My Town (Glass Tiger song)

"My Town"
Single by Glass Tiger
from the album Simple Mission
B-side"The Tragedy of Love"
ReleasedAugust 1991
Length4:51
Label
Songwriters
Producers
Glass Tiger singles chronology
"Rhythm of Your Love"
(1991) 		"My Town"
(1991) 		"Rescued (By the Arms of Love)"
(1991)
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"You Are Everything"
(1991) 		"My Town"
(1991) 		"People Get Ready"
(1992)
Music video
"My Town" on YouTube

"My Town" is a song by Canadian band Glass Tiger. Released in August 1991 by Capitol and EMI Records as the fourth single from their third studio album, Simple Mission (1991), the song features English singer-songwriter Rod Stewart as an uncredited vocalist. Inspired by Celtic music, "My Town" was written by Glass Tiger bandmates Alan Frew, Alan Connelly and Wayne Parker, as well as Jim Cregan, who co-wrote two of Stewart's other hits. The song's lyrics are a tribute to Frew's hometown, Coatbridge, Scotland, and Stewart was invited to record the song with Glass Tiger because of his Scottish ancestry.

It became Glass Tiger's sixth top-10 hit in Canada, climbing to number eight on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart in November of the same year and ending the year as Canada's 52nd-most-successful single. In the United Kingdom, due to Stewart's appearance, the single became the band's first song to chart since "Diamond Sun" in 1988,[1] peaking at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Elsewhere, "My Town" managed to chart in Germany, where it peaked at number 51.

Background

"My Town" was written about Glass Tiger member Alan Frew's hometown of Coatbridge, Scotland.[2] In an interview with Metal Express Radio, Frew said that he initially did not think to recruit Rod Stewart as a featured artist, despite spending time with him prior to the song's conception.[3] The two men were having dinner one night when a person Stewart recognized asked Frew why he had not asked Stewart to sing on "My Town". Frew explained, "Rod asked me why he'd not been asked to sing on it and I'd said that I didn't want to play that card on him. He just said he wanted to sing on it, so he did and that's how he ended up singing on it."[3]

Composition and lyrics

Celtic singing and instrumentation were the main influences on the composition on "My Town".[2] Despite Glass Tiger being a Canadian band, the "Scotia" in the song's lyrics does not refer to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, but rather Scotland, which was called Scotia during the Middle Ages.[2] One of the lyrics states that "Burlington Bertie", a music hall song composed by Harry B. Norris in 1900, will be in Frew's heart forever.[2]

Music video

The music video for the song, filmed in black-and-white, features numerous references to Scotland. However, Rod Stewart does not appear in the video nor in the recording used for this video.

Track listings

A. "My Town" – 4:48
B. "The Tragedy of Love" – 4:31
  • UK CD single[6]
  1. "My Town"
  2. "The Tragedy of Love"
  3. "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)"
  4. "Diamond Sun"
  • UK 12-inch single[7]
A1. "My Town"
B1. "The Tragedy of Love"
B2. "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)"

Personnel

Personnel are taken from the UK CD single liner notes.[6]

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Canada August 1991 N/a
United Kingdom October 14, 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [16]
Australia February 10, 1992
  • CD
  • cassette
 [17]

References

  1. ^ "Glass Tiger". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d McGinnis, Ray (June 28, 2017). "#975: My Town by Glass Tiger and Rod Stewart". Vancouver Pop Hits. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Burgess, Mick (August 21, 2018). "Alan Frew (Glass Tiger) "Rod Stewart demanded to sing on our record"". Metal Express Radio. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  4. ^ My Town (Canadian 7-inch single sleeve). Capitol Records. 1991. B 73168.
  5. ^ a b "Glass Tiger – My Town" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  6. ^ a b My Town (UK CD single liner notes). Capitol Records. 1991. 204502.
  7. ^ My Town (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Capitol Records. 1991. 12EM 212.
  8. ^ "Glass Tiger ARIA chart history complete". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1672." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 48. November 30, 1991. p. 25. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "European Hit Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 50. December 14, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Radio Luxembourg Singles. November 24, 1991.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  14. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. November 30, 1991. p. 16. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  15. ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved January 19, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  16. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 12, 1991. p. 25.
  17. ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 10/02/92: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 106. February 9, 1992. p. 17.
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