Walk of Life (Billie Piper song)

"Walk of Life"
Single by Billie Piper
from the album Walk of Life
B-side"Caress the Gold"
Released11 December 2000 (2000-12-11)
Length3:49
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Andreas Romdhane
  • Jim Marr
  • Josef Larossi
  • Wendy Page
Billie Piper singles chronology
"Something Deep Inside"
(2000) 		"Walk of Life"
(2000)

"Walk of Life" is a song by English singer Billie Piper, written by Piper and Wendy Page for her second studio album, Walk of Life (2000). It was released as Piper's final single in December 2000 following her decision to retire from the music industry.[1] It was her first single to miss the top five in the United Kingdom, stalling at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's music video was directed by Jamie Morgan.[2]

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from music critics. Yahoo! reviewer Jackie Flynn wrote that she had heard the song "a hundred times before" and compared it to "Mama" by Kim Appleby.[3] Peter Robinson of NME wrote that "Walk of Life" "sounds nice", but "lacks the excitement" of previous singles.[4]

Release and chart performance

"Walk of Life" was released in the United Kingdom on 11 December 2000 as a CD and cassette single.[5] The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart on 23 December 2000 at number 25, its peak.[6] It remained on the chart for five weeks and became the lowest-charting single of Piper's career despite heavy promotion.[7] In Switzerland, the song debuted at number 66 on the Swiss Singles Chart on 4 February 2001.[8] It failed to chart in Australia and New Zealand despite the previous single, "Something Deep Inside", reaching the top 20.[9]

Track listings

Charts

Chart (2000–2001) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[13] 96
Scotland (OCC)[14] 30
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 66
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 25

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (17 July 2001). "Is Billie right to retire from pop?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b Walk of Life (UK CD1 liner notes). Billie Piper. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2000. SINCD23, 7243 8 97296 03.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Flynn, Jackie. "Yahoo! Music Album Review: Billie - 'Walk Of Life'. Yahoo!. 5 October 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  4. ^ Robinson, Peter. "NME Reviews: "Walk of Life"". NME. 24 November 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  5. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting December 11, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 9 December 2000. p. 27. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Billie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Billie Piper – Walk of Life". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Billie Piper – Something Deep Inside". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ Walk of Life (UK CD2 liner notes). Billie Piper. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2000. SINDX23, 7243 8 97297 26.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Walk of Life (UK cassette single sleeve). Billie Piper. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2000. SINC23, 7243 8 97296 41.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Walk of Life (European CD single liner notes). Billie Piper. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2000. SINCDE23, 7243 8 97360 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 1. 30 December 2000. p. 5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2019.