"Sleeping Satellite" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Tasmin Archer Tasmin Archer (born 3 August 1963) is a British pop singer from Bradford, England. Her first album, ''Great Expectations'', spawned the hit " Sleeping Satellite", which reached number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She won the Brit A ...

, released in September 1992, by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

and

SBK Records SBK Records was a record label, owned by Universal Music Group, that is currently part of the Capitol Music Group, where it is in hibernation. The label was founded in 1988 and during its time in activity existed as part of the EMI Group. Hist ...

, as the first single from her debut album, ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' (1992). The song was written by Archer with John Beck and John Hughes, and produced by

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ...

and

Paul Wickens Paul "Wix" Wickens is an English musician best known as keyboardist and musical director of Paul McCartney's touring band since 1989. In a career that started in 1973, Wickens has also worked with artists including Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni ...

. It received favorable reviews from music critics and became an international hit. "Sleeping Satellite" peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, and Israel, and reached the top 20 in 13 other countries, as well as numbers 32 and 24 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 in June 1993. Two different music videos were produced to promote the single.

Lyrics and music

Although "Sleeping Satellite" was first released in 1992, Archer and her co-writers, John Beck and John Hughes, actually wrote and composed the song in the late 1980s. It was only when Archer got a record deal that the song saw the light of day. On the song, John Hughes and Robbie McIntosh played guitar, with John Beck and

playing keyboards. The drummer was Graham Broadhead, while Gary Maughan played the Fairlight. Archer sings backing vocals on the track along with

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and career Niles began h ...

and Carol Kenyon. The lyrics of the song refer to the 1968–1972 Apollo missions, characterised as "man's greatest adventure"; the "sleeping satellite" is the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

. In a retrospective interview in 2021 Archer stated that the song was not "a criticism of man’s arrogance in leaving Earth, but more about the lack of further space exploration that might have led to a better understanding of ecological issues".

Critical reception

In his review of "Sleeping Satellite", Steve Morse from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' wrote, "Heady stuff for a newcomer, but Archer sounds timeless with her deep, mind-imprinting voice." Kent Zimmerman from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' named it "a treasure of a song from England", adding, "As the seconds tick away, the song keeps right on building, with guitars, keyboards and a fantastic chorus." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

considered it a "classy ballad from a new singer-songwriter". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' complimented it as a "brilliant soulful pop song with a slightly spacey production". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' called it "stylish", adding that it's "both commercial and credible and should prompt a higher than average take-up for her aptly-named debut album". Ian McCann from ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' said, "There's no hit here, but given the right bullshit production she could stick out the next ' Damn I Wish Etc'". Another ''NME'' editor, Nancy Culp, stated, "Where she scores is when she manages something which is different, such as the haunting 'Sleeping Satellite'". Gerald Martinez from ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' wrote, "While the lyrics were evocative and interesting, it was the overall feel of the music, plus her low evocative voice, that had a quietly propulsive rhythm that made it special." Nick Duerden from '' Select'' described it as "sultry" and "soulful".

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal life Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia ...

from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' commented, "A British-Jamaican soul stylist (shades of Sade and Caron Wheeler) who makes her velvety voice go scratchy so we'll go weak in the knees, such as on the purportedly eco-conscious line: "''Still we try to justify the waste for a taste of ''man's'' greatest adventure.''" Whatever. She could croon in

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

about the national debt and I'd swoon."

Retrospective response

Retrospectively,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Roch Parisien complimented the song as a "hypnotic, fashionably retro-psych-soul beauty". In 2011, Tom Ewing of ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...

'' wrote, "This, it seems to me, is part of what 'Sleeping Satellite's articulating: a sense of disappointment bordering on betrayal that having dreamed of the

– or indeed, because it got there – humanity now seems confined to a slowly boiling Earth. This is potent, raw stuff and very difficult indeed to cover effectively in a pop song. And in truth Archer doesn't cover it effectively – the song's ambiguous and flowery, its emotional kick comes from Archer's self-belief more than anything you can read into it. But I have to say I like the idea that she tried." In 2012, ''Porcys'' ranked the song number 59 in their list of "100 Singles 1990–1999", naming it a "ideal pop-soul

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

", adding that "technically, 'Sleeping Satellite' is an elegant blend of acoustics with synthetics, starting from the chic cascade, unloading the pomposity of a piece on a bridge built of psychedelic keyboard variations."

Chart performance

"Sleeping Satellite" was released in the United Kingdom on 1 September 1992 and swiftly rose up the charts, replacing

the Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping electronic dance music act on the UK Singles Chart by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith Mc ...

's " Ebeneezer Goode" at number one in October. It stayed at the top for two weeks before being dethroned by

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

's " End of the Road". It also topped the charts in neighbouring Ireland, spending four weeks at number one. It remains Archer's only top-ten hit in both the UK and Ireland to date. Outside the UK and Ireland, "Sleeping Satellite" topped the chart in Greece and was a top-10 hit in numerous other European countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. To date, it is Archer's only charting single in the United States, peaking at numbers 32 and 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 in June 1993, and number 24 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. In neighbouring Canada, "Sleeping Satellite" reached number six.

Music video

Two different music videos were produced to promote the single; a European version and a US version. The European music video was directed by London-based director Zanna.

Track listings

* UK 7-inch and cassette single * US and Australasian cassette single # "Sleeping Satellite" – 4:41 # "Sleeping Satellite" (acoustic version) – 3:21 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Sleeping Satellite" :A2. "Sleeping Satellite" (acoustic version) :B1. "Sleeping Satellite" (extended version) * UK CD single # "Sleeping Satellite" # "Sleeping Satellite" (acoustic version) # "Man at the Window" (acoustic version) # "Sleeping Satellite" (extended version) * US CD single # "Sleeping Satellite" – 4:41 # "Sleeping Satellite" (acoustic version) – 3:21 # Interview * Japanese mini-CD single # "Sleeping Satellite" # " In Your Care"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

* 2003: A dance cover was recorded by British group

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

featuring Irish singer-songwriter Naimee Coleman. Released as a single in Australia on 23 June 2003, it reached number 60 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

the following week. *2012: Stereolove (also known as James Fraser) released an electronic down-tempo cover in August. The track reached number one on the Juno Records UK Pop/Trance charts in November 2012, as well as reaching the top on Kiss FM and Joy 94.9 in Melbourne, Australia. The track reached number 23 on the US DJ Pool Starfleet Top 50 Dance chart.

References

{{Authority control 1992 songs 1992 debut singles Tasmin Archer songs 2011 singles Kim Wilde songs Songs about the Moon Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Israel Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Songs written by Tasmin Archer Songs written by John Beck (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Julian Mendelsohn EMI Records singles SBK Records singles Music videos directed by Zanna (director) Songs about outer space Songs based on actual events