Jamie Foxx film The Soloist and used during "the best bits" for Big Brother 9 in the UK. The song was also used in a montage scene from the fourth episode of the 2008 series Hollyoaks Later. In July 2009, it was featured in "Day Three" of Torchwood: Children of Earth, an episode from the third season of the UK series Torchwood. It was also used in the tribute video montage done by the British Soap Awards for the 50th anniversary of Coronation Street. Charlie Brooker used it in an episode of Screenwipe concerning paruresis. The song was also used in England's presentation video for the bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

It was used in the Series 4 finale of Waterloo Road. The song has also been used in Australia, by Channel 9 during their coverage of the NRL (National Rugby League), and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) during the closing montage of the 2008 Tour de France. It was also used for a dance on Season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and on the eleventh episode of series 13 of Holby City on 28 December 2010. The song is used as an intro during the U2 360° Tour, before the band appears on stage.

It also appears in station identification messages for WHROworld television channel in regions of the United States since at least 2011.

On 12 August the song was played live by the band at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Cover versions

Snow Patrol covered "One Day Like This" on Jo Whiley's "Live Lounge on Tour", and was released as a limited edition b-side of "Crack the Shutters".^[7][8]

An excerpt from the song is included in The Official BBC Children in Need Medley, a charity single performed by The Peter Kay Animated All Stars, released on 21 November 2009. The excerpt segues from Hey Jude - a similarity pointed out Garvey.^[3]

An instrumental version of the song was also used by Apple in its 2010 video introducing the refreshed MacBook Air product line.

Sarah Brightman version

"One Day Like This"
Single by Sarah Brightman
from the album Dreamchaser
Released	15 April 2013
Genre	Pop
Length	5:57
Producer(s)	Mike Hedges, Sally Herbert
Sarah Brightman singles chronology
"Angel" (2012) "One Day Like This" (2012)

"One Day Like This" was the second single from Sarah Brightman's eleventh studio album, Dreamchaser, released on 15 April (16 January in Japan), 2013, and produced by Mike Hedges and Sally Herbert.^[9][10]

Track listing

Music video focusing on her

This music video starts with Sarah in her purple kimono setting her own tea for breakfast. She then dresses herself up in black and gold and has her hair tied in an updo and she puts on her space helmet for the rest.

Credits

• Producer – Mike Hedges, Sally Herbert
• Words By – Guy Garvey
• Written By – Elbow

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics