"Fugitive" is the first single taken from David Gray

David Gray (musician)

David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...

's eighth studio album Draw the Line

Draw the Line (David Gray album)

- Personnel :*David Gray - vocals, guitar, piano*Neill MacColl - guitar, backing vocals*Rob Malone - bass, backing vocals*Keith Pryor - drums*James Hallawell - keyboards*Caroline Dale - Cello*Iestyn Polson - Programming*Simon Changer - Mix Engineer...

. The song had its first exclusive play on Ken Bruce

Ken Bruce

Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...

's BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

 show on 21 July 2009 and was released in the UK on 7 September 2009.

Gray stated in an interview that the title and lyrics of the track were inspired by an image he had of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 being pulled out of his spider hole. Gray performed the song on 25th September 2009 on the Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

 and an acoustic version on GMTV

GMTV

GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...

, saying that the song was "about hiding from life, from yourself. It's saying don't forsake it all because there's something keeping you upright and keeping you walking down the street." The single features the exclusive B-side "Jitterbug."

"Fugitive" was chosen as the Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

–iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 "Pick of the Week" for September 15, 2009.

Music video

The music video was directed by Dan Lumb and features Gray performing live at the piano. As he sings, the surrounding walls, floor and ceiling fill with images expressing the mood and urgency of the song. Gray was shot over a day and artist/animator Will Barras meticulously painted each scene on to the walls, etc. to mirror Gray's performance the following day.

Critial and Commercial Reception

"Fugitive" received generally positive reviews. Digital Spy

Digital Spy

Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....

 called it "a solid return" while MusicOMH

MusicOMH

musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

 labeled it "an excellent, upbeat lead single", but the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 reported that almost 2 weeks after its release, it had yet to crack the top 100 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. The single also performed poorly on the Swiss Music Charts

Swiss Music Charts

The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...

, where it entered and peaked at number 84, charting for only one week.