You're Lionel Richie

Album: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by an incident when the band's garrulous guitarist Stuart Braithwaite bumped into the titular soul crooner at an airport. Inebriated at the time, he spluttered, "You're Lionel Richie!"
  • Mogwai are renowned for the interesting titles they have for their largely instrumental tracks. Spinner UK spoke with guitarist-keyboardist Barry Burns about how they come up with their song names. He explained: "Most times it's down to two or four of us and someone will write something down on their iPhone or whatever and we'll try to remember it. But it's also a great way to remember our songs. Someone once suggested that we call them after numbers, like we'd have song called 'One,' then 'Two' and 'Three' and so on and I though that's so pretentious. And I'd never remember which song it was. Can you imagine the setlist? Oh, we're gonna play song 'Three' from album 'Four.' There's just no way!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.