Ride a White Horse

"Ride a White Horse" is a song performed by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. The song was written by Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory and Nick Batt for Goldfrapp's third album Supernature (2005). The song was inspired by the disco era nightclub Studio 54.[1]

For the 1983 post-disco single, see White Horse (Laid Back song).
"Ride a White Horse"
Single by Goldfrapp
from the album Supernature
B-side"Boys Will Be Boys"
Released13 February 2006 (2006-02-13)
GenreDisco, electroclash
Length4:41
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory, Nick Batt
Producer(s)Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory
Goldfrapp singles chronology
"Number 1"
(2005)		 "Ride a White Horse"
(2006)		 "Fly Me Away"
(2006)

The song was released as the album's third single in February 2006 to positive reviews from music critics. It was a commercial success, reaching the top forty on the majority of the charts it entered. The song has been remixed a number of times and was featured in the American television program The L Word.

Background and writing

"Ride a White Horse" is an electronic–dance song that was inspired by the disco era. Alison Goldfrapp had grown up listening to T.Rex and Polish disco music, and many assumed that she based the song's lyrics around Bianca Jagger's infamous entrance into Studio 54 on a white horse.[1][2] The song was composed as a collaborative effort between Goldfrapp and Will Gregory in late 2004 in a rented cottage in the countryside of Bath, England.[3] The song was written and recorded while Goldfrapp and Gregory were "jamming in the recording studio, bouncing song ideas off each other".[4]

"Ride a White Horse" is written in the common verse-chorus form and features instrumentation from synthesizers and a bass guitar.[5] The US maxi CD single featured a cover version of "Boys Will Be Boys" as its B-side. The song was originally performed by British rock group The Ordinary Boys.[6]

Music video
Alison Goldfrapp pulling a large plastic dog in the music video.

The music video for "Ride a White Horse" was directed by Diane Martel and filmed in London, England in December 2005.[7] The video features Alison Goldfrapp, dressed in a white dress, in multiple disturbing situations. The video begins with Goldfrapp, her back to the camera, trailing toilet paper from one of her spike heels, singing into a microphone made of a cardboard roll and aluminium foil. As she sings, footage of rotting food is displayed behind her. She is then shown eating a slice of pizza covered in cigarette butts and bottlecaps. The next scenes feature Goldfrapp pulling a large plastic dog; singing in front of a man bandaged in toilet paper eating from a garbage can; and dancing with dirty men that came out of a trashbin dressed in their underwear. The video concludes with Goldfrapp forcing the leg of the bandaged man into a toilet.

In 2006, the video was nominated at the Festival International des Arts du Clip in the "Off Competition" category for its audacity and off beat sense of humour.[8] The complete version of "Ride a White Horse" featured in the music video has been released commercially through CD singles and digital downloads, and some include remixes by Serge Santiágo and Ewan Pearson.[6] An alternate music video was also filmed live at the Brixton Academy in London, England on 6 October 2005. The video was directed by Matthew Amos and released on the song's DVD single.[6]

Critical reception

"Ride a White Horse" received positive reviews from music critics. MusicOMH.com's Michael Hubbard called the song "one of the most glamorous and erotic tracks" on Supernature,[9] and Stylus Magazine described the it as "memorable" because of its "combination of a decently danceable groove and some nicely arch vocals".[10] In a review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand wrote that "Ride a White Horse" was "destined for club hit status", comparing Alison Goldfrapp's "cold, husky croon" to Kate Bush.[11]

Marketing and release

In March 2007, "Ride a White Horse" was featured on an episode of the American television program The L Word.[12] The episode titled "Literary License to Kill" featured the group performing the song at The Planet while the characters celebrated a birthday. A radio edit of the song was also featured on the program's soundtrack released in January 2007.[13]

"Ride a White Horse" was released as a various formats throughout the world. While most territories received a CD single and digital download release, the single was released as a limited edition 12-inch single in February 2006 in the UK.[6] A DVD single was also issued and included behind the scenes footage of Goldfrapp on tour and a live music video for "Ride a White Horse".[6] In 2006, the song was used in the soundtrack of the video game Need for Speed: Carbon.

Commercial performance

"Ride a White Horse" entered the UK Singles Chart on 25 February 2006 at number fifteen, remaining on the chart for three weeks.[14] The song proved popular on UK radio, charting at number twenty-three on the airplay chart.[15] In Ireland, the song reached number thirty-six on the singles chart before exiting the following week.[16]

In the United States, "Ride a White Horse" was released as the album's final single in February 2007. The song did not perform as well as its predecessors on the Billboard Dance Chart, reaching only number twenty-nine.[17] The song, however, did peak at number three on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.[18]

Track listings

Personnel

The following people contributed to Ride a White Horse:[5]

Charts
Chart (2006–07) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 36
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[19] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 15
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17] 29
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[18] 5
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References
  1. Timmermans, Arjan. "Interview with Goldfrapp. ArjanWrites.com. 9 December 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  2. Patterson, Sylvia. "Glam Slam". The Sunday Herald. 3 September 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  3. Lash, Jolie. "Goldfrapp Unleash Supernature". Rolling Stone. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  4. Gallant, Michael. "Retro Disco Ooh La La" Archived 2006-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. Keyboard Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  5. Supernature (CD liner notes). Mute Records. August 2005.
  6. "Release locator > Ride A White Horse". Mute Records. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  7. "Goldfrapp - "Ride a White Horse" Music Video". MTV. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  8. "2006 Selection". Festival International des Arts du Clip. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  9. Hubbard, Michael. "Goldfrapp – Supernature (Mute)". MusicOMH.com. 22 August 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  10. Oculicz, Edward. "Goldfrapp; Supernature". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  11. Begrand, Adrien. "Goldfrapp – Supernature". PopMatters. 19 September 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2008
  12. "Goldfrapp: Ride A White Horse: The L Word video". NME. 31 December 2008.
  13. Belge, Kathy. "L Tunes: Music from and Inspired by The L Word" Archived 2009-10-08 at the Wayback Machine. About.com. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  14. "Goldfrapp: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Gnarls Barkley's Crazy loses some of its audience yet still has almost double that of its nearest challenger, in a chart in which Will Young, The Kooks and Kubb climb strongly". Music Week. 29 April 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Ride a White Horse". Irish Singles Chart.
  17. "Goldfrapp Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  18. "Goldfrapp Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard.
  19. "Spanishcharts.com – Goldfrapp – Ride a White Horse" Canciones Top 50.
  • official website.

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