"I Shall Be There" is a song by Irish

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B*Witched, featuring vocals from South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released on 6 December 1999 as the second single from their second studio album, '' Awake and Breathe'' (1999).

Overview

The recording of the song was a collaboration with African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo. B*Witched member

Edele Lynch Edele Claire Christina Edwina Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is the lead singer of the Irish girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Keavy is also a member. In 2013, Lynch wo ...

along with MSNBC explained the pairing: :''"We met them backstage at the Brit Awards

in 1999 ''In 1999'' is a 1912 one-act comedic short play by William C. deMille, originally produced by Jesse L. Lasky, that was popular upon its release. Its gags are based on a future where gender roles are reversed. Production The piece debuted at th ...

, and me and Keavy had been listening to a lot of their stuff, so we asked if they wanted to work with us, and when we came together in the studio it just all kind of fell into place and made for a really interesting experience."''

Music video

The music video was directed by Katie Bell. It has a very wild 'African' feel to it and featured two different scenes, a jungle scene with the group wearing appropriate clothing, and a savanna theme which was darker and had the girls dressed in more conservative and earth-coloured outfits. Both scenes feature CGI animals.

Chart performance

"I Shall Be There" was released on 6 December 1999 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 13, becoming B*Witched's first single to miss the UK top 10. It spent a total of nine weeks on the chart, five of which were in the top 40. The single was not released in

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or New Zealand.

Releases

* UK CD 1 68333 2'' #"I Shall Be There" 4:12 #"Don't Say Never" 3:54 #"Does Your Mother Know" 3:11 #"I Shall Be There" (video) * UK CD 2 xxxxx x'' #"I Shall Be There" #"I Shall Be There" (The Bold & The Beautiful Christmas Tree Fairy Mix) #"I Shall Be There" (The Tomski Mix) * UK Cassette 68333 4'' #"I Shall Be There" 4:12 #"Don't Say Never" 3:54 * UK vinyl 1 PR 3369'' #"I Shall Be There" (The Tomski Mix) 6:53 #"I Shall Be There" (The Bold & The Beautiful Christmas Tree Fairy Mix) 8:42 * UK vinyl 2 PR 3361'' #"I Shall Be There" (The Bold & The Beautiful Christmas Tree Fairy Mix) 8:42 #"I Shall Be There" (The Bold & The Beautiful Christmas Tree Fairy Instrumental Mix) 8:38

Charts

References

{{authority control B*Witched songs 1999 singles Songs written by Ray Hedges Song recordings produced by Ray Hedges Songs written by Martin Brannigan 1999 songs Epic Records singles