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{{Short description|2003 single by Mark Owen}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox single | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs -->
{{Infobox song
| Name = Four Minute Warning
| name = Four Minute Warning
| Cover = Four_Minute_Warning_Single_Cover.jpg
| cover = Four_Minute_Warning_Single_Cover.jpg
⚫
| Artist = [[Mark Owen]]
| from Album = [[In Your Own Time]]
| alt =
| B-side = "Live If You Try"<br>"Jaywalker"
| type = single
⚫
| artist = [[Mark Owen]]
| Released = 4 August 2003<ref name="asin">{{Cite web
| album = [[In Your Own Time]]
|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000AKXOH
| B-side = {{ubl|"Live If You Try"|"Jaywalker"}}
|title=Four Minute Warning: Mark Owen: Amazon.co.uk
| released = {{start date|2003|8|4|df=y}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2003/Music-Week-2003-08-02.pdf|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=27|date=2 August 2003|access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref>
|accessdate=14 August 2011
| recorded =
}}</ref>
| Format = CD Single
| studio =
| Recorded = 2002-2003
| venue =
| Genre = [[Pop rock]]
| genre = <!-- Do not add unsourced genres -->
| Length = 4:05
| length = 4:05
| Label = [[Island Records|Island]]
| label = [[Island Records|Island]]
⚫
| writer = {{hlist|[[Eliot Kennedy]]|[[Mark Owen]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=360597508&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1|title=ASCAP Entry for Song|publisher=ASCAP|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref>}}
| Writer = [[Gary Barlow]]<br> [[Eliot Kennedy]]<br> [[Mark Owen]] <ref>{{Cite web
⚫
| producer = Henry Priestman
⚫
|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=360597508&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1
⚫
| prev_title = [[I Am What I Am (Mark Owen song)|I Am What I Am]]
|title=ASCAP Entry for Song
| prev_year = 1997
|publisher=ASCAP
⚫
| next_title = [[Alone Without You]]
|accessdate=22 October 2010}}</ref>
| next_year = 2003
⚫
| Producer = Henry Priestman
⚫
| Last single = "[[I Am What I Am (Mark Owen song)|I Am What I Am]]"<br>(1997)
⚫
| This single = "'''Four Minute Warning'''"<br>(2003)
⚫
| Next single = "[[Alone Without You]]"<br>(2003)
}}
}}


'''"Four Minute Warning"''' is the first single to be released from [[Take That]] band member [[Mark Owen]]'s second solo studio album, ''[[In Your Own Time]]''. The single was released on 4 August 2003.<ref name="asin" /> The single peaked at #4 on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name="ukchart" /> making it his third UK top 10 single. It sold over 80,000 copies in the UK. It was Owen's first single to be released on [[Island Records]], after he was dropped from [[RCA Records|RCA]] in September 1997.
"'''Four Minute Warning'''" is the first single released from [[Take That]] band member [[Mark Owen]]'s second solo studio album, ''[[In Your Own Time]]''. The single was released on 4 August 2003 as his first single on [[Island Records]], after he was dropped from [[RCA Records|RCA]] in September 1997. The single peaked at number four on the [[UK Singles Chart]], making it his third UK top-ten single. It has sold over 80,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The song also reached number 37 in Ireland and number 52 in the Netherlands.


