"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is a 1985 song written and performed by the British musical duo Eurythmics. Released as the second single from their fifth album Be Yourself Tonight, the song features a harmonica solo by the American musician Stevie Wonder. The song became a worldwide success; most notably in Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, where it became the duo's only chart-topping single to date.
The song has been covered by several musical artists, including Brittany Murphy, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Leningrad Cowboys, Luciano Pavarotti, Kylie Minogue, Jessica G. Pilnäs and, most noticeably, German pop group No Angels who scored their second number-one hit in Austria and Germany with their interpretation for the reissue of their album Elle'ments in August 2001.
Video There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)
Original version
Upon its release, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" became Eurythmics' first (and to date only) number-one single in the UK, also topping the charts in Ireland, Norway and Brazil. While the song peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100, it became another Top 10 success for the band in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and Australia.
In 2013 the song was voted as the third-best number-one song of all time in the NME.
Maps There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)
Personnel
- Eurythmics
- Annie Lennox - vocals, keyboards
- David A. Stewart - keyboards
- Additional Personnel
- Stevie Wonder - harmonica
- Michael Kamen - strings
- Dean Garcia - bass guitar
- Olle Romo - drums
- Richard Cross - backing vocals
Formats and track listings
7" Single
- A: "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (7" Edit) - 4:36
- B: "Grown Up Girls" (Non-LP Track) - 4:17
12" Single
- A: "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (LP Version) - 5:22
- B: "Grown Up Girls" (Non-LP Track) - 4:17
Limited 12" Remix Single
- A: "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (Special Dance Mix) - 6:20
- B: "Grown Up Girls" (Non-LP Track) - 4:17
Charts
Leningrad Cowboys version
In 1997 recorded the Finnish parody rock band Leningrad Cowboys a cover for their 1997 album Mongolian Barbeque. In that cover the mouth organ was replaced by an electric guitar for the instrumentation and the intro was so taken with the electric guitar, this version is very different from original. The cover also served as a B-side for her cover of the song "You're My Heart, You're My Soul".
Track listing
- CD single
- "There Must Be an Angel" (Radio edit) - 4:31
- "There Must Be an Angel" (Folk version) - 5:00
- "There Must Be an Angel" (Remix version) - 6:01
- "Dancing in the Street" - 3:14
No Angels version
Recording and release
In summer 2001, producers Patrik Majer, Ulf Leo Sommer, and Rosenstolz member Peter Plate consulted on a contemporary version of the track, re-recorded by German girl band No Angels. The song was one of a couple of tracks considered to be remade by the quintet, but was eventually picked when the producers of the animated feature The Little Polar Bear (for which band member Vanessa Petruo provided vocals) agreed to accept the track as film's theme song. "We were speechless and very happy about [the decision]. The animated movie was a world premiere and something really big for us. We immediately said 'yes'," Lucy Diakovska said in an interview. Sandy Mölling noted, that the song was an all-time favourite of the band: "I liked Annie Lennox' voice ever since I can remember." However, Petruo stated in 2005 that the song was "most unnecessary" of all cover versions the band had released between the years of 2001 and 2003.
The track premiered on 9 July 200, on the RTL Berlin radio network, receiving a positive reception from music critics, and on 17 July 2001 a preview was available on-demand in its entirety on the band's official website. Finally released as the band's third single on 12 August 2001 in German-speaking Europe, the original CD single spawned both an unlugged and an orchestral version, latter featuring music by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. The record was subsequently included on the Special Winter Edition reissue of the Elle'ments album (2001). "There Must Be an Angel" was awarded for "Top Single Germany" at the 2001 Top of the Pops Awards.
Chart performance
The group's first non-album release following "Daylight in Your Eyes" and "Rivers of Joy", it entered the charts straight at number-one on the German Singles Chart, staying at the top for five consecutive weeks, twelve weeks in the top forty, and seventeen weeks inside the top sixty. "There Must Be an Angel" was eventually certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for more than 250,000 shipped copies and ranked 13th on the 2001 year-end chart in Germany.
In Austria, the single opened at number 8 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 singles chart. However, it was not until 23 September 2001, the song's fifth week of release, "There Must Be an Angel" eventually climbed to the top spot. It remained another week at number-one and stayed twenty-one weeks within the top sixty of the chart, ranking nineteenth on the Austrian year-end chart in 2001. In Switzerland, the single debuted at a moderate number 36 on the Swiss Singles Chart. Benefiting from strong airplay however, the song reached number 2 in its third week of release, becoming the No Angels' second highest-charting single there to date. As in Germany, "There Must Be an Angel" was certified gold by the Swiss arm of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and ranked twenty-one on the Swiss year-end chart. In Poland, "There Must Be an Angel" reached number 29 on the Polish Airplay Chart.
Music video
The music video for "There Must Be an Angel" was directed by Jörn Heitmann and filmed near the General-Steinhof-Kaserne at the Gatow Airport in Berlin-Spandau, Germany on 19 July 2001. Inspired by Tony Scott's 1986 film Top Gun, the clip features the quintet as fighter pilots of the fictional US military squadron 68 at an also-fictional airbase in Angelville, United States. Additionally, it incorporates a 1940s World War II theme, heavily inspired by performances of Marilyn Monroe, The Andrews Sisters and others during their USO shows. Among the aircraft shown in the video are MiG-21s, a B-57 Canberra, a F-104 Starfighter and a Dassault Mystère. "There Must Be an Angel" world premiered in early August 2001 on television, but was temporarily banned from music networks due to its military theme, following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
Track listings
Credits and personnel
Charts
Certifications
Other cover versions
- In 1996, Brittany Murphy covered the song in her film, Double Jeopardy.
- In 1998, Fantastic Plastic Machine covered the song on his second album Luxury.
- In 2001, German singer/band leader Max Raabe and Palast Orchester covered the song in cabaret/big band style for his Super Hits album.
- In 2009, Brazilian artist Fernanda Takai included a version for her solo Luz Negra album.
- In 2011, Kylie Minogue covered the song for her Aphrodite Les Folies Tour.
- In 2012, French singer Louisy Joseph covered the song on her second album Ma Radio.
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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