Song · XTC
“King For A Day” by XTC
From the album Oranges & Lemons (1989)
“King For A Day” by XTC appears on 16 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1989 and 2014. It was first released in 1989 on the album Oranges & Lemons. Its best result is #67 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #111 alternative song of 1989 and #2,237 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (XTC - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"King for a Day" was Colin Moulding's turn in the spotlight on Oranges & Lemons, XTC's 1989 album for Virgin, and the second single taken from it. Moulding wrote the words and the music, and it's a sleek, shimmering slice of pop, all glide and stacked harmonies.
It only scraped to number 82 in Britain, though Music Week's reviewer admired its smooth sound and catchy harmonies. The video featured a cameo from guitarist Dave Gregory's brother Ian, drummer with the Dukes of Stratosphear, and when XTC played the song on Late Night with David Letterman it was the first time they'd performed live in seven years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 67 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989 | 107 |
| 1989 | 71 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 347 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1999 | 1976 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1969 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1974 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1957 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1495 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1265 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2007 | 1155 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1095 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1124 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1161 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1200 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1259 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1289 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
Also listed as: King for a Day.
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