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"Run Away"
1994 European single release
Single by Real McCoy
from the album Another Night
Released	18 July 1994
Genre	Eurodance
Length	4:03
Label	Hansa
Songwriter(s)	Juergen Wind (J.Wind) Quickmix Olaf Jeglitza
Producer(s)	Juergen Wind (J.Wind) Frank Hassas
Real McCoy singles chronology
"Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" (1994) "Run Away" (1994) "Love & Devotion" (1995)
Music video
"Run Away" on YouTube

"Run Away" is a song by German Eurodance and pop music project Real McCoy (also known as M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy) from their album Another Night (1995), which was the US version of their second album, Space Invaders (1994). The song was produced by music producers Juergen Wind (J. Wind) and Frank Hassas (Quickmix) under the producer team name "Freshline". It was first released in Germany in July 1994 by Hansa. "Run Away" reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it was certified gold, and number six in the United Kingdom. A music video was produced to promote the single, made especially for the European market, directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Bryan Buss named "Run Away" one of the standout tracks from Another Night. Larry Flick from Billboard magazine stated that this follow-up to the certified platinum "Another Night" "does not tamper with the European dance act's winning (and much-copied) formula of bouncy hi-NRG rhythms, topped with throaty male rapping and female chirping at the chorus. Single has already begun to gather deserved airplay from a number of crossover and top 40 stations on import—its domestic release almost guarantees instant success." Chuck Eddy from Entertainment Weekly wrote that the Berlin trio "has invaded U.S. radio by tap-dancing space-invader-disco synths beneath soul-diva testifying, "Sprockets"-accented raps, and Martian munchkin chatter. Yet there's an odd paranoid undercurrent flowing through tunes like "Run Away" — the best dance-pop here isn't merely escapist; it's about escaping." Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report felt that "the title of this one says it all. Programmers have been playing this import since late last year and now the official release is here. This one should be as big or bigger than their debut release". Howard Cohen from Herald-Journal described it as "tuneful".

Robbie Daw from Idolator declared it as "energetic" and "strobelight-friendly". A reviewer from Liverpool Echo called it a "rousing pop/rap track with an escapist message." Dennis Hunt of Los Angeles Times viewed it as "awfully catchy". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "All the elements that made "Another Night" such a smash are here once again, it may be a standard Eurohit formula but it works so why argue? MC Sar mutters and grumbles to an electronic backing pausing only to let the chorus in at regular intervals." Pan-European magazine Music & Media encouraged, "Take a bit of this smooth slice of Eurodance, which serves as a preview for the forthcoming Space Invaders album. As the title implies ambient influences are present, even in the radio mixes." Alan Jones from Music Week called it "horribly catchy", stating that it "will be another substantial hit." John Kilgo from The Network Forty described it as "dynamite". Stephen Dalton from NME praised "sensual, rollicking beauties" like Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" and "Run Away". People Magazine felt songs like this "pack so many beats into 4 minutes that just listening to them is thoroughly exhausting." James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update deemed it a "less distinctive follow-up" and "Boney M-ish".

Chart performance

In Europe, "Run Away" entered the top 10 in Finland (4), Ireland (5), and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number six on 29 January 1995, in its second week at the UK Singles Chart. The song was a top-20 hit in Belgium and Sweden, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 and European Dance Radio Chart, where it reached number twelve and twenty, respectively in February. Outside Europe, "Run Away" peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and the Cash Box Top 100. On the Billboard Hot 100's year-end chart, the song ended up as number 38. In Canada, it reached number thirteen on The Record singles chart, number 33 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, and number ten on the RPM Dance/Urban chart. The song additionally reached number four in Australia, number five in Zimbabwe, and number six in New Zealand.

Music video

There were produced two different music videos for "Run Away". The first version, made for the European market and directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley, features singer Patricia "Patsy" Petersen walking in a desert-like setting while miming the vocals of studio singer Karin Kasar. The American version, directed by British music video and film director Nigel Dick, is set in a factory with many exhausted "slave-like" workers, while rapper Olaf "O-Jay" Jeglitza plays the role of "Big Brother", monitoring the workers' progress and demanding maximum productivity from them. It was never released for public broadcasting, since Arista felt that the image of the video was too dark and negative.

Impact and legacy

Idolator included "Run Away" on their list of "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995" in 2015. American entertainment company BuzzFeed ranked it number 56 on their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017. In 2019, Billboard placed it at number 419 on their ranking of "Billboard's Top Songs of the '90s".

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

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2. Flick, Larry (11 March 1995). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
3. Eddy, Chuck (5 May 1995). "Music Review: 'Another Night'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
4. Sholin, Dave (10 February 1995). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2041. p. 46. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
5. Cohen, Howard (13 April 1995). "Beatles release shows group at working best". Herald-Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
6. ^ Daw, Robbie (9 December 2015). "The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1995 (Featuring New Interviews With Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Kylie Minogue, Monica, Ace Of Base & More!)". Idolator. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
7. "MC Sar & The Reel McCoy: Run Away". Liverpool Echo. 20 January 1995. page 49.
8. Hunt, Dennis (16 April 1995). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
9. Masterton, James (22 January 1995). "Week Ending January 28th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
10. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 38. 17 September 1994. p. 6. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
11. Jones, Alan (14 January 1995). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 26. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
12. Kilgo, John (17 February 1995). "Mainstream: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. p. 20. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
13. Dalton, Stephen (4 November 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
14. "Picks and Pans Review: Another Night". People. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
15. Hamilton, James (21 January 1995). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
16. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 9789511210535.
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29. Belgian peak Archived 9 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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56. "British single certifications – Mc Sar & The Real Mccoy – Run Away". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
57. "American single certifications – Real Mc Coy – Runaway". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
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59. "ラン・アウェイ | リアル・マッコイ" [Run Away | Real McCoy] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 21 September 2023.

• 1994 songs
• 1994 singles
• 1995 singles
• Arista Records singles
• Hansa Records singles
• Logic Records singles
• Music videos directed by Matt Broadley
• Music videos directed by Nigel Dick
• Real McCoy (band) songs
• Songs written by Jürgen Wind