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
The song is based on the [[Four-minute warning]], a public alert system conceived by the [[British government]] during the [[Cold War]] (1953–1992), which was based on the estimated time it would take an [[ICBM]] from detection to reach its target. Owen's lyrics, on one level, depict people in [[denial]] of their own demise and the political circumstances that cause it. On the other, it gives the listener the impression of the shattered dreams of a group of people caught up in a [[nuclear warfare|nuclear strike]] on an unnamed British city. They also give a snapshot of the society through the people Owen portrays, while at the same time narrating the period between the [[UKWMO]] issuing a warning and the impact in real time (Owen's song is slightly over four minutes long). This is done with a countdown in the lyrics akin to [[Crass]]'s song ''They've got a bomb'', which appears on their album [[The Feeding of the 5000 (album)|The Feeding Of The 5000]]. Each time the chorus is repeated, one minute is removed from the countdown. The lyrics near the end of the song provocatively ask the listener what would they do if such a warning was given, provoking listeners to empathise with the characters. The Chorus is an allusion to [[Peter Donaldson]]'s warning message.
The song is based on the [[Four-minute warning]], a public alert system conceived by the [[British government]] during the [[Cold War]] (1953–1992), which was based on the estimated time it would take an [[ICBM]] from detection to reach its target. Owen's lyrics, on one level, depict people in [[denial]] of their own demise and the political circumstances that cause it. On the other, it gives the listener the impression of the shattered dreams of a group of people caught up in a [[nuclear warfare|nuclear strike]] on an unnamed British city. They also give a snapshot of the society through the people Owen portrays, while at the same time narrating the period between the [[UKWMO]] issuing a warning and the impact in real time (Owen's song is slightly over four minutes long). This is done with a countdown in the lyrics akin to [[Crass]]'s song ''They've got a bomb'', which appears on their album [[The Feeding of the 5000 (album)|The Feeding of the 5000]]. Each time the chorus is repeated, one minute is removed from the countdown. The lyrics near the end of the song provocatively ask the listener what would they do if such a warning was given, provoking listeners to empathise with the characters. The Chorus is an allusion to [[Peter Donaldson (newsreader)|Peter Donaldson]]'s warning message.


===Video===
===Video===
The music video was directed by [[Lindy Heymann]] and runs on a total length of over four minutes. The video took over 14 hours to film. Prior to the video, Heymann was given the track only being told that it was by Mark Owen. After listening to the track, she late come up of the "end of the world" idea for the video. The concept for the video included a dark twist, but the label said that, from a marketing point of view, "this would push the '[[Take That]]' fans away because Mark Owen is like ''the boy next door''". Owen, however, praised her idea and even said that the idea "wasn't dark enough" and put the idea forward of him being dead at the end of the video. When the idea aroused to the label, however, they were against it and tried to convince the director that they want Owen to maintain his original image. The original idea was supposed to be filmed in an empty part of London, but wasn't able to due to financial restrictions.
⚫
Like the lyrics, the video is a snap shot of British society at the time of the conflict. It juxtaposes the characters actions of denial with subsequent mass panic as an attack is imminent, while Owen walks through a British city whose streets become deserted. It is littered with subtle references to British cold war propaganda films, such as the infamous [[Protect and Survive]] series. The video sublty refers to the rising and falling note of the air attack sirens in the opening shots, which was the official warning of imminent attack since [[World War II]] (The [[Protect and Survive]] [[Public information film]]s, ''The Warnings'' and ''Action After Warnings'' illustrate this). A discarded newspaper with the Headline "Four Minute Warning" being blown across the streets refers to Sound An Alarm (1971), a film commissioned by the [[Home Office]]'s [[United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation]] to illustrate their role. In Sound an Alarm, we see a headline "War imminent?" on an advertisement for a newspaper being blown across the street, only for it to get stuck on the grille of a character's car. While it refers to propaganda films, it could also be seen to refer to the concept of [[nuclear winter]] through the darkening skies over the city (though these could also be references to the [[BBC]] Drama ''[[Threads]]'' by implicitly suggesting mushroom clouds)
==Track listing==
; UK Promo Single
⚫
# "Four Minute Warning" [Shanghai Surprise Mix] - 6:44
⚫
# "Four Minute Warning" [Full Length Version] - 6:47


