Hang gliding goat returns Doncaster rocker John Parr to charts after 38 years

A new advert for Virgin Media features the Sykehouse singer’s 1985 smash, soundtracking the clip which shows the aforementioned animal soaring through the skies strapped to a glider.

And increased interest in the song coupled with thousands of streams and downloads has helped the song return to the UK charts.

Reacting to the news, the singer wrote on social media: “Great to see ‘St Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)’ back in the official charts after 38 years.

“After being a number one hit around the world in the 80s, “Man In Motion” is finding a brand new young audience.

“I love that goat song mummy,” which is fantastic! A 38 year old song, is still a “new” song to someone who has never heard it!”

The Virgin Media ad is the second instalment of its ‘To Better and Beyond’ campaign, highlighing the firm’s ultrafast connectivity and market-leading WiFi guarantee, which promises customers minimum download speeds of 20Mbps in every room or money back

The ad, entitled Goat Glider, opens on a herd of goats stuck on a remote mountainside, each stumbling around on the precipice.

As the 80’s classic kicks in, the wheels of a hang glider come into view travelling across the rocky mountain terrain.

As the glider gathers speed, a plucky goat is revealed as the pilot, and reaching the edge of the mountain, it takes off, soaring off into the skies. Having found a better way to the rest of the herd, the camera pans to its joyful face, at the same time the voiceover reveals the campaign strapline, “Why stumble when you can soar?”

Built in CGI, the mountain goat will feature across a number of upcoming brand and trading campaigns across multiple formats.

Simon Valcarcel, Marketing Director at Virgin Media O2 said, “Our latest campaign highlights the truly unstoppable spirit of the Virgin Media brand and our ambitions to provide our customers with the very best connectivity to help them reach new heights. Through our market-leading WiFi Guarantee, we want our customers to truly feel like they can do anything in life – like our hang-gliding goat.”

David Masterman, Deputy Executive Creative Director at VCCP London added, “Picking up from where our Highland Cow left off, we wanted to dramatise the unstoppable power of Virgin Media’s broadband with the story of a goat who leaves his stumbling herd behind to take to the skies in a hang glider.”

From the 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire, the song hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1985, remaining there for two weeks.

The record peaked at number six in the United Kingdom and was a global smash, winning many awards and a Grammy nomination.

The song was inspirted by Canadian athlete Rick Hansen, who at the time was going around the world in his wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. His journey was called the "Man in Motion Tour".

Watch the advert HERE