Artist · chart history
Living in a Box
Band Sheffield United Kingdom Active 1985–1991
Living in a Box formed in 1985 in Sheffield, United Kingdom and was active until 1991. Living in a Box has 3 chart appearances on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1987–2003. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Living in a Box”, which appears on 3 lists with a best position of #61. The station that charted Living in a Box most often is Fred (XM 44) (XM Satellite Radio (national)), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1987.
Living in a Box came together in Sheffield in 1985, and their debut single shared the band's name: in 1987 "Living in a Box" went to number 5 in the UK and made the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 in America. Richard Darbyshire sang and played guitar, Marcus Vere handled the synthesizers and keyboards, and Anthony "Tich" Critchlow sat behind the drums, with Chrysalis putting the records out.
The sound is sleek sophisti-pop with a funk engine under the bonnet: synthesizer hooks polished to a mirror shine, rhythms that know their way around a dancefloor, and Darbyshire's blue-eyed soul voice doing the heavy lifting. Sharp suits for the ears, if you like, but with real sweat underneath.
"Room in Your Heart" matched the debut's number 5 in Britain in 1989, but the original run was over by 1991. Critchlow and Vere later brought the name back with a new singer, Bryan Chambers.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Living in a Box on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Living in a Box | 3 | #61 | – | 1987 |
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1209 | Living in a Box | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2002 | 1633 | Living in a Box | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) |
| 1987 | 61 | Living in a Box | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 |
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