Song · Thompson Twins
“King for a Day” by Thompson Twins
From the album Here’s to Future Days (1985)
“King for a Day” by Thompson Twins appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1985 and 2003. It was first released in 1985 on the album Here’s to Future Days. Its best result is #49 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #108 alternative song of 1985 and #6,258 alternative song of all time.
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"King for a Day" was the third single from Here's to Future Days, the Thompson Twins' fifth album, in 1985, and it came in two flavors. The UK version leaned harder on synths and carried a different set of lyrics, while the American and album versions brought in electric guitar; Nile Rodgers co-produced with Tom Bailey and added guitar and backing vocals of his own. Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway wrote it together.
America took to it more than Britain did, pushing it to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the Adult Contemporary chart, while its No. 22 UK peak was the band's last visit to the Top 40 there. Sweden loved it most: four straight weeks at number one in November 1985. The B-side, "Rollunder", reworked "Roll Over", a planned single pulled from sale at the last minute earlier that year.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 49 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 391 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 2003 | 1969 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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