Sirius (instrumental)

{{Infobox song

| name = Sirius

| cover = The Alan Parsons Project - Sirius, Eye in the Sky, Mammagamma single.jpg

| type = single

| artist = the Alan Parsons Project

| album = Eye in the Sky

| A-side = {{hlist|"Sirius"|"Eye in the Sky"}}

| B-side = "Mammagamma"

| released = August 1982

| recorded = 1981–1982

| studio = Abbey Road, London

| genre = {{hlist|Progressive rock{{cite magazine|last= Rolling Stone Staff|title= The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time: Staff List|magazine= Rolling Stone|date= February 8, 2024|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-jock-jams-sports-songs-all-time/|accessdate= December 29, 2024|quote=A spectral prog-rock intro instrumental...}}|space rock{{cite web |title=The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s |website=Pitchfork |date=August 24, 2015 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/?page=5 |quote=Never mind that the song's spacey instrumental intro ("Sirius")... |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }}|instrumental rock}}

| length = 1:48

| label = Arista

| writer = {{hlist|Alan Parsons|Eric Woolfson}}

| producer = Alan Parsons

| prev_title = Snake Eyes

| prev_year = 1981

| title = Sirius" / "Eye in the Sky

| title2 = Mammagamma

| next_title = Psychobabble

| next_year = 1982

| misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|OkC_oi0ksuw|"Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project}}}}

}}

"Sirius" is an instrumental by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project, recorded for their sixth studio album, Eye in the Sky (1982). Nearly two minutes long, it segues into "Eye in the Sky" on the album.

Since 1984, it has been played at Chicago Bulls home games, and subsequently became a staple at many other college and professional sporting events throughout North America.{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Jonathan |title=Alan Parsons, Writer of Chicago Bulls’ Theme Song and Former Beatles Engineer, Talks ‘Sirius’ and ‘Let It Be’ |url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/chicago-bulls-theme-song-michael-jordan-last-dance-sirius-alan-parsons-1234589492/ |website=Variety |access-date=10 March 2025 |date=24 April 2020}}

Background

Alan Parsons wanted the first song on the album to be "Eye in the Sky", but felt there needed to be an introduction leading up to it. As he was working on ideas at home on his Fairlight CMI, he wrote a riff that he liked, which ultimately became "Sirius". This riff was played using a clavinet sample with added tape delay.{{Cite web|last=Mikula|first=Jeremy|date=29 April 2020|title='Aaaaaaaand now ...' Everything you need to know about the Chicago Bulls' intro song, Ray Clay vs. Tommy Edwards and why Alan Parsons isn't collecting many royalties|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bulls/ct-cb-chicago-bulls-intro-song-sirius-20200429-lijtkqvppbgkxmkyyh6gox6rpe-story.html|access-date=6 August 2020|website=chicagotribune.com}} Originally, "Sirius" was not written in the same key as "Eye in the Sky", but was re-recorded in the studio once the band realized it could lead into "Eye in the Sky".

Usage in media

=Sports=

"Sirius" has been used as the starting lineup introduction song for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 to the present day.{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/alan-parsons-michael-jordan-bulls-intro-song/ |title=How Alan Parsons Project Became the Soundtrack to Jordan's Bull |date=9 May 2020 |work=Ultimate Classic Rock }} The song was chosen by public address announcer Tommy Edwards after he heard it playing in a local movie theater two years after the song's release in 1982. Since 2006, a version arranged by Ethan Stoller and Kaotic Drumline's Jamie Poindexter has been used.{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Ben |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-one-record-the-warriors-cant-take-from-the-bulls-1460498500 |title=The One Record the Warriors Can't Take From the Bulls: Even as Golden State closes on a historic 73rd win, Chicago's pre-game music still sets the standard|work=Wall Street Journal|date=12 April 2016 }} "Sirius" was the opening number of the 2000 documentary Michael Jordan to the Max. Since 1994, "Sirius" has also been used for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team's introductory "Tunnel Walk" before home games.{{cite web|url=https://huskers.com/tunnel-walk-tradition|website=Huskers.com|title=Tunnel Walk Tradition|access-date=13 March 2025|publisher=Nebraska Cornhuskers Athletics}}{{cite web|url=https://btn.com/2014/10/27/nebraskas-tunnel-walk-ranked-one-of-college-footballs-best-entrances/|publisher=Big Ten Network|date=October 27, 2014|title=Nebraska's Tunnel Walk Ranked One of College Football's Best Entrances|first=Brent|last=Yarina}}

