"Alive and Kicking" is a song by the Scottish rock bandSimple Minds, released in September 1985 byA&M andVirgin Records as the lead single from their seventh album,Once Upon a Time (1985). The song reached number three on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number four in Canada; it peaked within the top five of several European countries including Italy, where the song reached number one.
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 number 3 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number one on theTop Rock Tracks chart (now called the Mainstream Rock chart). The song also reached number 4 in Canada. In Europe, the song topped the charts in Italy for one week, reached number 2 in Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and peaked at number 7 on theUK Singles Chart. In 1992, when re-released as a double A-side with "Love Song" to promote the band's compilation albumGlittering Prize 81/92, it managed to reach a new peak of number 6. Elsewhere, "Alive and Kicking" reached number 5 in New Zealand, number 16 in South Africa, and just missed the top 20 in Australia, peaking at number 21.
The music video for "Alive and Kicking" was filmed near the town ofHunter, atNorth–South Lake in theCatskill Mountains ofUpstateNew York. A portion of the video was filmed on the overlook at the site of the old Catskill Mountain House (previously demolished). It was directed byZbigniew Rybczyński, who directed the video for "All the Things She Said", the third single from the same album.[2]
In 1992, "Alive & Kicking" provided the soundtrack for a famous promo, entitled "A whole new ball game" forBSkyB's launch of theFA Premier League.[32][33]
In 1992, Italian dance music groupEast Side Beat covered "Alive and Kicking". It was produced by Phil Kelsey and released in December byFFRR as a single from their only album,East Side Beat (1992). The song became a top-20 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands. In the UK, it reached number 26 on theUK Singles Chart. There are five remixes in total. Two versions are found on the 7-inch single and an additional three are on the CD single.
