"Skateaway"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Making Movies
B-side"Solid Rock"
ReleasedDecember 1980 (US)
  • March 1981 (UK)[1]
Recorded20 June – 25 August 1980
Genre
Length6:40 (album version)
4:43 (single version)
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Romeo and Juliet"
(1980)		 "Skateaway"
(1980)		 "Tunnel of Love"
(1981)
Music video
"Skateaway" on YouTube

"Skateaway" is a 1980 rock song by Dire Straits, dealing with a female roller-skater breezing through busy city streets, while listening to a portable radio through her headphones. It appears on the band's 1980 album Making Movies. It was released as a single in 1980,[4] and in January 1981 peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100[5] and number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] The song was accompanied by a video that was popular on MTV, featuring musician Jayzik Azikiwe (1958–2008) as Rollergirl. The daughter of Nigeria's first president Nnamdi Azikiwe, she was credited as Jay Carly in the video directed by Lester Bookbinder.

Record World said that the narrative is "as vivid as [Knopfler's] guitar is distinctive".[7] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "Skateaway" as Dire Straits' 7th best song, saying that it "sticks closer to a traditional rock-radio format" than the other songs on Making Movies.[2]

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 47
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 58

See also

  • Video for 2014 song "Gold" by Chet Faker featured three female roller-skaters

References

  1. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 227. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. 1 2 Gallucci, Michael (20 July 2013). "Top 10 Dire Straits Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  3. ↑ Berman, Stuart (24 August 2017). "A Brief History of Heartland Synth Rock, Inspired by the War on Drugs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Dire Straits – Skateaway". Discogs. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Dire Straits Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 13 December 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dire Straits – Skateaway". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
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