| St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) | |
| Cover: | StElmosFire.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | John Parr |
| Album: | St. Elmo's Fire (soundtrack) and John Parr |
| B-Side: |
|
| Released: | 13 June 1985[1] |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 4:08 |
| Label: | Atlantic |
| Producer: | David Foster |
| Prev Title: | Magical |
| Prev Year: | 1985 |
| Next Title: | Love Grammar |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" is a song by British singer John Parr from the 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire. It hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on 7 September 1985, remaining there for two weeks. It was the main theme for Joel Schumacher's film, and first single from the soundtrack. The song was created and edited within 24 hours.
The record peaked at No. 6 in the United Kingdom, Parr's home country,[4] and became a No. 1 hit for him around the world, and provided many awards and a Grammy nomination.
The song did not initially feature on Parr's studio albums, only appearing on the London Records re-release of his self-titled debut album in the United Kingdom.[5]
Members of the bands Toto, REO Speedwagon and Mr. Mister appear on the recording.
David Foster and John Parr were contracted to write a song for the film, but Parr struggled with inspiration for the lyrics. Foster showed Parr a news clip about the Canadian athlete Rick Hansen, who at the time was going around the world in his wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. His journey was called the "Man in Motion Tour". Parr decided to help the campaign by writing words that would fit vaguely with the film, but which directly referenced Hansen's efforts.[6] [7]
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ford played the song in advertisements for its Mustang Pony car. In 2012, John Parr re-recorded the song with new lyrics, dubbed "Tim Tebow's Fire", to honor Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos.[8] Parr stated to Denver FOX affiliate KDVR, "I was inspired by Tim Tebow so I wanted to modify the lyrics...in his honor of the way that he lives his life as being a great example."[9]
A snippet of the chorus was briefly played on The Simpsons' 1994 episode Sideshow Bob Roberts. At first, Homer is driving while listening to a right-wing talk radio host, when his 8-year old daughter Lisa complains, Homer tells her "when you're driving, we'll listen to your radio station". The song then starts playing, and the scene cuts to Lisa driving with Homer as passenger, who then wants to switch back.[10] [11]
In 2017, it was heard on the short film .[12] and the 2018 animated film .
In 2020-21, during Conan's stint at the Largo Theater, the song was part of a running gag, with different lyrics set to the tune of the chorus, while Conan O'Brien looked at a different camera often with a fan blowing wind in his face.[13]
The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2023 when it was featured on an advert for Virgin Media.[14]
The music video features all seven of the main cast of the film St. Elmo's Fire looking sadly through the foggy windows of a run-down and fire-damaged version of the St. Elmo's Bar set. The video was directed by Kort Falkenberg III, who devised the concept with the film's director, Joel Schumacher. The production company only had Parr for a single day before he had to go back to England, so the shoot had to be done in exactly 24 hours.
The Canadian version of the video intersperses images of Rick Hansen's trek with those of the film.
The ending of the video shows Parr singing to each individual cast member from the film before he disappears into the night, and the cast follows him.
| Chart (1985–1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] | 4 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[16] | 2 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 1 |
| Chart (1985) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] | 57 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop)[19] | 75 | |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] | 14 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[21] | 18 | |
| US Cash Box[22] | 6 | |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[23] | 65 |
| Position | ||
| US Billboard Hot 100 (1958–2018)[25] | 495 |
|---|
| Country | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| United States | June 1985 | |
| United Kingdom | August 1985 |