=Film, television, and video games=

In recent years, the song has been used in the trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, in the film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and was played in a Nissan Altima TV advertisement. It is featured on the soundtracks to NBA 2K11, which is used in the Michael Jordan intro, and a remixed version of the song is used in NBA 2K18. A soundalike version was used in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius episode "Vanishing Act". It appears in 2017 TV commercials for Best Buy.{{cite web|url=http://www.ispot.tv/ad/wzyj/best-buy-sprint-savings-song-by-the-alan-parsons-project|title=Best Buy TV Commercial, 'Sprint Savings' Song By The Alan Parsons Project|work=ispot.tv|access-date=21 December 2017}} The 2018 movie, Blockers also plays the song.{{cite web |url=https://www.what-song.com/song/65703/sirius |title=Sirius by the Alan Parsons Project - Song Info - List of Movies and TV Shows }} The track appears in series one of the 2018 YouTube Red production Cobra Kai when Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) tells Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) "I'm gonna be your sensei." It was also played at the end of the first episode of The Last Dance, a ten-part documentary miniseries by ESPN and Netflix centering around the Chicago Bulls 1997–98 season, when they won their sixth NBA championship. The opening arpeggio is similar to that of the track, "Corridors of Time" in the progressive rock influenced score for the game, Chrono Trigger. The song is heard briefly in Space Jam: A New Legacy, which is a sequel to the original film, during the scene where Sylvester the Cat tries to summon Michael Jordan to help the Tune Squad win the game against Al-G Rhythm and the Goon Squad, only to find out that it is the actor, Michael B. Jordan instead. It was also used in the final episode of Knuckles. In 2023, the song was also used in the sports drama film, Air, which centers around Michael Jordan. In June 2024, it was used in a promotional clip for Deadpool & Wolverine. The song also appeared in the season 2 finale of Severance.

On UK television, it was played in the background when a participant was taking part in a record-breaking challenge on BBC's Roy Castle's Record Breakers, and it also played in the main theme of Concorde Special 1989.

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = Side A

| all_writing = Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

| title1 = Sirius

| note1 = instrumental

| length1 = 1:48

| title2 = Eye in the Sky

| length2 = 4:33

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side B

| title1 = Mammagamma

| note1 = instrumental

| length1 = 3:34

}}

Personnel

Ian Bairnson – electric guitars
Stuart Elliott – drums, percussion
Alan Parsons – clavinet, Fairlight CMI, delay
David Paton – bass guitar
Andrew Powell – orchestral arrangement, orchestral conductor
Eric Woolfson – keyboards

Covers

"Sirius" is sampled in "The Saga Continues (Intro)", the opening track of P. Diddy and The Bad Boy Family's 2001 album The Saga Continues... The song is also sampled in "B.O.M.B.S." by Fabolous and "Miami Shit" by Pitbull.{{cite web |author=Pitbull |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKl4SVKFETk |title=Miami S*** |work=YouTube |date=31 December 2014 |access-date=20 May 2020 }}
Armin van Buuren and AVIRA released a trance cover of the track in 2021.{{cite news|url=https://www.edmtunes.com/2021/08/armin-van-buuren-and-avira-release-new-track-sirius/|title=Armin van Buuren and AVIRA release New Track ‘Sirius’|date=August 18, 2021|first=Nancy|last=Gomez|website=EDM Tunes}}{{Citation|title=Armin van Buuren & AVIRA - Sirius|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5wvvoPBceo|access-date=13 August 2021}}
"Sirius" was covered along with "Eye in the Sky" by Zombi on their 2022 album "Zombi & Friends, Volume 1".{{cite web |author=Zombi |title=ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1|url=https://zombi.bandcamp.com/album/zombi-friends-volume-1|website=Bandcamp|access-date=6 June 2022}}