With the world of aviation often described as one of romance, it is unsurprising that it has been the subject of various kinds of art over the years. One such medium is music, where several artists have helped write iconic aircraft into the history books with songs that reference them, with some doing so more explicitly than others.
Supermarine Spitfire
One of the most iconic aircraft from the Second World War was the famous Spitfire. Supermarine produced more than 20,000 of these single-seat fighters between 1938 and 1948, and they have become synonymous with the Battle of Britain. Though few examples remain airworthy today, they always catch eyes wherever they go.
In 2013, UK alternative rock group Public Service Broadcasting released their debut album, Inform-Educate-Entertain. This work extensively used archive audio to, as the band’s website puts it, “teach the lessons of the past through the music of the future,” with various events and themes from the 20th century being covered.
The album’s second track, Spitfire, pays tribute to the legendary Supermarine fighter aircraft, by layering quotes from the 1942 film The First Of The Few over a strong, guitar-led instrumental track. It certainly went down well with The New Yorker, with the publication describing it as a ‘highlight’ and “an unambiguous celebration of British gumption and ingenuity.” You can hear it for yourself in the video above.
Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde
Owing to their role in the Second World War, Spitfires played a key role in forging 20th-century British national identity. In the latter decades of the century, the country, along with France, had another aircraft that evoked pride as it roared overhead, namely the supersonic Concorde airliner. The result of a collaboration between Aérospatiale and BAC, it made Mach 2 passenger flight a reality.
Despite extensive initial interest from airlines worldwide, just 14 production examples of Concorde were produced for Air France and British Airways (seven each). After first flying in 1969 and entering service in 1976, Concorde was withdrawn from use in 2003. However, one way that it lives on is through a song of the same name from US jazz singer Gregory Porter’s 2020 album All Rise.
While Porter isn’t as explicit in its references to the aircraft as Public Service Broadcasting are in Spitfire, avgeeks who know a thing or two about Concorde will spot them easily enough. According to Genius, the song’s lyrics include references to the delta-winged jet’s performance, such as “60,000 feet up in the air” and “twice the speed of sound.” All in all, it is a musical triumph worthy of the iconic aircraft.
Photo: British Airways
Boeing 747
Along with Concorde, one of the 20th century’s most recognizable aircraft was the Boeing 747, which became the face of long-haul travel after entering service in 1970. 10 years later, in 1980, UK heavy metal band Saxon released their second album, Wheels Of Steel, which featured a track called 747 (Strangers In The Night).
The song explores what it might have been like for aircraft flying into New York JFK while the airport was without power due to the famous northeast blackout in 1965. Of course, the 747 had not entered service at this stage, but the danger that the situation posed to aircraft was certainly real enough. According to Song Meanings, one SAS flight overshot the airport in the dark, but pulled up in time.
Sources: Genius, Public Service Broadcasting, Song Meanings, The New Yorker
