‘Fox on the Run’ is a 1975 song by the British glam rock band Sweet, first recorded in 1974. It was the first Sweet single written by the band, rather than producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and was their 14th single overall. The song became the best charting single in Australia in 1975, with six weeks at number one.
Two versions were recorded by Sweet. The original version was produced by Mike Chapman in association with Nicky Chinn on the European version of the 1974 album Desolation Boulevard. Sweet also recorded and produced a more pop-oriented version as a 7" single in 1975, which is the more familiar version of the song. The 1975 single version was included on the Capitol Records version of Desolation Boulevard. The song's inclusion in the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 led to the song reaching number one on the iTunes Rock Chart in late 2016.
In this song, the band is addressing a groupie, who is the "fox on the run." ("Fox" being slang for an attractive woman.) Apparently, she's had more than one go with the band, as Brian Connolly sings that she doesn't look the same - probably a bit more worn from her lifestyle. He also makes it clear that he has no interest in hearing her talk and certainly doesn't want to know her name, the lyrics are apparently about one of the band's groupies; Bomp! called the song "a definitive hard-rock bubblegum record" and "one of the last glitter classics".
Sweet was produced by the glam rock architects Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, who also wrote most of their songs, including all of their hits to this point. Tired of being fed inferior songs and tumbling down the pecking order on Chin and Chapman’s roster (which included Suzi Quatro and Mud), dissatisfaction boiled over as the songwriting pair, who were also Sweet’s managers, spent more and more time in California. “They’d tried to pass us off with a couple of [sub-par] offerings, including Dyna-mite,” guitarist Andy Scott, remembers, referring to a song that Mud took into the top five, “but we needed something more in the vein of what we used to call ‘German matching songs’.”
“Just before Christmas [1974],” Scott recalls, “everybody just happened to be at my house when the managing director of RCA called to say: ‘We’re not getting the right answers from Mike and Nicky, but we really believe that Fox On The Run could be a hit’. And a week later we were in Ian Gillan’s studio, where nobody knew us; keeping things cloak and dagger was vital.” ‘Fox On The Run’ was written by the band - Brian Connolly, Stephen Priest, Andrew Scott, Michael Tucker - and included on their 1974 album Desolation Boulevard.
After the album was released, the band parted ways with Chapman and Chinn and produced their own material. Their first effort was a reworking of ‘Fox On The Run,’ which was originally helmed by Chapman/Chinn. Defying predictions of disaster, Sweet proved quite capable on their own, and the new version of ‘Fox,’ with a bright chorus and bold echo, became a global hit, reaching #2 UK and charting across Europe (it was #1 in Germany, where Sweet was wildly popular). It also became one of the few American hits for the band when it was released in the US as the follow-up to their single ‘Ballroom Blitz.’
Label – RCA Victor
Songwriters – Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Andy Scott, Mick Tucker
Producers – Sweet
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I don't wanna know your name
'Cause you don't look the same
The way you did before
Okay, you think you got a pretty face
But the rest of you is out of place
You looked alright before
[Chorus]
Fox on the run
You scream and everybody comes a-running
Take a run and hide yourself away
Foxy is on the run
F-foxy
Fox on the run
And hide away
[Verse 2]
You, you talk about just every band
But the names you drop are second-hand (second-hand)
I've heard it all before
I don't wanna know your name
'Cause you don't look the same
The way you did before
[Chorus]
Fox on the run
You scream and everybody comes a-running
Take a run and hide yourself away
Fox is on the run
F-foxy
Fox on the run
And hide away
[Chorus 2]
F-foxy
Fox on the run
You scream and everybody comes a-running
Take a run and hide yourself away
Fox is on the run
F-foxy
Fox on the run
And hide away
(Fox on the run)
(Fox on the run)
(Fox on the run)
(Fox)