⚫
Like the lyrics, the video is a snap shot of British society at the time of the conflict. It juxtaposes the characters actions of denial with subsequent mass panic as an attack is imminent, while Owen walks through a British city whose streets become deserted. It is littered with subtle references to British cold war propaganda films, such as the infamous [[Protect and Survive]] series. The video subtly refers to the rising and falling note of the air attack sirens in the opening shots, which was the official warning of imminent attack since [[World War II]] (The [[Protect and Survive]] [[Public information film]]s, ''The Warnings'' and ''Action After Warnings'' illustrate this). A discarded newspaper with the Headline "Four Minute Warning" being blown across the streets refers to Sound An Alarm (1971), a film commissioned by the [[Home Office]]'s [[United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation]] to illustrate their role. In Sound an Alarm, we see a headline "War imminent?" on an advertisement for a newspaper being blown across the street, only for it to get stuck on the grille of a character's car. While it refers to propaganda films, it could also be seen to refer to the concept of [[nuclear winter]] through the darkening skies over the city (though these could also be references to the [[BBC]] Drama ''[[Threads (1984 film)|Threads]]'' by implicitly suggesting mushroom clouds)
; UK CD Single
# "Four Minute Warning" - 4:07
⚫
# "Live If You Try" - 3:51
⚫
# "Jaywalker" - 3:48
# "Four Minute Warning" [Video] - 4:12


==Chart performance==
==Track listings==
'''UK CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Four Minute Warning|others=[[Mark Owen]]|year=2003|type=UK CD single liner notes|publisher=[[Island Records]], [[Universal Records]]|id=MCSTD 40329, 980 963-4}}</ref>
⚫
{| class="wikitable"
⚫
# "Four Minute Warning"
⚫
!align="left"|Chart (2003)
⚫
# "Live If You Try"
⚫
!align="left"|Peak<br/>Position
⚫
# "Jaywalker"
⚫
# "Four Minute Warning" (video)

'''European CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Four Minute Warning|others=Mark Owen|year=2003|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Island Records, Universal Records|id=981060-5}}</ref>
⚫
# "Four Minute Warning"
# "Live If You Try"

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
⚫
!scope="col"|Chart (2003)
⚫
!scope="col"|Peak<br>position
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Hot 100]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ThEEAAAAMBAJ|title=Billboard|first=Nielsen Business Media|last=Inc|date=23 August 2003|publisher=Nielsen Business Media |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
|align="left"|Europe Hot 100<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=ThEEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1</ref>
|align="center"|17
|align="center"|17
|-
|-
{{singlechart|Ireland|37|week=25|year=2003}}
{{singlechart|Ireland3|37|artist=Mark Owen|rowheader=true|access-date=17 January 2020}}
|-
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch100|52|artist=Mark Owen|song=Four Minute Warning|rowheader=true|access-date=14 August 2011}}
{{singlechart
|Dutch100|52|song=Four Minute Warning|artist=Mark Owen
|accessdate=14 August 2011}}
|-
|-
{{singlechart|Scotland|2|date=2003-08-10}}
{{singlechart|Scotland|2|date=20030810|rowheader=true}}
|-
|-
{{singlechart|UK|4|date=20030816|rowheader=true|access-date=14 August 2011}}
{{singlechart
|}
|UK|4|song=Four Minute Warning|artist=Mark Owen
{{col-2}}
|date=2003-08-16|accessdate=14 August 2011|refname=ukchart}}

===Year-end charts===
⚫
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"|Chart (2003)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2003.pdf|title=The Official UK Singles Chart 2003|work=[[UKChartsPlus]]|access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref>
|align="center"|83
|}
|}
{{col-end}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Mark Owen}}
{{Mark Owen}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Minute Warning (Song)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Minute Warning (Song)}}
[[Category:2003 singles]]
[[Category:2003 singles]]
[[Category:2003 songs]]
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[[Category:Island Records singles]]
[[Category:Mark Owen songs]]
[[Category:Mark Owen songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mark Owen]]
[[Category:Songs about nuclear war and weapons]]
[[Category:Songs about nuclear war and weapons]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gary Barlow]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gary Barlow]]
[[Category:Songs written by Eliot Kennedy]]
[[Category:Songs written by Eliot Kennedy]]
[[Category:2003 songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mark Owen]]
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[[Category:Island Records singles]]

Latest revision as of 04:24, 30 May 2024

"Four Minute Warning"
Single by Mark Owen
from the album In Your Own Time
B-side
  • "Live If You Try"
  • "Jaywalker"
Released4 August 2003 (2003-08-04)[1]
Length4:05
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Henry Priestman
Mark Owen singles chronology
"I Am What I Am"
(1997) 		"Four Minute Warning"
(2003) 		"Alone Without You"
(2003)

"Four Minute Warning" is the first single released from Take That band member Mark Owen's second solo studio album, In Your Own Time. The single was released on 4 August 2003 as his first single on Island Records, after he was dropped from RCA in September 1997. The single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, making it his third UK top-ten single. It has sold over 80,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The song also reached number 37 in Ireland and number 52 in the Netherlands.

