Livin' Thing

"Livin' Thing"
Song

9 tracks
	Side one "Tightrope"; "Telephone Line"; "Rockaria!"; "Mission (A World Record)"; Side two "So Fine"; "Livin' Thing"; "Above the Clouds"; "Do Ya"; "Shangri-La";

"Livin' Thing"
"Livin' Thing"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side	"Fire On High" (UK); "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" (US);
Released	4 October 1976 (US); 13 November 1976 (UK);
Format	7" single
Recorded	Musicland Studios, Munich; 1976
Genre	Symphonic rock
Length	3:32
Label	Jet; United Artists (UK); United Artists (US)
Writer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
A New World Record track listing
9 tracks
	Side one "Tightrope"; "Telephone Line"; "Rockaria!"; "Mission (A World Record)"; Side two "So Fine"; "Livin' Thing"; "Above the Clouds"; "Do Ya"; "Shangri-La";
Music sample
	"Livin' Thing" Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player.; You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser.
Music video
	"Livin' Thing" on YouTube

"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album, A New World Record. Patti Quatro, Brie Brandt, both of Fanny, and Addie Lee sang uncredited vocals, particularly the 'higher and higher' parts.^[1]

In August 2006, "Livin' Thing" was named by the UK's Q as the number 1 'Guilty Pleasure' single of all time – a list designed to celebrate 'uncool' but excellent records, and which received considerable publicity.^[2] The original single had the bonus of having "Fire On High" on the flip side, a song that became the band's most popular instrumental piece. The UK version was released in a blue vinyl format.

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–77)	Peak Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[3]	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[4]	3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[5]	8
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)^[6]	8
Canada (CHUM)^[7]	4
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[8]	41
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[9]	8
Germany (Official German Charts)^[10]	5
Ireland (IRMA)^[11]	6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[12]	6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[13]	4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[14]	4
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[15]	1
Spain (AFE)^[16]	11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[17]	17
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[18]	4
US Billboard Hot 100^[19]	13
US Cash Box^[20]	10
US Record World^[21]	10

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)	Position
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)^[22]	106
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[23]	85

Chart (1977)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[24]	27
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[25]	25
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)^[26]	106
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[27]	16
US Billboard Hot 100^[28]	77

Preceded by "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago	South African number-one single 18 March 1977 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Smile" by Pussycat

Jeff Lynne version

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.^[29]

Covers

In 2004, The Beautiful South covered the track for their covers album Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs. It reached number 24 on the UK charts and number 26 on the Irish charts.^[30]^[31]

Livin' Thing – CD1 (Sony Music UK; 6753711)

Livin' Thing [3:17]
I'm Living Good [4:00]

Livin' Thing – CD2 (Sony Music UK; 6753712)

Livin' Thing [3:17]
Lovin' You [2:53]
Another Night with the Boys [3:32]

Chart (2004)	Peak Position
Ireland (IRMA)^[30]	26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[31]	24

Uses in films

The song has appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Boogie Nights, the 2005 film Tjenare kungen, the 2007 film, Chaos Theory and the 2011 film Hunky Dory.

References

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↑ "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ CHART NUMBER 1042 – Wednesday, December 29, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4446." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5169a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
↑ "Officialcharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Thing search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
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↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ "Archive Chart: 1976-12-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 25, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 March 2013). CHUM. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
↑ RECORD WORLD 1977 at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 August 2005). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
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↑ ^30.0 ^30.1 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Livin' Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
↑ ^31.0 ^31.1 "Archive Chart: 2004-10-17" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

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[sc_Austria_Electric_Light_Orchestra-4] "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_Flanders_Electric_Light_Orchestra-5] "Ultratop.be – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[6] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[7] CHART NUMBER 1042 – Wednesday, December 29, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_Canadaadultcontemporary_-8] "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4446." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-9] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5169a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

[ac_Germany2_Electric_Light_Orchestra-10] "Officialcharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_Ireland2_-11] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

[sc_Dutch40_Electric_Light_Orchestra_-_Thing-12] "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Thing search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_Dutch100_Electric_Light_Orchestra-13] "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_New_Zealand_Electric_Light_Orchestra-14] "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

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[sc_Sweden_Electric_Light_Orchestra-17] "Swedishcharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[sc_UK_-18] "Archive Chart: 1976-12-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

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[20] CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 25, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 March 2013). CHUM. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

[21] RECORD WORLD 1977 at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 August 2005). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

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[IRL-30] 30.0 ^30.1 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Livin' Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

[UK-31] 31.0 ^31.1 "Archive Chart: 2004-10-17" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

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Livin' Thing

Contents

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Jeff Lynne version

Covers

Uses in films

References

External links

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