Song · Mike + The Mechanics
“The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics
From the album Feelings 18 (1992)
“The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1992 on the album Feelings 18. Its best result is #338 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,412 alternative song of all time.
Mike Rutherford wrote "The Living Years" with BA Robertson, and his band Mike + The Mechanics released it at the end of 1988, the second single pulled from their album Living Years. Paul Carrack takes the lead vocal on a soft-rock ballad about a son's regret over the unfinished business with a father who is now gone.
It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1989, the band's only chart-topper there and their last top-ten hit on it, and went to number one in Australia, Canada and Ireland while stopping at number 2 in the UK. It won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, drew four Grammy nominations including Record and Song of the Year, and Burt Bacharach later counted its words among the finest of the previous ten years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 954 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2026 | 338 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
| 2026 | 471 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.