"Night Owl"
Single by Gerry Rafferty
from the album Night Owl
B-side"Why Won't You Talk To Me"
Released18 May 1979[1]
Recorded1978–1979
GenreSoft rock
Length4:24 (7" single edit)
6:09 (12" and album version)
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)Gerry Rafferty
Producer(s)Gerry Rafferty
Hugh Murphy
Gerry Rafferty singles chronology
"Whatever's Written In Your Heart"
(1978)		 "Night Owl"
(1979)		 "Days Gone Down"
(1979)

"Night Owl" is a song by Gerry Rafferty. It is the second track on his 1979 album of the same name. It features a Lyricon solo played by "Baker Street" saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft. The song made the top five in the UK Singles Chart, and along with "Baker Street" is one of two solo efforts by Gerry Rafferty to accomplish this feat.[2]

Inspiration

The song discusses themes of alcohol abuse,[3] including autobiographical reflections delivered in the third person. It has been described by Rafferty's estate as a "memorable, top 30 melody with a pitiless self-portrait of an artist using alcohol to blur the edges of a world in which what is real, and valuable, is sometimes effusive".[4]

Release

Though the single was a top-five hit for Rafferty in his native United Kingdom, "Night Owl" was never released in this format in North America, at a time when interest in Rafferty was at its peak after the success of his single "Baker Street" and album City to City a year earlier. In the US, "Days Gone Down" was used as the lead single from Night Owl instead.

The B-side on the original "Night Owl" single was the fourth track from the same album, "Why Won't You Talk To Me".[5]

Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 64
United Kingdom (Official Charts) 5

Certifications

Certifications for "Night Owl"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Gerry Rafferty - Night Owl". 45cat.com.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 448. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ https://www.irishnews.com/arts/music/2021/09/10/news/rest-in-blue-a-fitting-posthumous-tribute-to-singer-songwriter-gerry-rafferty-s-acclaimed-career-2439079/. The Irish News. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Gerry Rafferty - Night Owl. gerryrafferty.com. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Gerry Rafferty - Night Owl". Discogs.com. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 245. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "British single certifications – Gerry Rafferty – Night Owl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2022.


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