Perfect Day (Lou Reed song)



"Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album, and as a double A-side with his major hit, "Walk on the Wild Side". Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting and after a star-studded version was released as a BBC charity single in 1997, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.

A version by Duran Duran reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.

Recording and composition
The original recording, as with the rest of the Transformer album, was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson (who also wrote the string arrangement and played piano on the track).

The song begins in its verse, which is a progression of major triads in descending perfect fifths, starting however on a minor triad. The song then moves into the chorus, which is written in the parallel major key to the verse. The song has a sombre vocal delivery and a slow, piano-based instrumental backing.

The song was written after Reed and his then fiancée (later his first wife), Bettye Kronstad, spent a day in Central Park. The lyric is often considered to suggest simple, conventional romantic devotion, possibly alluding to Reed's relationship with Bettye Kronstad and Reed's own conflicts with his sexuality, drug use and ego.

Some commentators have further seen the lyrical subtext as displaying Reed's romanticized attitude towards a period of his own addiction to heroin. This popular understanding of the song as an ode to addiction led to its inclusion in the soundtrack for Trainspotting, a film about the lives of heroin addicts. However, this interpretation, according to Reed himself, is "laughable." In an interview in 2000, Reed says that, "No. You're talking to the writer, the person who wrote it. No that's not true [that the song is about heroin use]. I don't object to that, particularly...whatever you think is perfect. But this guy's vision of a perfect day was the girl, sangria in the park, and then you go home; a perfect day, real simple. I meant just what I said."

In other media
The song has featured in commercials such as an AT&T advertisement which ran during the 2010 Olympics, and an advertisement by Sony for the launch of the PlayStation 4 in October 2013, two weeks before Reed's death. The song has also appeared incidentally in TV shows including Fear the Walking Dead, the season 1 finale of The Mist miniseries, Gotham and Doom Patrol.

The song was featured in the trailer for the 2013 horror film You're Next.

Personnel

 * Lou Reed - vocals
 * Mick Ronson - piano, string arrangements
 * David Bowie - keyboards
 * Trevor Bolder: trumpet
 * Herbie Flowers: tuba
 * Klaus Voormann - bass
 * John Halsey - drums

Duran Duran version
A cover version of "Perfect Day" was the first single from the Duran Duran covers album Thank You. It reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.

The song featured a rare appearance by Duran Duran's first drummer Roger Taylor. He also appeared in the video and in a promotional appearance on Top of the Pops.

The music video was filmed in February 1995 by director Nick Egan, and first aired in March. It shows clips of the band performing, interspersed with surreal images.

The single was released in several versions, including numerous different remixes of the title track and other Duran Duran songs. In addition to the single and the Thank You album, the song also appeared in Duran Duran's Singles Box Set 1986–1995, released in 2004.

On Duran Duran's episode of Behind the Music, Reed described the Duran Duran version as being potentially the best rerecording of any of his songs.

Personnel
Duran Duran:
 * Simon Le Bon – vocals
 * Nick Rhodes – keyboards
 * John Taylor – bass guitar
 * Warren Cuccurullo – guitar

With:
 * Roger Taylor – drums
 * Tessa Niles – backing vocals

Also credited:
 * John Jones, Anthony J. Resta, Bob St. John – additional production and engineering
 * David Richards – mixing
 * Mark Tinley – additional programming

Kirsty MacColl and Evan Dando version
In 1995, British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl and American musician Evan Dando recorded the song as a duet. It was included as one of two new tracks on MacColl's compilation album Galore and reached No. 75 on the UK Singles Chart.

MacColl has described the song as "glorious and tragic at the same time". Speaking of her collaboration with Dando, she told Steve Harris in 1995: "I met Evan a couple of years ago and we sort of talked about possibly doing something together. When I was recording the new tracks for [Galore], I thought "Perfect Day" would be a really good song to do as a duet [and that] he would be the ideal person to sing it with me." MacColl was initially unsure of how to contact Dando, but decided to record the backing track in anticipation of being able to add his contribution at a later date. By coincidence, Dando phoned MacColl two days after the backing track was recorded to let her know he was performing in London with his band The Lemonheads and he agreed to provide vocals on the track while in the UK.

BBC corporate film and charity release
In 1997, a version of the song was showcased by the BBC in a lengthy corporate promotion of its diverse music coverage which was broadcast on BBC channels and in cinemas. It featured Lou Reed himself and other major artists in what the Financial Times described as "an astonishing line-up of world class performers". In reference to the licence fee, the film ends with the message "Whatever your musical taste, it is catered for by BBC Radio and Television. This is only possible thanks to the unique way the BBC is paid for by you. BBC. You make it what it is." This message appears over the repeated words "You're going to reap just what you sow" which The Guardian described as "a none too subtle message: keep writing the cheque." In response to accusations from commercial competitors that the corporation had wasted vast sums on the film it was revealed that each artist received a "token" £250, which was at the time the minimum pay for a performance on BBC.

