Eternity/The Road to Mandalay

"Eternity"/"The Road to Mandalay" is the fifth single from Robbie Williams' 2000 Sing When You're Winning album, released in July 2001. "Eternity" does not appear in the album but it was later included on Williams' Greatest Hits album. The lyrics of "Eternity" were written as a tribute to Williams' close friendship with Geri Halliwell and was the 20th-best-selling single of 2001 in the United Kingdom, topping the country's singles chart. Brian May plays guitar on the track.

"Eternity"/"The Road to Mandalay"
Single by Robbie Williams
from the album Sing When You're Winning
Released9 July 2001
Recorded2000
Genre
Length
  • 5:00 – "Eternity" (album version)
  • 4:12 – "Eternity" (radio edit)
  • 4:03 – "The Road to Mandalay" (album version)
  • 3:18 – "The Road to Mandalay" (radio edit)
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"Let Love Be Your Energy"
(2001)		 "Eternity" / "The Road to Mandalay"
(2001)		 "Better Man"
(2001)
Music video
"Eternity" on YouTube
Music video
"The Road to Mandalay" on YouTube

Though "Eternity" never appeared on a Robbie Williams studio album, a comedic snippet of the song can be heard in "Outtakes", a hidden track on Swing When You're Winning.

Music videos

The video for "The Road to Mandalay" shows Williams and four friends, driving a Jensen FF and a Ford Transit van, alternatively goofing around and scoping out a money transport van and the people who transport the money. When the robbery goes down, Williams and his friends dress with masks covering their faces and run into the transport van with a truck. Holding up a sign demanding the money, and showing the dog of one of the drivers, thus showing they know where to find the driver's family, they quickly move the money to another van, then celebrate while driving off. Williams invites his friends to his new plush house, celebrating with plenty of champagne and cake. The video ends with the van nearly running over an elderly lady, and with Williams waking up startled next to his girlfriend (Australian model Lisa Seiffert).

The video for "Eternity" is a sequel to "The Road to Mandalay". It was directed by Vaughan Arnell. It is mixed with scenes from the first video are scenes of Williams and his girlfriend lounging around their house, playing pool and walking along the beach and on the trampoline. These scenes are also intercut with scenes of Williams and his girlfriend standing opposite each other, looking wistfully at each other. The end of the video shows Williams giving his girlfriend a long parting kiss, then being handcuffed and led away by the police, who tracked him down from clues left at the scene of the robbery.

Both videos were shown together on Channel 4, as a short film called "Rob By Nature".

Chart success

The single became Williams' fourth number-one hit in the United Kingdom and his second in New Zealand. It also made its mark around Europe charting inside the top ten in most countries. The single went on to sell 70,186 in its first week in the United Kingdom, and overall sales exceeded the 340,000 copies being certified Silver by the BPI.[1][2]

Track listing
  1. "Eternity" – 5:00
  2. "The Road to Mandalay" – 3:56
  3. "Toxic" – 3:48

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[31] Gold 25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 400,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  2. Archived 12 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Austriancharts.at – Robbie Williams – Eternity" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  4. "Ultratop.be – Robbie Williams – Eternity" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Robbie Williams – Eternity" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  6. "Danishcharts.com – Robbie Williams – Eternity". Tracklisten.
  7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 31. 28 July 2001. p. 7. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  8. "Lescharts.com – Robbie Williams – Eternity" (in French). Les classement single.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Robbie Williams – Eternity". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Eternity / The Road to Mandalay". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. "Italiancharts.com – Robbie Williams – Eternity". Top Digital Download.
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 35, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Robbie Williams – Eternity" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. "Charts.nz – Robbie Williams – Eternity". Top 40 Singles.
  15. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19 no. 35. 25 August 2001. p. 12. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Robbie Williams – Eternity". Singles Top 100.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Robbie Williams – Eternity". Swiss Singles Chart.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  20. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2001" (in German). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  21. "Jaaroverzichten 2001" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  22. "Rapports annuels 2001" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  23. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 52. 22 December 2001. p. 14. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  24. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2001" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  25. "Best of Singles 2001". IRMA. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  26. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2001". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  27. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2001" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  28. "End of Year Charts 2001". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  29. "Swiss Year-End Charts of 2001" (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  30. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  31. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2001". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  32. "British single certifications – Robbie Williams – Eternity/The Road to Mandalay". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.