January (song)

"January"
Cover of German single
Single by Pilot
from the album Second Flight
B-side	"Never Give Up" "Do Me Good" (North America)
Released	January 1975
Recorded	1974
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:31
Label	EMI Records
Songwriter(s)	David Paton
Producer(s)	Alan Parsons
Pilot singles chronology
"Magic" (1974) "January" (1975) "Call Me Round" (1975)

"January" is a song by Scottish rock band Pilot. Written by the band's guitarist and singer David Paton and produced by Alan Parsons, it was released by EMI Records in January 1975^[1] as the follow-up to the band's breakthrough single, "Magic". "January" gave Pilot their only number-one single in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Background

In a video interview in 2012 for Radio Borders, David Paton explained the song was not about the month, but about a girl named January, the name being taken from a female protagonist in a book his wife was reading at the time. The verse is unrelated to the chorus and talks about the success of "Magic" and how it had opened up the world for him.

Commercial performance

"January" reached number one in the UK in February 1975 for three weeks.^[2] In Australia, the song was even more successful, staying at number one for eight weeks, and finishing as the number-two song of 1975.^[3] The song also charted in the United States in early 1976, making a minor impression on the Billboard Hot 100.^[4]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1975–1976) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] 46 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 26 Norway (VG-lista)[11] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[2] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[4][12] 87 US Cash Box Top 100 [13] 87 West Germany (GfK)[14] 15

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[3][5] 2 UK (British Market Research Bureau)[15] 18

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Silver	250,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Legacy

During January 2016, the song was used in television advertisements for ASDA supermarkets in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. "Magic month". Record & Popswop Mirror. 11 January 1975. p. 3.
2. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
3. "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
4. "Billboard Hot 100: Week of February 28, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Pilot – January" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Pilot – January" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. "Pilot – January" (in French). Ultratop 50.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – January". Irish Singles Chart.
10. "Pilot – January" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "Pilot – January". VG-lista.
12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
13. "Cash Box Top 100 3/13/76". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pilot – January" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
15. "Top 50 Singles 1975" (PDF). Music Week. 27 December 1975. p. 25 – via World Radio History.
16. "British single certifications – Pilot – January". British Phonographic Industry.

External links

• Pilot - "January" (1974) song to be listened as stream on Spotify