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"Sebastian" is a song by British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. The song was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from the album ''The Human Menagerie''. It was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cockney Rebel - The Human Menagerie at Discogs )〕 ==Background== Described as a "Gothic love song" by Harley himself, the song featured a 50-plus piece orchestra and choir alongside the band, with orchestral arrangements by Andrew Powell.〔http://www.harleyfanzone.com/70/Scrapbook/Reviews/Human/HM.htm〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rebel Raising )〕 When it was released as the band's debut single in 1973, the song failed to become a commercial success in the UK. However it did manage to find success across continental Europe. It peaked at #2 in both Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as #30 in Germany.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=ultratop.be - Cockney Rebel - Sebastian )〕 Since its release in the UK and Europe it has gained reputation over the following years as one of Harley's greatest songs. To date the song has consistently been included in live concerts performed by Harley. For the Holland programme Top 2000, Harley was interviewed during 2008 in a short documentary on his days busking in London. Harley spoke of the song and its meaning: ''"It's poetry. It means what you want it to mean. "Sebastian" is the conduit, the tubes through which I took myself on that journey to write the story. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't have been far away from tripping when I wrote "Sebastian". LSD, certainly, created so many incidents in your life, so many images, so much madness and mayhem, as well as great tranquility if you were lucky. I can't define its meaning. It's like most poetry, it's a lovely word."''〔https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLUPajpv8iY〕 When the single failed to make the UK charts, EMI Records told Harley there were no potential singles from the album, and that the band had yet to record one. Harley responded by writing the follow-up single "Judy Teen" which went to #5 in the UK in early 1974.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Judy Teen by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Songfacts )〕 However before the release of the band's breakthrough single, EMI decided to hold the song back at the beginning of the year whilst "Sebastian" was re-issued on 25 January (originally due to be 11 January), as the third time being released as a single. This was in hope of it becoming a chart hit, however "Sebastian" still did not become a UK hit, and did not make a chart appearance.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=70's Cuttings 1 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=45cat - Cockney Rebel - Sebastian / Rock And Roll Parade - EMI - UK - EMI 2051 )〕 In the Sunday Express of 5 April 2014 Harley spoke of the song's European success. He said ''"Sebastian was a number one in most of Europe in 1974. It happened so quickly. I didn't pay many dues to be honest. That's what the NME (Musical Express ) held against me at the time."''〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Seventies legend Steve Harley reveals why he gave up his rock 'n' roll lifestyle | Showbiz | News | Daily Express )〕 Harley first began performing the song during his days of busking. In the Daily Express magazine of May 2007 he revealed ''"I started busking in the early 70's, which gave me a platform to experiment on the public with my songs. I had one called "Sebastian", which was six minutes of gothic poetry! I got absolutely no money."''〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Whatever Happened To... ? )〕 In 1983 Harley released a non-album single "Ballerina (Prima Donna)", a song written by Mike Batt, which just stalled outside the UK Top 50. For the 12" vinyl version of the single a new version of "Sebastian" was recorded, and this version was produced by Batt. In the UK, the 12" vinyl actually swapped both tracks around so that "Sebastian" was the a-side and "Ballerina" became the b-side.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Images for Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Sebastian / Ballerina )〕 Harley's 1985 non-album single "Irresistible" also featured the song on the 12" vinyl release, although this was the 1973 original version.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Steve Harley - Irresistible (Vinyl) at Discogs )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sebastian (song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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