"The Whole of the Moon" | ||||
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Single by the Waterboys | ||||
from the album This Is the Sea | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | 14 October 1985 | |||
Recorded | May 1985 | |||
Studio | Livingstone (London), Amazon (Liverpool) | |||
Genre | New wave [1] | |||
Length | 4:58 | |||
Label | Ensign | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Scott | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Scott | |||
The Waterboys singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
The Whole of the Moon |
"The Whole of the Moon" is a song by Scottish band the Waterboys, released as a single from their album This Is the Sea in October 1985. It is a classic of the band's repertoire and has been consistently played at live shows ever since its release. Written and produced by Mike Scott, the subject of the song has inspired some speculation. [2]
The single was not a big success when initially released in 1985, only making the lower ends of the chart, although it reached No. 12 on the Australian chart. Subsequently, it became one of the Waterboys' best-known songs and their most commercially successful. [3] It was the Ivor Novello Award winner "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" in 1992. [4] Upon its re-release in March 1991, it reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom.
The subject of the lyrics has inspired speculation, some of which has been rebutted by the writer. The song began as a "scribble on the back of an envelope on a wintry New York street", [5] after Scott's girlfriend asked him if it was difficult to write a song. [6] Scott added further lyrics to the song upon returning to his hotel and after his return to London but in the first instance after this question from his girlfriend, he wrote about what he saw up in the sky. [7]
Like the Waterboys' first single "A Girl Called Johnny", the song is a tribute to an inspirational figure or figures. In each line, the singer describes his own perspective and immediately contrasts it with that of the song's subject, summarizing the difference with the line "I saw the crescent / You saw the whole of the moon".
AllMusic instead suggests that its subject is a number of people who inspired Scott, including writer C. S. Lewis and the musician Prince. [8] Scott himself says that he "couldn't have written" the song without having read Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale , but goes on to state that the song is not about Helprin. [5] The official Waterboys website's Frequently Asked Questions clarifies that Scott has said that the song's subject is "a composite of many people", including C. S. Lewis, but explicitly states that it is not about Prince. [9] [7]
Musician Nikki Sudden, with whom Scott had collaborated before forming the Waterboys, has claimed that the song was written about him. [10] In a 2020 interview, Scott specifically rejected claims that it was about Sudden or Prince: he said that he wrote a message "on the record's label saying, 'For Prince, U saw the whole of the moon'" as a reference to discussions between himself and Karl Wallinger about creating a Prince-inspired sound when they were recording the song. [7] He explained:
The Whole of the Moon is about someone like CS Lewis, who seemed to see so much and explore issues much more deeply than most people, or it could be about a Jimi Hendrix-type person who comes "like a comet, blazing your trail" and is gone too soon, but it's not specifically about anyone. [7]
Incidentally, Scott wrote all of his lyrics in a big black book that he had bought at a magic shop, says one of his backing singers, Max Edie. [7]
The band members at the time were Mike Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Karl Wallinger, and Roddy Lorimer. Drummer Kevin Wilkinson had left the band by the time "The Whole of the Moon" was recorded and drums were played by session player, Chris Whitten. Demoed but not finished at the beginning of the recording sessions, the song was eventually completed in May 1985. [5]
Scott composed the song's piano part, which he described as "a self-taught rhythm with one finger doing one pattern and three fingers doing another", upon returning to the UK from New York. [7]
