"Family Man" | ||||
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Single by Mike Oldfield | ||||
from the album Five Miles Out | ||||
B-side | "Mount Teide" | |||
Released | 28 May 1982 | |||
Format | Vinyl | |||
Recorded | Buckinghamshire, 1981–1982 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 3:45 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
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Mike Oldfield singles chronology | ||||
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"Family Man" | ||||
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Single by Hall & Oates | ||||
from the album H2O | ||||
B-side | "Maneater" "Open All Night" |
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Released | April 30, 1983 | |||
Format | Vinyl record (7", 12") | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:25 (album version/single version) 5:49 (extended dance mix) |
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Label | RCA | |||
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Hall & Oates singles chronology | ||||
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"Family Man" is a pop rock song written by Mike Oldfield, Tim Cross, Rick Fenn, Mike Frye, Morris Pert, and Maggie Reilly. It first became a hit song in 1982 for Mike Oldfield with Maggie Reilly as vocalist. American duo Hall & Oates achieved some success a year later with their cover version.
The song "Family Man" was first recorded and released as a single by musician Mike Oldfield in 1982 on Virgin Records. It was taken from his studio album Five Miles Out, with vocals performed by Maggie Reilly.
In the UK the single was released as a standard black 7-inch vinyl and a 7-inch picture disc featuring a photographic portrait of Oldfield. The single cover depicts a scene where a gentleman in a black suit sitting at a bar, being approached from behind by a woman in a red outfit.
According to an interview in 1998, Oldfield wrote all of the music for the chorus, and verses were written by the other writers.Tim Cross has also claimed to have written the majority of the lyrics for the song, and cited Rick Fenn as the inspiration of the "family man" mentioned in the song.
The song is about a man who is being solicited by a prostitute and his protestations because he is a "family man." The original version has the woman storming off after his rejection.
The American duo Hall & Oates covered "Family Man" for their H2O studio album and it reached number 6 on the US Hot 100 in June 1983. Their version of the song has some altered lyrics, including a line in which the man finally gets the nerve to take up the woman's offer, but she has left, and he screams out the chorus.