Synopsis

[edit]

The song is based on the Four-minute warning, a public alert system conceived by the British government during the Cold War (1953–1992), which was based on the estimated time it would take an ICBM from detection to reach its target. Owen's lyrics, on one level, depict people in denial of their own demise and the political circumstances that cause it. On the other, it gives the listener the impression of the shattered dreams of a group of people caught up in a nuclear strike on an unnamed British city. They also give a snapshot of the society through the people Owen portrays, while at the same time narrating the period between the UKWMO issuing a warning and the impact in real time (Owen's song is slightly over four minutes long). This is done with a countdown in the lyrics akin to Crass's song They've got a bomb, which appears on their album The Feeding of the 5000. Each time the chorus is repeated, one minute is removed from the countdown. The lyrics near the end of the song provocatively ask the listener what would they do if such a warning was given, provoking listeners to empathise with the characters. The Chorus is an allusion to Peter Donaldson's warning message.

Video

[edit]

The music video was directed by Lindy Heymann and runs on a total length of over four minutes. The video took over 14 hours to film. Prior to the video, Heymann was given the track only being told that it was by Mark Owen. After listening to the track, she late come up of the "end of the world" idea for the video. The concept for the video included a dark twist, but the label said that, from a marketing point of view, "this would push the 'Take That' fans away because Mark Owen is like the boy next door". Owen, however, praised her idea and even said that the idea "wasn't dark enough" and put the idea forward of him being dead at the end of the video. When the idea aroused to the label, however, they were against it and tried to convince the director that they want Owen to maintain his original image. The original idea was supposed to be filmed in an empty part of London, but wasn't able to due to financial restrictions.

Like the lyrics, the video is a snap shot of British society at the time of the conflict. It juxtaposes the characters actions of denial with subsequent mass panic as an attack is imminent, while Owen walks through a British city whose streets become deserted. It is littered with subtle references to British cold war propaganda films, such as the infamous Protect and Survive series. The video subtly refers to the rising and falling note of the air attack sirens in the opening shots, which was the official warning of imminent attack since World War II (The Protect and Survive Public information films, The Warnings and Action After Warnings illustrate this). A discarded newspaper with the Headline "Four Minute Warning" being blown across the streets refers to Sound An Alarm (1971), a film commissioned by the Home Office's United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation to illustrate their role. In Sound an Alarm, we see a headline "War imminent?" on an advertisement for a newspaper being blown across the street, only for it to get stuck on the grille of a character's car. While it refers to propaganda films, it could also be seen to refer to the concept of nuclear winter through the darkening skies over the city (though these could also be references to the BBC Drama Threads by implicitly suggesting mushroom clouds)

Track listings

[edit]

UK CD single[3]

  1. "Four Minute Warning"
  2. "Live If You Try"
  3. "Jaywalker"
  4. "Four Minute Warning" (video)

European CD single[4]

  1. "Four Minute Warning"
  2. "Live If You Try"

Charts

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 August 2003. p. 27. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  2. ^ "ASCAP Entry for Song". ASCAP. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  3. ^ Four Minute Warning (UK CD single liner notes). Mark Owen. Island Records, Universal Records. 2003. MCSTD 40329, 980 963-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Four Minute Warning (European CD single liner notes). Mark Owen. Island Records, Universal Records. 2003. 981060-5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (23 August 2003). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media – via Internet Archive. {{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help); Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Mark Owen". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Mark Owen – Four Minute Warning" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  10. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
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