A feature of "The Whole of the Moon" is the trumpet work on the recording, courtesy of the classically trained Lorimer. Scott has said that he wanted the trumpets to have a similar impact to the flugelhorns on the Beatles' "Penny Lane": "like sunlight bursting through clouds". [7] Lorimer spent three days with Scott working on the song's arrangement and "went home with a tape of the song and thought about a more classical approach. After a while sitting at the piano I came up with the idea of antiphonal trumpets. A piccolo trumpet on the left answered a piccolo on the right and then the same again, growing by adding a B♭ trumpet below each side of the stereo picture. Mike loved it, except the slightly jazzy chords I had used on the run down at the very end, which he simplified. I used the same classical approach later in the song, mixing two classical-type trumpets behind a later verse." [11]
Lorimer also contributes falsetto background vocals to the song, while Thistlethwaite, another brass section member, performs a saxophone solo near the end, commencing after an explosion-like sound achieved by adding echo to a sound effect of a firework. [7] Percussion was added by Martin Ditcham, who played what Scott described as "a bag of weird stuff that he rubbed together or shook". [7] Wallinger provided synthesizer, synth bass and backing vocals: Scott has said that he asked Wallinger to play a synth line like the one on the Prince song "1999", and that another four-note melody used was inspired by another Prince song, "Paisley Park". [7] Scott told Number One in 1985, "When we wrote and recorded the song, we wanted it to sound just like Prince. His records are really positive and that's something I like very much." [12] Additional backing vocals were provided by Max Edie. [7]
"The Whole of the Moon" was first released on 14 October 1985 as a 7-inch and 12-inch single, [13] which reached No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was re-released as a single (7-inch, 12-inch, cassette and CD) on 25 March 1991, [14] and it was included on the band's compilation album The Best of the Waterboys 81–90 , issued on 29 April 1991. [15] The re-release was a big hit, peaking at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and receiving an Ivor Novello Award as "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" in 1991. [4]
The 1991 releases of "The Whole of the Moon" and The Best of the Waterboys 81–90 was an attempt to boost the band's record sales to match their reputation. A survey of album buyers carried out by Chrysalis found that 11% considered themselves fans of the Waterboys and only 1% actually owned any of their singles or albums. "The Whole of the Moon" was partly chosen for re-release as a single because it had become popular on the dance and club scene since the late 1980s. Chrysalis chose to focus the single's promotion through retailers rather than radio as the label felt stations would be "wary of a reissue". Deals were made with music retailers and the marketing strategy included the use of press adverts, posters and counter cards. [16] Nevertheless, the song was successful in gaining heavy airplay in the UK and across Europe. In the UK, it reached No. 3 on the Music & Media chart for most played records on BBC stations and major independents. [17] It also reached No. 22 on the Music & Media European Airplay Top 50 chart. [18]
The song was sung by Fiona Apple at the end of the 5-season TV series, “The Affair”. The song first appeared in a wedding rehearsal scene also in the final season of the daughter of the main character before reappearing again as the credits rolled ending the series.
Including the 2004 remastered album, the song has been officially released four times and appears on the following Waterboys albums:
"The Whole of the Moon" remains one of the Waterboys' most famous and most financially successful songs. [3] Scott said of the song's durability, "I guess it has timelessness in its sound and I know the lyrics mean a lot to people. If a lyric was true when it was written, it'll be true today. 'The Whole of the Moon' still means a lot to me and it's one of my old songs that I never tire of hearing or performing." [3]
The song's music video was directed by Meiert Avis for Midnight Films. [19] It was shot at the Lyceum Theatre, London in November 1985. Scott sings live over an amended version of the record, on which fiddle and acoustic guitar were added at Wessex Studios, London. Lu Edmonds of Public Image Ltd. mimes the bass in the video. Steve Wickham, who joined the Waterboys shortly after the release of This Is the Sea, recorded his fiddle part in order to have a "genuine part" in the music video. [20] The video achieved heavy action on Music Box and breakout rotation on MTV. [21] [22]
