Running the Endless Mile

Running the Endless Mile is the second album by John Parr, released in 1986. The lead single "Blame It on the Radio" reached U.S. #88, the only song to reach the U.S. singles charts. The first track on the album, "Two Hearts", was taken from the soundtrack to the film American Anthem. However, an earlier soundtrack hit, Parr's #1 hit of the previous summer "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" from the film of the same title (and also on the Atlantic label) was not included on this album, which may have limited its sales (the album failed to crack the Top 200 in the U.S.). Instead, a song that was on his first album, "Don't Leave Your Mark on Me" was repeated in a different version.

Background
Running the Endless Mile was recorded in various studios over a period of five months in 1986. Parr told Billboard in 1986, "I needed to have an album out this year because it's been two years since my last one. The only way to do it was in between promotion and gigs in Europe. So wherever I wrote, I recorded at the same time."

Track listing
All songs written by John Parr unless noted.
 * 1) "Two Hearts (American Anthem)" - 6:09
 * 2) "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" - 4:05
 * 3) "King of Lies" - 4:08
 * 4) "Running the Endless Mile" - 4:19
 * 5) "Don't Leave Your Mark on Me (Mark 2)" (Julia Downes, Parr) - 4:19
 * 6) "Scratch" - 4:39
 * 7) "Do It Again" - 4:08
 * 8) "Blame It on the Radio" - 4:16
 * 9) "The Story Still Remains the Same (Vices)" (Downes, Parr) - 3:52
 * 10) "Steal You Away (Flight of the Spruce Goose)" - 5:30

Personnel

 * John Parr - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
 * Pete Bonas - guitar
 * Craig Jones - guitar
 * Michael Landau - guitar
 * Christopher Marra - guitar
 * Bruce Laing - bass
 * Brad Lang - bass
 * Steve Bodicker - keyboards
 * John Cook - keyboards
 * Richard Cottle - keyboards
 * Julia Downes - keyboards
 * Randy Kerber - keyboards
 * Tony Mitman - keyboards
 * Neil Richmond - synthesizer, programming
 * Peter-John Vettese - keyboards
 * Martin Dobson - saxophone
 * Jerry Hey - horn
 * Tony Beard - drums
 * Graham Broad - drums, percussion
 * Peter Hammond - drums, percussion, engineer
 * Jeff Porcaro - drums, percussion
 * Roddy Matthews - backing vocals
 * Lee Matty - backing vocals
 * Chuck Kirkpatrick - backing vocals
 * Gareth Mortimer - backing vocals
 * Gill O'Donovan - backing vocals
 * John Sambataro - backing vocals
 * Karen Sambrooke - backing vocals
 * Chris Thompson - backing vocals
 * Marty Thompson - backing vocals
 * Will Gosling - engineer