| Alone | |
| Cover: | BeeGeesAloneCDSingleCover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Bee Gees |
| Album: | Still Waters |
| B-Side: |
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| Length: |
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| Label: | Polydor |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | How to Fall in Love, Part 1 |
| Prev Year: | 1994 |
| Next Title: | I Could Not Love You More |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
"Alone" is a song by musical group the Bee Gees. The ballad, written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, is the opening track on their 21st studio album, Still Waters (1997), and was the first single released from the album on 17 February 1997. In the United Kingdom, the song was backed with two B-sides: "Closer Than Close" and "Rings Around the Moon", while in the United States, a live version of "Stayin' Alive" was included on the single releases.
The track was a worldwide hit, peaking at number five in the United Kingdom and number two in New Zealand, where it was the 10th-highest-selling single of 1997. In Canada, it reached number 20 and was the most successful adult contemporary song of 1997 according to RPM magazine. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the single peaked at number 28, making it the Bee Gees' 30th and final top-40 hit in the US, after being a Billboard "Hot Shot" debut at number 34.[1]
Maurice Gibb explained about the track:
Barry and Robin Gibb alternate on lead vocals on the track, with both mostly using the group's trademark falsetto.
British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five, adding, "Brits lifetime award-winners should crashland in the top five with their instantly-familiar harmonies and Barry Gibb's sure pop production (cod bagpipes over an ELO-style arrangement this time)."[2]
Two promotional videos directed by Nick Egan were made for the song. The first one, not shown in the United States, featured the brothers singing in a spinning room intercut with a female astronaut slowly removing her space suit in zero gravity, a homage to the opening of the 1968 sci-fi cult film Barbarella. The promo for the US featured the brothers recording the song in a studio, intercut with various clips of the brothers throughout the years, as well as segments of the original video.
A. "Alone" (single mix) – 4:20
B. "Stayin' Alive" (live) – 4:06
Personnel are sourced from Joseph Brennan.[10]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Czech Republic (IFPI CR)[11] | 5 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] | 8 |
| Hungary (Mahasz)[13] | 6 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[14] | 32 |
| Poland (Music & Media)[15] | 1 |
| Chart (1997) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[16] | 39 | |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] | 25 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18] | 40 | |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[19] | 1 | |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[20] | 33 | |
| France (SNEP)[21] | 34 | |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[22] | 28 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] | 91 | |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] | 10 | |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100)[25] | 26 | |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 24 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[27] [28] | 54 | |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[29] | 30 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 17 February 1997 | Polydor | [30] | |
| Japan | 12 March 1997 | Mini-CD | [31] | |
| United States | 25 March 1997 | Contemporary hit radio | [32] | |
| 20 May 1997 | [33] |
"Alone" was covered by American country music artist Monty Holmes on his 1998 debut album, All I Ever Wanted. It was released as the album's second single and peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[34]