Upon its release in 1985, Jane Simon of Sounds noted how "The Whole of the Moon" "sweeps you up in its vast, visionary embrace and swings you at the sky, as soprano saxes scream like shooting stars". [23] Roger Morton of Record Mirror noted how the four tracks on the 12-inch single "draw out the drama in Scott's barnstorming pop poetry to raging effect" and "should bring water to both your eyes and your mouth". He considered Scott to sound "like a cross between" Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens. [24] Jerry Smith of Music Week praised "The Whole of the Moon" as a "memorable number" that "should give them their first big hit". [25] Richard Bryson of the Suffolk & Essex Free Press described the song as "curiously appealing". He noted its commercial potential, but added "there is also something a little elusive at the core of this record". [26] In a review of the 1991 re-issue, Paul Lester, writing for Melody Maker , praised it as "the greatest single of October 1985". [27]
1985 release7-inch single [28]
12-inch single [29]
| 1991 release7-inch and cassette single [30] [31]
12-inch and CD single [32] [33]
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [45] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 14 October 1985 |
| Ensign | [13] |
United Kingdom (re-release) | 25 March 1991 |
| [14] |
"The Whole of the Moon" was covered by Jennifer Warnes on her 1992 album The Hunter , by Mandy Moore on her 2003 album Coverage , by Human Drama on the compilation New Wave Goes to Hell, by folk singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey on his 1995 album Rapture, by Terry Reid on his album The Driver and by Susan McFadden on the Celtic Woman album Destiny . Steve Hogarth of Marillion has included it in his solo "h natural" shows. It was also a hit on the Balearic dance scene in the 1980s and has appeared on numerous other compilations. [8]
Prince covered the song at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club during his 2014 Hit & Run tour, [46] and again at the Paisley Park Studios during a Dance Rally for Peace in May 2015. [47] "He's so strict about people filming gigs on their phones, no one's posted it on YouTube," rued Mike Scott. "However, I understand it was a piano-and-vocal solo version. Boy, would I love to hear that." [48]
Mike Scott included a live solo version on his 1995 single "Building the City of Light". [49]
U2 used it as their walk-up song during much of The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019. [50] Scott said of U2's version "They performed it in a medley with 'Where the Streets Have No Name' on one of their tours, maybe 10 years ago, which was a very cool acknowledgement that the two songs have the same chorus melody. People keep telling me it plays just before they take the stage on their Joshua Tree tours, and that's supercool too. They must feel it sets the scene, and I can dig that." [3]
The Killers covered the song at the 2018 Glasgow TRNSMT festival of which Brandon Flowers described it as "One of the finest songs I've ever heard" before dedicating it to all the women in the audience. [51]
Kirin J. Callinan released a cover of the song and an accompanying video clip in 2019. The track marked the first single from Callinan's third album, Return To Center. [52]
Fiona Apple recorded a cover of the song in 2019, which appeared in the finale of the Showtime TV series The Affair. [53]
The electronic-house group Little Caesar released an indie dance version in the UK in 1990. It reached No. 68 in the UK Singles Chart. [54]
In the Father Ted episode "Hell", Father Noel Furlong (Graham Norton) sings a very aggressive version with his youth group members in a caravan. [55]
Bleachers regularly play a cover of the song at their shows including at their Radio City performance in July 2022. This cover was subsequently released as part of the live album Live at Radio City. [56]
The song was covered by Frightened Rabbit for BBC Scotland’s Hogmanay celebrations in 2012. After lead vocalist Scott Hutchison’s death, Mike Scott praised his vocal as full of emotion and truth.
World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger. Wallinger started the band in 1986 in London after leaving the Waterboys. At various times, World Party also featured Guy Chambers, David Catlin-Birch, future Oasis drummer Chris Sharrock, Jeff Trott, Amanda Kramer and John Turnbull.
Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys.
The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between the Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."
The Best of The Waterboys 81–90 is a compilation album by The Waterboys, released on 29 April 1991.
A Pagan Place is the second studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records on 28 May 1984. It was the first Waterboys record with Karl Wallinger as part of the band and also includes Roddy Lorimer's first trumpet solo for the band on the track "A Pagan Place".