Prompted by huge public demand the track was released on November 17, 1997, as a charity single for Children in Need, and Reed said, "I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs." It was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells. The record contributed £2,125,000 to the charity's highest fundraising total in six years, and, as of November 2016, has sold 1.54 million copies. The release featured two additional versions of the song: one entirely sung by female performers, one by male performers. The BBC also produced a Christmas version of the accompanying music video.

In Ireland, the song was a huge success, remaining at number one for seven weeks and becoming 1997's Christmas number one. The single also topped the Norwegian Singles Chart for seven weeks in late 1997 and early 1998, spending 17 weeks on the chart in total. Elsewhere in Europe, it reached number four in Finland, number six in the Netherlands, and number seven in Flemish Belgium. It was also a top 30 hit in Austria, New Zealand, and Walloon Belgium.

The song has not been digitally released to digital music platforms as the "single [is] unusable again in a commercial context due to the specific nature of the clearances for Children In Need at the time".

Performers
Performers in order of appearance; parentheses indicate mute appearance, and dividers indicate verses/sections.


 * Lou Reed
 * Bono
 * Skye Edwards (from Morcheeba)


 * David Bowie
 * Suzanne Vega
 * Elton John
 * (Andrew Davis)


 * Boyzone
 * Lesley Garrett
 * (Lou Reed)
 * Burning Spear
 * Bono
 * Thomas Allen
 * (Brodsky Quartet)


 * Heather Small (from M People)
 * Emmylou Harris
 * Tammy Wynette
 * Shane MacGowan
 * (Sheona White) (tenor horn player)


 * Dr. John
 * David Bowie
 * Robert Cray
 * Huey Morgan (from Fun Lovin' Criminals)


 * Ian Broudie (from The Lightning Seeds)
 * Gabrielle
 * Dr. John
 * Evan Dando (from The Lemonheads)
 * Emmylou Harris


 * (Courtney Pine) (soprano saxophone player)
 * (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
 * (Andrew Davis)
 * (Bono)


 * Brett Anderson (from Suede)
 * Visual Ministry Choir
 * Joan Armatrading
 * Laurie Anderson
 * Heather Small
 * Tom Jones
 * Heather Small
 * Lou Reed

Sequels
Following the success of the "Perfect Day" music video, the BBC produced three further similar campaigns. The first, Future Generations, in December 1998, did a similar multi-celebrity montage with favourite BBC children's programmes. The second, called Shaggy Dog Story, featured various comedians and comic actors telling a long-winded shaggy dog story, with each one sharing a line or phrase. A second, shorter shaggy dog story, entitled Mammals vs. Insects, was also broadcast on 4 January 2000. Seventeen years after "Perfect Day"'s release, the BBC produced a campaign for their new music division where 27 musicians (labelled "The Impossible Orchestra") covered the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows". The only person to appear in both campaigns is Sir Elton John.

The cover was parodied on a 1997 special Harry Enfield and Chums, as well as by Matt Lucas and David Walliams.

The single inspired Sony Music to release a various artists compilation album, Perfect Day, in early 1998. It reached number 7 in the UK Compilation Chart. It featured Reed's original version of the song instead of the Various Artists version.

Music Live 2000
A BBC live television event in 2000, which consisted of music programs around the clock, ended in another round-robin performance of "Perfect Day". Although watched by millions, the recording of the show that was released as a single was not a chart success, reaching only number 69 in mid-June 2000.

This line-up included Rolf Harris and a beginning and ending performance from Lou Reed himself.

Susan Boyle version
Scottish recording artist Susan Boyle covered the song on her second album The Gift and also released it on November 8, 2010 as a single.

Conflict with Lou Reed
In September 2010, Susan Boyle had to cancel a performance on America's Got Talent at the last minute. She had planned to sing "Perfect Day", but two hours before the show, she was told that Lou Reed had intervened, refusing her permission to perform his song and to include it on her forthcoming album The Gift. As she and her choir didn't have time to rehearse another number, she decided to cancel her performance. A couple of days later, representatives of Lou Reed stated that he had nothing to do with the decision and that it was just a licensing glitch.

A couple of weeks later, Lou Reed agreed not only to let her include the song on The Gift, but also to produce her music video of the song. It was shot on the banks of Loch Lomond and premiered on November 7, 2010.

Live performances
On 19 November 2010 she performed the song on Children in Need. She also performed this again at the 82nd Royal Variety Performance, performed on the 9 December 2010.

Influence on Nick Cave
In 2004 researcher Kim Beissel claimed that Nick Cave’s 1997 song "There is a Kingdom" was partly inspired by "Perfect Day".

Vatican tweet
Soon after Reed's death in 2013, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, made news by tweeting lyrics from the song:


 * Oh, it's such a perfect day
 * I'm glad I spent it with you
 * Oh, such a perfect day
 * You just keep me hanging on

As the song is widely interpreted by listeners to be drug-related, the cardinal later clarified that he did not condone drug use.