This Is the Sea is the third studio album by the Waterboys, released on 16 September 1985 by Ensign Records. The last of their "Big Music" albums, it is considered by critics to be the finest album of the Waterboys' early rock-oriented sound, described as "epic" and "a defining moment". It peaked at number 37 in the UK Albums Chart. Steve Wickham makes his Waterboys recording debut playing violin on "The Pan Within" and subsequently joined the band. This Is the Sea is the last Waterboys album with contributions from Karl Wallinger, who left the group to form his own band, World Party.
Fisherman's Blues is the fourth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records in October 1988. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among the Waterboys' best work. The album was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the Billboard 200.
Michael Scott is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'Em All In and Still Burning. Scott is a vocalist, guitarist and pianist, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki, drums, and Hammond organ on his albums. Scott is also a published writer, having released his autobiography, Adventures of a Waterboy, in 2012.
Room to Roam is the fifth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records on 2 October 1990. It continued the folk rock sound of 1988's Fisherman's Blues, but was less of a commercial success, reaching #180 on the Billboard Top 200 after its release in October 1990. Critical response continues to be mixed. AllMusic describes it both as "not quite as [musically] successful" as Fisherman's Blues, but also as a "Celtic rock classic". The front and back covers were designed by Simon Fowler based upon photography by Stefano Giovannini and Sean Jackson.
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua and played violin on the classic U2 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", as well as recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad O'Connor, and World Party. He is a long-standing member of The Waterboys. Wickham plays both rock and roll and traditional Irish music, and has developed a rock music technique for violin he calls the "fuzz fiddle".
"The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a song recorded by American musician Prince, under his unpronounceable stage name called the "Love Symbol". It was released as the only single from his twenty-third studio album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999). It was issued on October 5, 1999, in several different formats, including a 12-inch single, CD single, and a maxi single. Prince solely wrote and produced it, while Mike Scott provided guitar strings for the track. Several music critics found the single reminiscent to the works on his previous studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991).
"The Big Music" is a song by British band the Waterboys, released on 2 April 1984 as the lead single from their second studio album A Pagan Place. The song was written and produced by Mike Scott.
"Fisherman's Blues" is a song from folk rock band The Waterboys, which was released in 1988 as the lead single from their fourth studio album of the same name. It was written by Mike Scott and Steve Wickham, and produced by Scott. The song reached number 3 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, number 13 in Ireland and number 32 in the UK.
"The Return of Pan" is a song by British band the Waterboys, released in May 1993 by Geffen Records as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Dream Harder (1993). It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by Scott and Bill Price. The song reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 10 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"The Whole World" is the first single released from American hip hop duo Outkast's first compilation album, Big Boi and Dre Present... Outkast (2001). The song was written by Outkast, produced by Earthtone III, and features Killer Mike and Joi. Upon its release as a single in November 2001, "The Whole World" peaked at number 19 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. The song won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
"Ship of Fools" is a rock song by World Party released as a second single from the 1987 debut album Private Revolution. It was written and produced by singer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger, formerly of The Waterboys. Wallinger was the sole member of World Party at the time of release.
"How Long Will I Love You?" is a song by folk rock band the Waterboys from their fifth studio album, Room to Roam (1990). Written by Mike Scott, it was released as the album's lead single. The song was subsequently covered by English singer Ellie Goulding and released as the second single from her album Halcyon Days (2013). Goulding's version is included on the soundtrack to the 2013 film About Time, which also features a different cover by Jon Boden, Sam Sweeney and Ben Coleman.
"Don't Bang the Drum" is a song by British band the Waterboys, released as the opening track on their third studio album, This Is the Sea. It was written by Mike Scott and Karl Wallinger, and produced by Scott. The song was released as a single in Germany and was also issued as a 12" promotional vinyl in the United States.
"Rare, Precious and Gone" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Mike Scott, released as the second single from his second solo album Still Burning. It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by Scott and Niko Bolas. "Rare, Precious and Gone" reached No. 74 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1998.
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